GMAT 2025: Section Order Shift & 7 Key Trends
Review: Old Format Question Patterns at the End of 2024
At that time, I pointed out two main points:
- Verbal Section: You’d see 3-4 Reading Comprehension (RC) passages back-to-back, with no Critical Reasoning (CR) questions mixed in. This really tested your reading endurance.
- Data Insights Section: This section kicked off with a string of Data Sufficiency (DS) questions. You had to nail these quickly to avoid a serious time crunch later on.
Now, listen up, test-takers: This pattern has changed!
About a month ago, around March 2025, I started noticing something different. Because I dig into the latest score reports daily, I gradually realized the old patterns weren’t reliable anymore.
Here are the 7 latest question trends I’ve spotted from at least 30 GMAT score reports in the past month.
New Insights: 7 Latest Question Trends for 2025 (with Exam Strategies)
1. Q Section: First Half Focuses on REAL (Applied), Second Half on PURE (Abstract)
Applied problems, the ones with practical scenarios, are clustered in the earlier part of the Quant section. Purely abstract calculation problems tend to show up more in the latter half.
- Strategic Impact: If you’re a slower reader, you need to be extra careful here! Spending too much time on those real-world scenarios early on will leave you scrambling for time on the abstract problems later.
2. Q Section: Specific Topics Have Fixed Question Placement
Topics like Counting, Sets, Series, Probability, and Statistics tend to appear in the first half. Algebra, and Rates, Ratio, and Percent problems are also common there. Value, Order, and Factor-related questions are more likely to show up in the second half.
3. V Section: RC Passages Are Now Separated
Now, you’ll typically see only three RC passages (it’s rare to encounter four), and these passages are broken up by at least 1-3 CR questions.
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- Strategic Impact: This is actually good news if you struggle with reading stamina or speed. It gives you a bit more breathing room.
4. V Section: “CR Streaks” Appear in the Later Part
Towards the end of the Verbal section, expect to see a streak of 5-7 CR questions.
- Strategic Impact: This means CR stamina is incredibly important. You cannot afford to lose your logical thinking ability due to fatigue towards the end of the exam.
5. DI Section: May Feature Two MSR Passages
The DI section might now include more than one MSR passage; quite a few test-takers have reported seeing two!
MSR passages usually pop up in two specific question ranges: either between questions 3-8 or between questions 10-16. They haven’t shown up in the first couple of questions or the last few.
- Strategic Impact: If you don’t handle MSR passages efficiently, they can really throw off your pace in the middle of the exam.
6. DI Section: Opening Returns to Mixed Question Types
The start of the DI section isn’t just DS questions anymore. The first few questions have gone back to being a mix of different question types.
7. DI Section: Focus Shifts Back to Math in the Latter Part
The final five questions in the DI section are almost always math-focused (like DS or GT questions that require calculations).
Why Do You Need to Know This?
If you’re not on the front lines analyzing the latest score reports daily, you’d never catch these subtle, behind-the-scenes shifts.
But knowing about these changes in advance lets you prepare smarter. On exam day, you’ll face fewer surprises and be able to perform your best with more confidence!
(I’ve included three samples for each section in the images below so you can see for yourself, but I actually have over 30 samples I can show you.)
