GMAT · Section guide 8 · 5 min read

GMAT pacing, review and edit, and score reporting

How to pace each GMAT Focus section, use bookmarking and the review and edit feature to change up to three answers, and understand your score report.

The time you have

Each section of the GMAT Focus Edition lasts 45 minutes, but the number of questions differs, so the average time per question varies.

There is one optional 10-minute break, which you can take after the first or the second section. Most test takers find it worth taking.

Why finishing matters

The GMAT is computer adaptive, and your score reflects the number and difficulty of the questions you answer correctly. Questions you leave unanswered when time runs out count against you. So your first pacing goal is simple: answer every question in every section.

A useful set of checkpoints:

If you are well behind at a checkpoint, make faster decisions on the next few questions rather than rushing all at once at the end.

When to move on

Every question counts, and no single question is worth a run of rushed guesses at the end. If you have spent around three minutes on a question without a clear path:

1. eliminate any choices you can;
2. choose your best remaining answer;
3. bookmark the question;
4. move on.

Time spent fighting one hard question is time taken from two or three easier ones later.

Bookmarking and review and edit

The Focus Edition includes a feature that the old exam did not have.

Bookmarking. During a section, you can bookmark any question you want to revisit. Bookmarking does not change your answer; it simply flags the question.

Review and edit. If you reach the end of a section with time left, you see a review screen listing every question in that section, with your bookmarks. You can:

• open any question in the section to review it, not just bookmarked ones;
• change up to three answers in that section.

Things to know:

• The three-change limit applies per section.
• You still need to answer each question when you first see it; you cannot skip ahead and leave blanks to fill in later.
• Review time comes out of the same 45 minutes, so you only get it if you finish early.
• Once you leave a section, you cannot return to it.

Using review well

• Bookmark selectively. Mark only questions where you were genuinely unsure and think more time could help.
• Go to bookmarks first on the review screen.
• Change an answer only for a clear reason, such as finding an error in your working. Second-guessing a sound answer often turns a right answer into a wrong one.
• Plan for it, but don't depend on it. Finishing a section with five or six minutes spare is a good outcome, not a requirement.

Section order and pacing

You choose your section order at the start of the test. Think about how your energy and confidence change over two and a quarter hours. Try at least two different orders in full-length practice and keep the one where your pacing holds up best.

Score reporting

Your GMAT Focus score report includes:

• a total score from 205 to 805;
• section scores from 60 to 90 for Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights;
• percentile rankings, showing how your scores compare with other recent test takers.

The three sections count equally toward the total. Because the scale differs from the old GMAT's, schools and test takers rely on percentiles to compare scores between the two formats.

You will usually see your unofficial scores shortly after finishing the test. The official score report follows later. You can choose which business schools receive your scores, and schools see the scores you send.

GMAT scores are generally valid for five years. Policies on score sending, cancelling scores, retaking the exam, the number of attempts allowed and additional score reports are set by GMAC and can change. Always check the current rules on mba.com before you test.

Building pacing in practice

• Learn each question type untimed, so the method is automatic.
• Practice timed sets of 10 or 11 questions in about half the section time.
• Take full-length practice exams under real conditions, using the section order and break you plan to use on the day.
• After each practice exam, review not only wrong answers but also correct answers that took far too long.

Exam tip: in practice, track how often you use review and edit and how often a change helped. If your changes are more often wrong than right, use them only when you have found a definite mistake.

Check yourself

1. Which section gives you the most time per question on average?
2. How many answers can you change in each section, and when can you do it?
3. Can you leave questions blank and come back to them in the review screen?
4. What score range does each section use, and how much does each count toward the total?

Find practice material and the rest of this series on the GMAT hub.