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mcelroytutoring
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Joined: 10 Jul 2015
Last visit: 19 Mar 2026
Posts: 1,206
Given Kudos: 282
Status:Expert GMAT, GRE, and LSAT Tutor / Coach
Affiliations: Harvard University, A.B. with honors in Government, 2002
Location: United States (CO)
Age: 45 (10 years and counting on GMAT Club!)
GMAT 1: 770 Q47 V48
GMAT 2: 730 Q44 V47
GMAT 3: 750 Q50 V42
GMAT 4: 730 Q48 V42 (Online)
GRE 1: Q168 V169
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Expert reply
Updated on: 16 Jul 2020, 13:22
Originally posted by mcelroytutoring on 06 Aug 2016, 17:24.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 16 Jul 2020, 13:22, edited 3 times in total.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 16 Jul 2020, 13:22, edited 3 times in total.
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Yes, some of you out there are Q51 or bust...but there are others out there who are having pacing issues, and just need something in the mid-to-high 40s.
Check out the post linked below for an example of how to crack Q45 without having to make it all the way through the test (but make sure to guess on every remaining question to avoid the penalty for not finishing). All opinions are welcome...even the angry, disagreeing ones. ; )
hiline-gmat-algorithm-studies-223122.html#p1719701
For more information: leveraging-the-gmat-scoring-algorithm-to-your-advantage-221175.html
Check out the post linked below for an example of how to crack Q45 without having to make it all the way through the test (but make sure to guess on every remaining question to avoid the penalty for not finishing). All opinions are welcome...even the angry, disagreeing ones. ; )
hiline-gmat-algorithm-studies-223122.html#p1719701
For more information: leveraging-the-gmat-scoring-algorithm-to-your-advantage-221175.html
Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Quantitative Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block below for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
08 Aug 2016, 10:01
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Fascinating!
My biggest question about this (and my biggest qualm with 'front-load your efforts' strategies thus far), though, is - how realistic is it, really, to expect 100% accuracy on the first ~25 questions? It's a simple enough strategy for a test prep instructor, or for a student who's going to end up with a very high Quant score anyways, but will it actually increase scores for people who are weaker on Quant?
I'm imagining a student of mine who's about at the '650 level' on Quant, meaning that he or she can realistically answer a bit more than half of all 650 level Quant questions correctly in two minutes each. If that student invested almost the entire time on the first 25 questions, he or she would have a bit less than 3 minutes per question, on average. Is that enough for the student to go from 60% accuracy at the 650 level, up to 100% accuracy at the 800 level? My instincts say no - my typical student probably wouldn't be able to sustain that performance through the first 25 questions, even with three minutes per question, given that the questions they'd be seeing would be much harder.
I do think that most GMAT questions are possible for most students to answer in unlimited time, assuming they have the basic background and terminology they need. But in 3 minutes? That's not that much easier than 2 minutes. And there will always be a small but significant number of questions that you aren't going to get right no matter what you do... and there'll be way more of those popping up with this approach. Thoughts?
My biggest question about this (and my biggest qualm with 'front-load your efforts' strategies thus far), though, is - how realistic is it, really, to expect 100% accuracy on the first ~25 questions? It's a simple enough strategy for a test prep instructor, or for a student who's going to end up with a very high Quant score anyways, but will it actually increase scores for people who are weaker on Quant?
I'm imagining a student of mine who's about at the '650 level' on Quant, meaning that he or she can realistically answer a bit more than half of all 650 level Quant questions correctly in two minutes each. If that student invested almost the entire time on the first 25 questions, he or she would have a bit less than 3 minutes per question, on average. Is that enough for the student to go from 60% accuracy at the 650 level, up to 100% accuracy at the 800 level? My instincts say no - my typical student probably wouldn't be able to sustain that performance through the first 25 questions, even with three minutes per question, given that the questions they'd be seeing would be much harder.
I do think that most GMAT questions are possible for most students to answer in unlimited time, assuming they have the basic background and terminology they need. But in 3 minutes? That's not that much easier than 2 minutes. And there will always be a small but significant number of questions that you aren't going to get right no matter what you do... and there'll be way more of those popping up with this approach. Thoughts?
mcelroytutoring
Expert
Tutor
Joined: 10 Jul 2015
Last visit: 19 Mar 2026
Posts: 1,206
Given Kudos: 282
Status:Expert GMAT, GRE, and LSAT Tutor / Coach
Affiliations: Harvard University, A.B. with honors in Government, 2002
Location: United States (CO)
Age: 45 (10 years and counting on GMAT Club!)
GMAT 1: 770 Q47 V48
GMAT 2: 730 Q44 V47
GMAT 3: 750 Q50 V42
GMAT 4: 730 Q48 V42 (Online)
GRE 1: Q168 V169
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Expert reply
Updated on: 04 Aug 2021, 15:10
Originally posted by mcelroytutoring on 08 Aug 2016, 10:17.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 04 Aug 2021, 15:10, edited 2 times in total.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 04 Aug 2021, 15:10, edited 2 times in total.
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ccooley
Yes, you're right--it's unrealistic to expect 100% accuracy from a student who has trouble finishing on time, even if we give them an extra 30-45 seconds per question. However, the principle still holds true...the last 7-10 questions count very little, so focus most of your efforts on the first 27-30 questions and you should have a good shot.
Of course, there are other paths to success, but in every instance I've seen thus far, you have to answer at least 4 out of the first 7 counted questions correctly to get a great score. I've seen a Q47 scored with a (by quarters) 71% / 71% / 71% / 43% split, which suggests that you don't have to ace the 1st half so long as you keep succeeding into the 3rd quarter of the test (questions #19-27). I've also seen a Q47 scored with an 86% / 43% / 57% / 71% split, and a Q46 scored with an 86%, 71%, 71%, 0% split. Note that in all of these scenarios, students are only answering 53-64% of questions correctly, but are still earning solid Quant scores.
