Few days left ... a small question

Question

In the next few days I am going to write my GMAT exam, my first attempt :2gunfire:

. I am not sure about the result ... yes, I am an average guy :crazy:

. My main, more precisely the only, source of preparation was OG. I hope I'll get the similar level questions in my exam. :dunnow

I am really not worried about my exam result because I know that even if I score less my world is not going to end. I am not intelligent but I never give up. :boxer

I am a proud member of GMAT club and no matter what is going to be in this GMAT exam I'll always be in touch with this forum. Thank you guys. Thanks a lot :thanks

My query: I heard that first 10 questions of GMAT are crucial. May be this is correct because I have seen the effect on my MGMAT exam result. Whenever I attempt the first 10 question correct, I scored more than 35 even though after 10 I answered most of the questions wrong. But at the same time, time is one major factor and I believe that I have to finish the question within 120 seconds. Please suggest, I need your inputs :beatup

MisterEko · Answer

Friend,
my first suggestion to you is to change your attitude a bit. See, going into the exam saying stuff like "I am not that intelligent" and "I don't need to score well" is hurtful to you for several reasons. While it is good to be realistic, being so down on you can only hurt you because you may be willing to settle for less. I am speaking based on my personal experience. The first time i took GMAT, i had the same thinking as you: i said there was no way for me to learn these concepts, and i don't care, so i'll just give it a shot. I scored 560 with no preparation whatsoever. 2 years later, i am studying my a** off for GMAT and hoping to near the 700 barrier. Everything is learn-able. You are obviously not mentally impaired which means you can learn all of these GMAT concepts and score well on the test. So, get your head up, and go crash this baby!
As far as your question goes... I've been told that if there is any place in the test you want to slow down and take your time, it would be the first 10 questions. This, however, doesn't mean to spend 40 minutes of first 10 Qs and then rush through the last 27. I suggest you take 25 mins for the first 12 questions, 25 minutes for the second 12, and 25 minutes for the last 13. Or, if you need even more time, try to dedicate 25 minutes to the first 10, 25 for the second 12 and 25 for the last 15. Either way, make sure you don't leave any questions unanswered because that will hurt you more than making mistakes early on.
Also, i suggest you dedicate more time to the first couple of questions in each area: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency.
That's just my 2 cents, hope it helps

zerotoinfinite2006 · Answer

I appreciate your suggestion and I will keep a note of it. Thanks.
I was confused with the first 10 question theory that what if I get the first 2 question of my verbal section as RC ?

I always try to do the question within 120 seconds, but it goes well with Quant. I am not a native english speaker and I lost my way in Verbal.

Thanks again for your worthy input.

MisterEko · Answer

I guess the first 10 question theory comes from this:
apparently, GMAT computer forms an image of your abilities based on the first 10 questions. So, if you answer the fist 10 correct, you are likely to be getting harder questions the rest of the way, but also likely to receive a high percentile. At question no. 1 you are getting a medium difficulty question. If you answer it correctly, you go up by a decently large margin. If you answer the next one correct as well, you go up some more. Towards the end of the test, mistakes don't count as much as at the beginning.
I would imagine the same goes for Verbal part. Whatever your first 10 questions are, commit to solving them correctly. However, have in mind that 120 seconds is too much per verbal question, since you will see 41 of those for 75 minute slot, which is way than 2 minutes a question.
I am not a native speaker either, but i found my way to beat the verbal, hopefully quant will fall to my feet as well

kyro · Answer

Hey! you might want to check this out

and don't worry. . GMAT is a lot more simpler than you think. . un-scientific-analysis-of-gmatprep-64970.html Cheers

VeritasPrepBrian · Answer

Hey guys,

Great responses, but I just want to make sure that the initial question is clarified:

The first 10 questions DO NOT count any more than the others. Proper pacing and the ability to complete each section carefully is an important part of this test, and the Official Guide for GMAT Review specifically debunks the myth that the first 10 are the most important.

Cclay · Answer

I would have to agree with Brian on this one! (Crazy, I know!)

There are a few reasons why you should not take more time on the first 10 questions:

1. If you spend all your time trying to get harder questions so your ability level stays high for the remainder of the test, you'll still have to answer the hard questions right for the rest of the test. You will likely have to continue to spend more than average time to continue getting those questions right. That means you are almost guaranteed to run out of time by the end of the section, and will be forced to guess at the end of the test, thus almost certainly reducing your score. Additionally, the test disproportionally punishes several wrong answers in a row, which are more likely if you have to guess at the end.

2. The GMAT punishes test-takers heavily for leaving questions blank. If you spend over 2 minutes on each of the first 10 questions, you'll be left feeling rushed and either guessing (which will has a high chance of bringing down your score if you guess incorrectly) or leaving the last few questions blank. The GMAT penalizes you about 3% points for each question you leave blank, so it will have a devastating effect on your overall score if you do run out of time!

3. The test-makers scatter experimental questions throughout the GMAT, which do not count towards your score but are placed there so that the test-makers can determine what level question they should become when they do become real questions. Imagine if you got an experimental question as your second question. You would have spent 5 minutes on a question that didn't count towards your score! Definitely no good. (And we have heard from the GMAC that the first question can be experimental: https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... erimental/ )

If you want more info on scoring on the GMAT, take a look through this article. I think you'll find it helpful: https://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/s ... lation.cfm

Best of luck on your exam!

Best,
Caitlin

Ward · Answer

Here's a thought. I prefer that the test keep giving me all types of problems at a higher difficulty level.

Assuming that the first ten matter more and I am able to squeek out the majority of the correct, and also assuming that this continues to kick out harder questions, I am still relatively likely to do OK on the remainder of the test because of the following reasons.

I as well as many other test takers eventually get over nerves and calm down after getting in somewhat of a groove in the test. My focus should increase over the remainder of the section unless I am stumped over and over and start to panic. 
Secondly, there are likely to be a decent amount of difficult questions that an avg test taker can answer correctly because everyone has their strong areas. For instance, I'm likely to get most VIC questions wrong regardless of difficulty level. However, I am very strong at other areas even in the higher difficulty questions. 
On top of that, I can answer a some difficult questions rather quickly, which would allow me to recoup some lost time from spending a lot on the first ten.

Whatever the case, I'd rather rush in the end knowing that at least up to a certain point I feel good, rather than prematurely rush the problems when I have 75 mins to go, only to find out that I have 10 minutes left to answer the last two questions correct (which likely won't take 5 mins per since I probably got the test to think I can't handle really difficult questions).

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