👋 Hello, my friends at GRE Prep Club!

There will be times on the GRE when you face a problem that feels within reach. You understand the concept, and you are confident that with enough time, you could work it out. Yet because of a small misstep in calculation or because you are a bit out of practice with that type of question, the solution is not coming together as quickly as you would like. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking.

In this situation, it is natural to want to double down. Many test-takers think, “If I just stay with this problem for another minute, I will get it.” The risk, however, is that minutes on the GRE are precious. Spending five minutes on a single question, even one you eventually solve correctly, can leave you without the time you need for later questions that you could have answered more efficiently. In that scenario, the correct answer comes at too high a cost.

That does not mean you should abandon every question the moment you encounter resistance. There are times when persistence makes sense. If you recognize exactly where you went wrong, such as solving for the wrong variable or skipping a step you can quickly fix, continuing may be worthwhile. In other words, if you can clearly see the path to the solution, even if you are a bit behind on time, finishing the problem may still be the best choice.

The key is judgment. If you are stuck without progress, and the minutes continue to slip away, the better move is to make an educated guess, mark the problem if the system allows, and move forward. If you happen to have time at the end of the section, you can revisit it. More often than not, though, saving those minutes will pay off because it allows you to maximize your score across the entire section rather than investing too heavily in a single question.

GRE success is not only about accuracy. It is also about efficiency, pacing, and making sound decisions under pressure. Part of being a strong test-taker is knowing when to press forward and when to let go.

Reach out to me with any questions about your GRE prep. Happy studying!

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep