It might be anxiety. It might be a shaky sense of timing. Or maybe the opening questions feel harder than expected, and suddenly the clock feels unforgiving. Whatever the trigger, on test day you may notice yourself leaning more than usual on GRE features, opening the calculator frequently, marking many questions to revisit, and hopping back and forth across the section. In the moment, it can feel like a survival tactic. But used too heavily, these tools can quietly work against you.

Take the mark-for-review feature first. When used sparingly, it’s useful. But repeatedly flagging questions, checking the review screen, and trying to recreate your original thought process each time you return costs more time than most students realize. The GRE rewards steady momentum. If you do need to mark a question, do it decisively and move on. The objective is to progress forward with confidence, not to rely on the review screen as a safety net.

The same caution applies to the calculator. It’s available on Quant for a reason, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the best option. The on-screen calculator is slow, and using it for problems that can be solved with estimation, mental math, or basic number properties can disrupt your flow. In some cases, by the time you finish entering the calculation, you’ve lost track of what the question was testing in the first place. During preparation, it’s important to build judgment around when the calculator truly adds value and when it simply adds friction. That judgment matters even more under test-day pressure.

If your practice tests were taken seriously, you should already have a solid sense of how these tools fit into your overall strategy. So if you notice yourself relying on them far more during the real exam, it’s worth reflecting on why. Was there a content gap you hadn’t fully addressed? Did you start the section too fast and struggle to recover? Or did the pressure of the official setting affect your decision-making?

Identifying the root cause is how improvement starts. These tools aren’t meant to compensate for uncertainty or replace strategy. They’re designed to complement a clear, disciplined approach. As you continue practicing or prepare for a retake, pay attention to your habits. Be intentional. Use the tools thoughtfully, not reflexively, and keep control of your test-taking process.

If you have questions about your GRE prep, feel free to reach out. Happy studying.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep