A 7 min read

With R2 deadlines approaching fast, many of you are in the final stretch of GMAT preparation. While you’re focusing on concept mastery, practice, and mock tests, there’s one strategic decision that deserves your attention – your section order choice.

“But wait,” you might think, “don’t I just need to pick from the 6 possible combinations of Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights.”

Not quite. Here’s what makes this decision crucial:

The GMAT Focus Edition isn’t just your regular adaptive test. Sure, it adapts question-by-question (you get harder questions when you’re doing well). But there’s a lesser-known feature that can significantly impact your score: section adaptiveness.

What does this mean?

• Your performance in Section 1 determines where you START in Section 2
• Your performance in Section 2 determines where you START in Section 3
• Early mistakes can limit your maximum achievable score

Think of it like this: Each section is like climbing a mountain. Your performance in the previous section determines how high up the mountain you start. Start higher, and you have a better chance of reaching the peak (higher score). Start lower, and you’ll need to climb much more to reach the same height.

This is where strategic section order comes into play. We don’t want the test to serve easier questions earlier on in the GMAT, because:

1. In an adaptive test getting easier questions early on means that you get fewer chances to do well on the harder questions.  
2. You get severely penalized for getting the easier questions wrong. When you are just starting a section, the propensity to make questions early on is high – so we get easier questions at the beginning, and we are increasing our chances of being penalized.

Even since we have been using this core principle in guiding our students in February, we have seen that the correlation between our internal stats and actual end scores has been as high as 90%. Before that the number was 80% – so you can see the difference that this has made.

So, today I want to share how you should go about choosing the ideal section order.

There are two main approaches top scorers use to avoid these:

• The Minimize Risk Strategy
• The Maximize Comfort Strategy

Both these approaches are good; we have seen hundreds of students succeed using these strategies.

Which one should you choose? That depends on your unique strengths and scoring patterns. Let’s explore each one in depth.

1. Understanding Your Options: The Two Strategic Approaches

Let’s break down both strategies and help you figure out which one fits your profile best.

Strategy #1: The Comfort-First Approach

What is it?

Starting with the section where you need to be at your absolute peak mental state. For example, if you feel you need to be 100% fresh for Verbal but can handle Quant even at 90% energy, you might opt for V > Q > DI or V > DI > Q.

Who typically chooses this?

1. Test-takers who see significant score drops in certain sections when fatigued
2. Those who consistently perform better in Verbal when it’s their first section
3. People who find their accuracy heavily dependent on mental freshness

When should you choose this?

1. When your mock tests consistently show better performance with this order
2. If your accuracy in certain sections significantly drops with fatigue
3. When you have verified through practice that starting fresh gives you better overall scores
4. If your strongest section also requires maximum mental freshness

Strategy #2: The Strength-First Approach

What is it?

Starting with your strongest section, regardless of when you feel most comfortable taking it. This strategy leverages the section-adaptive nature of the GMAT Focus Edition to your advantage.

Why it works:

1. Your strongest section typically contributes the most to your total score
2. Starting strong means, you begin subsequent sections from a higher difficulty level, serving you fewer or absolutely no easy questions here.
3. Reduces the risk of getting trapped in easier questions early on
4. Gives you some buffer in your weaker sections

When should you choose this?

1. When your strongest section consistently shows high scores regardless of position
2. If you have a clear performance hierarchy across sections (e.g., Q > V > DI)
3. When your mock tests show better overall scores with this order
4. If you can maintain focus even when starting with your most challenging section

Bonus Advantage:

This strategy often gives you an unofficial extra break. How? Most test-takers finish their strongest section a few minutes early, giving them precious minutes to reset before tackling their next section.

According to the GMAC, 26% of the test takers end quant section with 3 minutes or more to spare – so you can see that you can use this time as a break.

2. The Costly Section Order Mistake in Action

Here is the snapshot of the score report of a student:

As you can see they have a score of Q80 in the test.

How many mistakes do you think they made?

If your answer is 5-6 – you are wrong:

As you can see, they have made only 2 mistakes! So, why is the score low? Guess what! The section order was – DI < Verbal < Quant.

