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Last Updated on September 11, 2024
Since the 2023 release of the new GMAT exam, many MBA applicants have been wondering, “Can you skip questions on the GMAT?” Given the challenging content and time constraints of the GMAT, acknowledging the possibility that you may run out of time in a section on test day and seeking a strategy for omitting questions you may not be able to answer are just part of being a well-prepared GMAT test-taker.
So, in this article, we’ll discuss whether the GMAT allows test-takers to skip questions. We’ll also explore how omitting questions affects your GMAT score. Finally, we’ll outline key strategies for handling questions you’re not able to answer on your exam.
Here are all the topics we’ll cover:
- Can You Skip and Come Back to Questions on the GMAT?
- What To Do If You Don’t Know How to Answer a Question
- Can You Leave Questions Blank on the GMAT?
- Can You Miss Questions on the GMAT and Still Score High?
- Omitting Questions on the GMAT: Key Takeaways
- What’s Next?
Let’s begin by discussing whether you can skip and come back to questions when taking the GMAT.
Can You Skip and Come Back to Questions on the GMAT?
Since the new format of the GMAT exam became available on November 7, 2023, test-takers have been asking, “Can we skip questions in GMAT sections and come back to them?” The answer is both yes and no.
Just as on the previous version of the GMAT exam, on the GMAT, we cannot skip questions. Rather, we must select an answer to each question as we are presented with it. But, that doesn’t mean we can never return to a question. In fact, a big change to the GMAT is that it now gives test-takers the flexibility to return to questions.
Before we dig into how and when you can return to a question, let’s discuss why you can’t skip questions.
Adaptive Testing on the GMAT
The GMAT is a question-adaptive test, meaning that the test adapts to your performance as you answer questions. So, your performance on prior questions in a section influences the difficulty of the subsequent questions. In other words, the GMAT computer chooses the questions it presents on the basis of whether the test-taker has gotten previous questions correct or incorrect.
So, let’s say you’re completing the Quantitative section of your exam, and you answer a question correctly. The next Quant question you see may be slightly more difficult. On the other hand, say you get a question wrong. In that case, the next question may be slightly less difficult.
Because the GMAT works this way, it needs you to answer each question when the question is presented. That way, it has the information it needs to select the next question in the section. So, we cannot skip selecting an answer to a question.
KEY FACT:
Because the GMAT is computer-adaptive at the question level, you cannot skip questions.
Despite its adaptive testing model, the GMAT does permit returning to questions we’ve already answered and editing some answers. Let’s discuss.
Review and Edit Functions on the GMAT
Although you must select an answer to each GMAT question as it’s presented, you’re not entirely “locked in” to answers. Rather, you can edit your answers to up to 3 questions per section. However, you cannot return to any questions in a section until you have answered all questions in the section.
If you think you’ll want to return to a question, either because you guessed an answer or you’re not 100% sure about your answer, you can flag the question for later review. In fact, you can flag as many questions as you like in each section. Once you’ve selected an answer to the last question in a section, a review screen will appear. On that screen, you’ll see a numbered list of the questions in the section. You’ll also see a bookmark icon next to each question you flagged. By clicking on a question number, you’ll return to that question.
Note that if your section time runs out before you answer the final question in the section, you will never see that section’s review screen. Additionally, you cannot go back to previous sections. Once the clock runs out in that section, your opportunity to review or edit answers in that section runs out.
On the bright side, time permitting, you can return to as many questions as you like in each section, whether you’ve flagged the questions or not. Just remember that you can change your answers to only 3 questions in each section (so, a maximum of 9 questions in total on your exam). Thus, it would be a mistake to return to questions and start willy-nilly playing around with your answers. You’ll quickly run out of edits.
KEY FACT:
You can edit up to 3 answers per section on the GMAT.
What To Do If You Don’t Know How to Answer a Question
Even the most well-prepared GMAT test-taker may not know how to answer every question on the exam. After all, if you’re performing well, questions will get more difficult. Thus, some questions may stretch beyond your skill level, even if that level is quite high. Of course, we have to mark an answer to each question we see as the question is presented. So, what do we do if we don’t know how to answer a question? We guess.
