Time Management — 27 Questions in 47 Minutes

GRE Quantitative · Axiom Academy

27 questions, 47 minutes — how to budget every second so the clock never beats you. Divide the section's total time by its question count and you get a hard per-question allowance. 47 minutes ÷ 27 questions ≈ 1 minute 44 seconds per question — that's the average, not a rule for every single question, but it's the number the whole section has to average out to. 2. The Skip-and-Return Strategy Not every question deserves equal effort. The strategy that keeps you inside the 1:44 average is a priority order , enforced by one hard rule: if you haven't solved a problem within 2 minutes , mark your best guess and move on. You can return later if time allows — but you never let one question eat the time budgeted for three others. Spend ~1–2 minutes each. You should get nearly all of these right — they're where the budget is protected. Give it 1–2 minutes. If it's not cracking, guess and move on — a missed hard question costs ~1 point; 5 wasted minutes there costs 2–3 points elsewhere. In the final minute, guess on everything remaining. Multiple choice gives ~20% odds; a blank gives 0%. No solve by 2:00 → best guess, flag it, move on. This one rule is what makes the whole budget hold together. The common mistake this rule prevents Spending 3–4 minutes on one hard problem "just to finish it" feels productive — but it silently steals the time you needed for two or three easier questions you'd have solved correctly. Skipping isn't giving up; it's protecting the rest of the section.

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