GRE CAT Pacing Strategies

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GRE CAT Pacing Strategies

Some important things that may help you during the exam are your art of guessing, your speed etc. but other things may also help such as proper use of scratch papers, grids and many more...

The Art of Guessing

Guessing, like pacing, is more important on the CAT than on any other test you have ever taken. You'll have to guess often on the CAT because:

    * You can't skip questions. If you hit a mental block, you have to guess at the question in front of you. You can't pass over a question and go back to it later. Since all answers are final, you have to make sure your guess is a good one. Most students waste more than 1/3 of their time bogged down on a handful of tough questions. You have to learn how to guess, move on, and cut your losses after spending more than a few minutes on a question.At the end of the test, when time is about to expire, you have to hurry to make sure to review every question (or else face the severe penalty for not finishing all the test's questions). Many students have to do this last-minute sprint and are often left guessing on the last few questions.

    * P.O.E. The key guessing strategy is P.O.E. (process of elimination). A big asset going into test day knows that one of the five possible answers must be right. If you can eliminate two of the choices, you can increase your chances of getting the right answer by 65% (from 20% or 1 in 5 to 33% or 1 in 3). Here's how to do it:
         1. Eliminate answer choices you know are wrong. Even if you don't know the right answer, you can often tell that some of the answer choices are wrong.
         2. Avoid answer choices that look suspicious. For example, in the Quantitative Section, you can usually eliminate any answers that are negative when all the other answers are positive.
         3. Once you have narrowed down the list of answer choices, pick one of the remainder. It is a myth that some answer choices, like A or C, are more often correct than other choices.


Draw a Grid

If crossing off answer choices on paper tests helps to clarify your thinking, you might want to consider making a grid on your scratch paper. By drawing a simple grid and labeling the rows A through E, you can keep track of which answers you have eliminated by putting an X in that box. That way you can tell at a glance, which answer choices are still in the running. If you find that this technique works for you, you'll find the fifteen seconds it takes to set up the grid well worth it.

The Importance of Scratch Paper

Another big asset you have going into test day is virtually unlimited scratch paper. Use it and make sure you have lots of it on test day.

You'll need scratch paper because you are taking a test off of a computer screen, and you can't write on the screen. The result is that you'll often have to carefully copy much of the question down onto paper without miscopying the information. This is awkward and difficult. It takes valuable time to recopy information and it increases the chance of a hurried error, so you have to be careful about what you copy and what you don't copy. Try to use scratch paper extensively on your practice tests to get a feel for this.


Don't Panic

If you have a bad day, don't panic; you have the option of canceling. The computer will offer the option of canceling the test or accepting it when you finish the test. If you cancel the test, neither you nor any school will see your score. If you accept the test, the computer will display your score, and it will be available to all schools. Make sure to schedule the test far in advance of when it is due to the graduate schools so that you have time to cancel and reschedule the test if necessary.

Experiment with the strategies suggested to see what works best for you. Now that you know the CAT basics, you can progress to the specific subject areas.