Should You Invest More Time in the First 7 Questions in Each GMAT Section?

Maybe at some point during your GMAT test prep, you heard that if you correctly answer the first 5-7 questions in each GMAT section, you automatically get a great score. Maybe you decided that this “secret weapon” would give your score that extra little boost it was missing. Maybe, as a result, you experienced a GMAT score drop.

Myths about the GMAT are never in short supply, but the myth of the first 7 questions is one with serious staying power. Unfortunately, overinvesting time in the first 7 questions of a GMAT section to better your chances of getting them correct can actually have a negative impact on your score.

For one thing, answering the first several questions correctly does not mean that the GMAT scoring algorithm will have you pegged as a “high scorer.” Furthermore, by spending extra time on those initial questions, you’ll likely end up rushing at the end of the section. You may even have to guess on several questions. Either of those scenarios could hurt your accuracy and your score.

So, even if at question 7 you had a very high score, by the time you reach the last question in the section (if you make it there), your score will have plummeted.

Are the first 7 questions of a section important? Sure. But all of the questions in a section are important. So, stick with a timing strategy that allows you to pace yourself methodically throughout a section. This approach gives you the best chance to correctly answer each question, not just the early questions.


Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep