GMAT Guessing | How to add points by guessing smarter

The GMAT is a hard test.  Almost everyone who takes it is going to come to a question where they flat out do not know the answer.  One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to stare at a question and waste precious time when you aren’t going to be able to figure out how to solve it.  A better option is to cut your losses and guess, so you can move on to the next question.

Now there actually are some tips to help you improve your guessing ability.  There’s no sense in guessing blindly because then you only have a small 1/5 chance of getting any points.  It’s much better to try and narrow those odds down to 1/3 or even 1/2.

Here’s some tips to help you achieve this:

Check for an answer choice that simply does not make any sense.  Many times there will be an answer that just doesn’t fit in and in no way answers the question.  This is a freebie.  Scratch off this answer and you’re already down to a 1/4 shot.

Check for synonyms.  A lot of times two of your answer choices will have the same meaning.  Obviously they both can’t be correct, and if they mean the same thing, logically neither one should be correct.  This is a quick way to eliminate two possible answer choices.

Be aware of look alike answers.  Sometimes the GMAT will try to trick you by providing not only a correct answer, but an answer that is “almost correct.”  Be sure to read all of the answers fully before selecting.

When taking practice exams, pay attention to the wrong answers as well as the right answers.  You can learn the types of wording structures and phrases used in the incorrect answers.  This can help you eliminate one or more wrong answers when taking the real test.

Don’t beat yourself up if you have to guess on a question.  Almost everyone has to do it.  If you get down on yourself and lose your cool, you could mess up the rest of your test and end up with a low score.  Guessing is not the end of the world.

Remember, it’s better to make an educated guess than to waste lots of valuable time trying to find an answer that is not going to come to you.