What does this tell us?

Because this student did Quant after Verbal and DI, where they did not score well since it was their weaker section, their Quant section started at a lower difficulty level. Getting the second question wrong at this lower level meant they were essentially swimming against the tide – even with just 2 mistakes total, they couldn’t climb up to the higher difficulty levels needed for a better score.

Also, there is a 60% correlation between the Quant score and the DI score. So, when you score lower in DI, the test going to likely look at that and decide, that the Quant is not going to be at that 87-89 level.

This perfectly illustrates why starting with your weaker sections can trap you in lower difficulty levels, making it nearly impossible to showcase your true ability in your strongest section.

On the other end, we have seen students who change the section order to the ideal order and, gain 20-30 points – “One of the main things that I think we got from the discussion that you brought in was the change in sequence, the change in sequence from doing the regular quant verbal DI to quant DI verbal. I think it straight away gave you 20-30 points boost.”

3. Making The Right Choice: How to Decide Your Ideal Section Order

3.1 Step 1: Identify Your Strongest Section

This isn’t about which section you “feel” better at – it’s about data. Look at:

1. Your mock test scores across multiple tests
2. Your consistent accuracy rates
3. Your timing and completion rates
4. Your performance under pressure

Pro Tip: Don’t confuse comfort with strength. You might feel comfortable with Verbal, but if your Quant scores are consistently higher, that’s your stronger section.

3.2 Step 2: Understand your Fatigue Patterns

Pay attention to:

1. Which section suffers most when you’re tired?
2. How long can you maintain peak focus?
3. Do you typically rush through later sections?
4. How well do you recover after breaks?

3.3 Step 3: Test Both Strategies

Here’s how:

1. Take 2-3 mocks using the Maximize Comfort approach
2. Take 2-3 mocks using the Minimize Risk approach
3. Compare not just scores, but also:

a.      Your accuracy progression within each section

b.     Time management across sections

c.      Mental fatigue levels

d.     Overall confidence during the test

3.4 Step 4: Practice This Order

The key to success is implementation:

• Use this order in at least 2-3 mock tests
• Focus on starting strong in your first section
• Avoid marking questions for review in the early stages
• Use the potential extra time from your strongest section as a mini break

Remember: This strategy isn’t about comfort – it’s about maximizing your score potential by leveraging the test’s section-adaptive nature.

4. Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Regardless of which strategy you choose, here are key mistakes to avoid:

1.     Last-Minute Section Order Changes

❌ “I’ll decide on test day based on how I feel”

✅ Stick to your practiced order. Test day nerves aren’t a good reason to abandon your strategy.

2.     Not Using Data to Guide Your Choice

❌ “I feel better doing section X first”

✅ Let performance data from your mocks guide your strategy choice

3.     Poor Early Question Management

❌ Marking questions for review in the first few questions

❌ Rushing through early questions to “save time”

✅ Give full attention to early questions – they significantly impact your section difficulty progression

4.     Insufficient Practice

❌ Trying different orders in every mock test

✅ Practice your chosen strategy consistently in at least 2-3 mocks before test day

5.     Break Mismanagement

❌ Not planning your break strategically

✅ Plan your break based on your chosen strategy and section order

Remember: Both strategies work, but they require consistent practice and proper implementation. If your scores aren’t aligning with your practice performance, review these points before switching strategies.

5. The Bottom Line

Which strategy is the best? The answer is simple – the one that consistently works for YOU.

Both the Comfort-First and Strength-First approaches have helped hundreds of students achieve their target scores. What matters is choosing the strategy that aligns with your testing patterns and preparation metrics.

When implemented correctly, either strategy helps reduce the uncertainty of test day performance. While test day nerves are inevitable, having a well-practiced, data-backed section order ensures your scores better reflect your true ability.

Next Steps:

1. Review your last 3 mock scores tonight
2. Analyze your performance patterns using the criteria we discussed
3. Choose and lock in your strategy
4. Schedule your next mock to practice your chosen approach

Already tried either strategy? Share your experience below – what worked and what didn’t?

Good luck with your GMAT!