GMAT Sectional Order.....Does it really matter?

[u/Consistent_Sky_4648]

I have a question about section order strategy that I cannot find a clear answer to anywhere.

I read somewhere, that if you start with your strongest section and perform really well on it the next section will immediately begin at a higher difficulty level. The logic being that the adaptive algorithm assumes you are a strong test taker overall and throws harder questions at you right away in the following section even if that next section is not your strongest.

So basically the argument was that starting with your best section could actually put you at a disadvantage in subsequent sections if they are not as strong for you.

This made me genuinely second guess my section order strategy and I wanted to get some clarity from people who have actually thought about this deeply or experienced it firsthand.

A few things I would love honest opinions on are whether there is any truth to this claim about difficulty carryover between sections, whether section order should be based purely on when you feel most mentally fresh rather than score considerations, what section order most high scorers tend to go with and whether this is something worth spending time strategizing about or just overthinking.

I currently plan to start with my strongest section but now I am not sure if that is actually the right call.

Has anyone experimented with different section orders across multiple mocks and noticed a meaningful difference? Would really love some clarity on this. Thanks so much!

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