There are two kinds of guessing on the GMAT: random guessing and educated guessing. Random guessing is just what it sounds like: you have no idea how to answer the question, so you select any answer choice just to advance to the next question.
Educated guessing involves narrowing down the answer choices, and then guessing among the remaining ones. This form of guessing is preferable to randomly guessing since, with fewer answers remaining to choose from, we’re more likely to guess correctly. Even if we can eliminate just one answer choice, we’re bettering our chances of getting a question correct.
All the same, we don’t want to overspend time on questions we really have no hope of figuring out. So, when we’re presented with any question on the GMAT, we should first give the question our best shot. If after a minute or so we aren’t making any progress, we should probably guess. At that point, we can do our best to eliminate some choices and make an educated guess. If we don’t see how to eliminate any choices or how to decide that some choices are more likely correct than others, we do the only thing we can: guess randomly.
So, should our flag and review strategy change depending on the type of guess we make?
Note Your Highest-Priority Flagged Questions
Generally, we want to flag any question we’re unsure about. However, even in the best of circumstances, we have limited time to review past questions and a limited number of answers we can edit. So, when we see the review screen, we don’t want to rely on memory to distinguish between flagged questions that have random (or near-random) guesses and flagged questions that have educated guesses. We want to go straight to questions we have the greatest probability of answering correctly in the limited time left.
Thus, in addition to flagging any questions you’re unsure about, you should jot down on your notepad the question number of any “high priority” question you flag. Your high priority questions will be any you think you’re likely to land on a solid answer to with a little more time.
TTP PRO TIP:
In addition to flagging any questions you’re unsure about, jot down on your notepad the question number of any “high priority” question you flag.
If you have more than 3 questions you want to return to, or you have only a minute or so left at the end of the section, you’ll have to make some judgment calls. Let’s look at an example scenario.
Making Judgment Calls
Say you flagged 5 questions in a section:
- 2 whose answers you feel 85-90% sure about. You feel as though you probably did your best on these questions, although perhaps without a time constraint you could select an answer with even more certainty.
- 1 whose answer you feel 65-70% sure about. You feel fairly confident that with a little more time, you could determine the correct answer.
- 1 whose answers you were able to narrow down to 3 choices from which you made an educated guess. You feel that you might be able to further narrow down the remaining choices with more time, but you’re not sure whether you can land on 1 solid answer.
- 1 whose answers you were able to narrow down to 4 choices from which you made an educated guess. You eliminated an answer that seemed clearly incorrect, but you felt rather lost on this question overall.
What would your low priorities and high priorities be?
Low Priorities
Of the 5 questions above, I would consider the question on which you had 4 answers to choose from the lowest priority. Unless you have an inordinate amount of time left at the end of the section (you won’t), and even with all the time in the world, that question is the one you’re least likely to answer correctly without a lucky guess.
If, in this scenario, you have time to return to only 1 or 2 questions, I would also consider low priority the 2 questions you answered with 85-90% confidence. After all, you’re quite likely to have gotten those questions correct already, or at least to have answered them to the best of your ability. So, spending more time on them probably would not yield better results.
High Priorities
In our example scenario, your best bet is to return to the question you answered with 65-70% confidence first. After all, if with a little more time you can select an answer you feel even 90% instead of 70% confident about, that’s a win.
If you have more time remaining after tackling that question, your next best opportunity to increase your score is probably the question on which you selected from 3 answers. After all, you were already fairly close to getting a solid answer, but not so close that you felt you’d done all you could.
Of course, depending on the amount of time you have left to return to questions and why you flagged questions, your priorities may change. For example, if you had 2 minutes to spare and were choosing between a question whose answer you felt fairly confident about and a question you didn’t attempt because you were trying to catch up on time, you might prioritize the question you didn’t attempt. Essentially, returning to that question would be like seeing it for the first time. (Note that in our guide to GMAT guessing strategies, we don’t recommend randomly throwing away questions when you’re behind on the clock.)
Also, say you’ve noted 3 high-priority questions on your notepad, but there is 1 that you’d most like to return to. Put an asterisk next to that question number on your notepad, so you don’t have to worry about remembering which question is your highest priority.
TTP PRO TIP:
Place an asterisk next to a question number you’ve jotted down on your notepad if that question is your highest priority.
