Hi,

I keep reading on the forums that leaving a question blank hurts one's score more than guessing incorrectly hurts one's score. I just want to clarify that this argument is not factoring in the likelihood of guessing correctly as the inherent reason for arguing that guessing is better?

I ask this question because I took the GMAT this weekend and made a 760 (Q47, V48). I left the last question on Quant blank, though (felt confident that I got the 2nd to last question correct)...time then expired while I was reading the final question before I could make an educated guess. So I am wondering if I hurt myself more by running out of time and leaving it blank than by not guessing incorrectly? I'm also wondering to what extent I hurt myself -- would my Quant score possibly have gone up to 48 and my overall 770 (according to http://www.800score.com/score2.html a 48/48 is a 770)?

Thanks!

Nope, there is an actual additional penalty for not answering a question. The only way to do this, of course, is to run out of time and not finish the test. They have explicitly told us that, in a hypothetical situation, someone going into the last 5 Qs at the 70th percentile will drop to about the 64th percentile if they guess and get 1 right and 4 wrong (random odds), and to the 55th(!!) percentile if they leave the 5 blank.

But it's not just that the person got that one right. You know the experimental questions that don't count? Well if you run out of time and leave a Q blank that was SUPPOSED to be an experimental question, it'll still count against you. But if you answer it incorrectly, then nothing happens (because it's experimental).

Wow I just got to your next paragraph. Nice work!! Did you put an answer in but didn't have time to click next and confirm? It will still accept that as an answer.

If you left it blank then, yes, you did hurt yourself a LITTLE bit more than answering incorrectly. But for just one question, it wouldn't have been a huge difference. Would that have been enough to tip you up to the next score? Possibly - no way to tell how close you were to the next level.

But, honestly, just go out and celebrate. :)

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Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT