GMAT Strategy

My strategy is very specific to my abilities, my goals, and my pitfalls.

I was discovering that many difficult math problems, especially Y/N Data Sufficiency questions were doable for me, but would take a lot longer than the recommended 2 minutes per problem. I also realized after several practice tests, that the raw number of questions that you miss really doesn't matter because the test is adaptive.

This leads to my strategy on math. I start off strong, trying to get myself into the 700-800 "bucket". In the middle, I let myself plateau meaning that if I encounter a question that will take a lot of time, I don't commit more than 2 minutes to before narrowing down and guessing. Theoretically, this will push me down slightly, but I might get the next question right, pushing me back up, hence a plateau. Doing this allows me to build up a "reservoir" of time. When I hit the last 10 or so problems, I tap into this reservoir, and try to get every problem correct spiking my score at the end.

I found this strategy to be superior to peaking in the middle, and then possibly falling off at the end because you're running low on time. Because the test doesn't care where you peaked at, it only cares what your score is at the END. Making it logical to make your peak at the end.

If you want to use this strategy I suggest practicing it and tailoring it to your needs, since it is pretty specific to mine. I thought it might be helpful though, especially for people who face a time crunch on math.

Cheers!

Interesting strategy. What I like about it is that it's always better to guess strategically throughout the test than to find yourself forced to guess because you have no time left. By guessing strategically throughout, you're letting go questions that you've determined you're unlikely to get correct. Guessing in the end because you're running out of time is not nearly as good because you're now forced to let go questions that you otherwise would be able to complete.

I disagree with the statement that the test doesn't care where you "peak". According to the GMAT scoring formula, every question is given more weight than the next question. A student who gets the first 17 questions correct and the last 20 questions incorrect will have a higher score than one who gets the first 20 incorrect and the last 17 correct.

My bottom line is that I agree with your strategy, that you should remain in control by deciding when and where to make educated guesses rather than find yourself in a position, late in the exam, of having to guess because you're out of time.

i like this.. its all about where you end up at the end.. the test is pretty forgiving in letting you have 2nd chances etc.. this might actually work!

thanks for sharing!