Now, you may be wondering, what happens if time runs out before you have a chance to answer all the questions in a section?
Can You Leave Questions Blank on the GMAT?
As we discussed, you can’t skip GMAT questions. However, you can leave some questions unanswered at the end of a section because time ran out. Of course, just because you can leave questions blank does not mean you should. Let’s discuss.
Should You Skip Questions on the GMAT at the End of a Section?
Let’s say you have a minute or two to complete a section of the GMAT and a few questions left to answer. Should you just skip them? Or, say you’re on the last question in a section and you don’t know how to answer it. In other words, you’d have to make a random guess. Is it better to skip questions on the GMAT or guess randomly?
The answer in both cases is that it’s better to select answers to every question at the end of a section, and here’s why. The GMAT imposes a harsh score penalty for each unanswered question. So, if you’re wondering, “How many questions can I skip on the GMAT and still earn a high score?,” I don’t suggest playing that game. You’re better off answering every question, even ones on which you have to randomly guess. You will not only have a shot at guessing correctly but also avoid the penalty.
The fact is, your GMAT score is based on more than just how many questions you answer correctly or incorrectly. There are 3 main factors in how the GMAT algorithm calculates your scaled score in each section:
- how many questions you answer in the section
- your number of correct answers and incorrect answers in the section
- the difficulty levels of the questions you answer correctly or incorrectly
So, even if you’re stumped at the end of a section, or you have just a handful of seconds and a few questions remaining, try your best to select answers to every question.
You can learn more about the GMAT Scoring System in this article.
TTP PRO TIP:
In most cases, it’s best not to leave any questions blank in a GMAT section.
Can You Miss Questions on the GMAT and Still Score High?
If you can’t leave questions blank without seriously harming your score, then should we also conclude that getting any questions incorrect will tank your score. Not so fast.
Generally speaking, you can answer a fair number of questions incorrectly and still land within the ideal GMAT score range for applying to schools with high average GMAT scores.
For example, let’s say you’re aiming for a GMAT score of 695+, which is roughly equivalent to a 740-750+ on the old GMAT and would currently put you in the 97th-98th percentile and up. So, a competitive score for many people even at top schools.
Depending on the difficulty level of the questions you answered correctly and incorrectly, you could conceivably get 12 or 13 questions wrong in total on your exam and still hit that score range.
Now, if you’re unable to complete all questions on the GMAT, your mileage may vary. And as I’ve alluded to, if the questions you’re answering incorrectly are mostly easier ones, your score will suffer more than that of someone who misses the same number of questions, but all of those questions are of higher difficulty.
So, how many questions can you miss on the GMAT and still score high? Like all things GMAT, the answer is complicated! It depends heavily on a few factors:
- what you consider a high score
- the difficulty levels of your correct and incorrect questions
- whether you left any questions unanswered
The main takeaway, however, is a positive one: it’s possible to miss a fair number of questions and earn a competitive GMAT score.
KEY FACT:
Generally speaking, you can answer a fair number of questions incorrectly and still land within the ideal GMAT score range for applying to schools with high average GMAT scores.
Omitting Questions on the GMAT: Key Takeaways
Here is what we’ve learned about skipping or missing questions on the GMAT:
- To advance to the next question, you must answer each GMAT question as it is presented to you.
- You can flag as many questions as you like in a section. Time permitting, you can then return to as many as you like from the review screen at the end of the section.
- You will not see the review screen if time runs out before you answer the last question in a section.
- You can edit your answers to up to 3 questions per section, time permitting.
- You cannot return to or edit answers in previous sections. Once you move on from a section, your answers in that section (and your unanswered questions) are finalized.
- If you don’t know how to answer a question on the GMAT, you should either take an educated guess or randomly guess if you cannot eliminate any answer choices.
- You can incorrectly answer a fair number of questions on the GMAT and still achieve a high score.
- Technically, you can leave questions blank at the end of a section. However, you’re better off guessing to avoid the harsh GMAT penalty for unanswered questions.
What’s Next?
Get more strategies for handling GMAT time constraints in our posts on GMAT Quant time-management and GMAT Verbal time-management.
Also, check out these expert tips on how to get faster at answering GMAT Quant questions.
