GMAT Strategy

Anybody taken GMAT at Kolkata center ?

Address :
Xenitis Technolab Pvt Ltd,Salt lake city, Kolkata, WEST Bengal, India


Any details about the facility is much appreciated.

Hi,

I took the test in kolkata centre on 23rd april 2011.

The overall experience was good. People were helpful & active. I visited the centre a day before. Its exactly opp haldiram's shop.

U might want to wear a full shirt or a light jacket as the Ac is very effective & u might feel a little cold. Apart from that keyboard quality was not very gud & it made sound while typing essays.

all in all gud experience. let me know if u need any more information.

When r u taking the test?

Thank you Ankur. Actually I am in Ranchi. I took my GMAT here some time back and had very a bad experience.

1>they gave me wet notepad in verbal(this was the same notepad which I had used in quant) on which the pen wont work(until I wiped it with my shirt)
2>light went out twice (the second time the pc managed to hang on via UPS power but lights went off-:/)
3>the invigilator was talking continuously on phone throughout the AWA until i shouted at him at start of quant.
4>the nearby lift's sound buzzed in the entire testing room the moment someone used the lift.
5>there were loudspeakers at the basement of the building for some BABA giving his preaching.

the 5th above point was inevitable(my bad luck) and not attributable to the test center.


However because of my desperation to do well on the test I still managed to equal the best score I achieved on gmat preps.

One distinct advantage I felt at this center was in verbal section. As I was alone and I was mouthing the RC's and CR's to comprehend them-trust me this helps a lot to grasp the content.
I talked to the center person this week. He assured he will give me the best possible environment this time over. But I wanna consider using the kolkata center once.

My queries :
1>should I expect similar solitude at Calcutta center ? or are there people sitting on top of each other as in Mumbai and Delhi ? From the reservation status on mba.com, looks like Kolkata centres are usually empty.

2>are there any good hotels near the test center ?(i can Google this but if u r nearby u can tell me better)
3>I cannot go there a day in advance to check the center(workload) so I will take your words and take a call within a week.


Test date- July second half- TBD

Thanks IN advance Ankur, I know M asking a lot from u in one post.

Dude some corrections from my side:

I gave the test in Xenitis technolab , which is situated on A.J.C bose road & not in salt Lake. So my feedbacks were for the one at A.J.C bose road.

Anyways:

1) The center in which i gave the test was absolutely full proof. No sounds, no wet notepad, no noise, no lifts sound.

2) It wasn't too crowded. Only two people were giving GMAt at that time.I too have a feeling that kolkata centres are generally empty.

3) There are many good hotels in Salt Lake city, where ur centre is. Depending on ur budget I can suggest u one for sure.

Ok if u take my words u should be safe with the centre as my experience with them was good. The people were very professional & friendly & i have absolutely no complaints against them.

I will always bet on kolkata centre than on Ranchi one. I know the condition of ranchi, as i have spent my 4 golden years dere.

thanks for the details, it was indeed helpful, btw i talked to another guy from gmatclub.com and he too said that the xenitis center is in some minto park(is this the place u are also talking about ? )

mba.com says this :
Address :
Xenitis Technolab Pvt Ltd
Address: 240 B, A.J.C. Bose Road. (1st Floor).
Kolkata, WES 700020
IND

Directions :
Rabindra Sadan is a popular location in Kolkata. Once one reaches Rabindra Sadan, one can walk to the Crossing where the EXIDE HOUSE and HALDIRAM'S FAST FOOD SHOP is located. One can see the building just beside the EXIDE HOUSE, having a Petrol Pump in front of it, that is our Pearson Vue Select Testing Center (1st Floor).



when i click on the map, it says : BE-84, Salt Lake City, Sector I,, Kolkata IND. -> I think this is wrong.


how far is this center from airport OR Howrah station ? I will make a final call by 25 June and let ya know.

mba.com says this :
Address :
Xenitis Technolab Pvt Ltd
Address: 240 B, A.J.C. Bose Road. (1st Floor).
Kolkata, WES 700020
IND

This is exactly the place where i gave my test.

The map link is faulty . U can do one thing . U can call on their number & ask whether they have a branch in salt lake. This way u can cross check.

From Howrah station the centre at AJC bose road will be around 25 -30 minutes. From airport it will be approx an hour.

Please feel free to ask if u have any further queries.

for the moment I got all the info that I wanted, thanks to u ankur, I will meet the ranchi center co-ordinator in a week or so. Another local guy who is a prominent maths teacher-(BTG username-gmaths) in the city also has to take his gmat. So both of us will meet the proctor and if we feel anything might go wrong, We'll switch to Kolkata.

But I wana contemplate my own city first, because the night before's sleep and the food before test are also big risk factors. These things will be perfect here and I just have to travel a KM. So if rest is fine, who knows I might be on way to glory here itself.

All the best to u if u are retaking. Let me know if I can help u in any way on ur journey.

Hi Ankur,
From your posting, I came to know that you have recently taken GMAT in Kolkata test center. As a matter of fact, I have my appointment in the same center on 25th July. However, I am not a kolkata domicile. You can say that Bhopal is my home town and currently I am based in Bhopal.

Well, I had few more questions on the test center and your test experience-

1. Was you are other candidates, who were taking the exam during the same time slot, sitting in separate cubicles or its a kind of open area where everyone can see everyone. The intent is to know how much disturbance can one expect ( say others walking in-front of you, getting the sound of others typing on their keyboards etc )

2. You mention the AC was quite freezing - was it too much of an effect. I can understand its tough to focus when its cold but what according to you would be the best outfit suited to wear on the test day , based on your experience.

3. I heard that if someone wants to come out and use even the washrooms during the 8 minute breaks ( AWA - Quants & Quants - Verbal) it takes time as one has to sign in and sign out..may be few other formalities which I am not aware. Can you share some of your experience during the breaks. I believe water is available in the test room itself.

4. I can assume that you are a non-smoker, but did you find people going out for a smoke during the two 8 minute breaks. I assume that even though Kolkata has a smoking culture, the GMAT center won't allow anyone to smoke in the washrooms during the breaks.- Any experience or observation on these lines

5. Were you provided earmuffs during the test.

Hi,

I want to bring to the notice of Pearson VUE (and fellow test takers) my experience of taking GMAT in the Kolkata centre.

I took my GMAT on May 24, 2014. My test was scheduled to begin at 10:30 am. Although I stay in Kolkata, I reached the test centre quite early (at about 9:20-9:30 am) in order to avoid any unforeseen traffic issues. I had visited the centre before so there was no problem locating it; the location anyway is quite good, should not be difficult to find out even for an outsider. The centre wore a sleepy, deserted look when I reached and there was only a security guard to be seen. In about next 5-10 mins I was joined by 3 more candidates - with 10 am, 10:30 am and 11 am slots. Even as the clock ticked close to 10, there seemed no sign of any activity whatsoever at the centre. Growing anxious, we asked the security guard the whereabouts of the officials. He seemed to make a few calls and informed us that the officials would arrive in a few minutes. 15 mins past 10 and no official to be seen, we started pestering the only person in sight - the guard - to do something about the delay. After some time, a senior looking guy came out and told us one of the test supervisors had just called sick, so he had asked the other one to fill in for him and that the other supervisor would be reaching shortly. 10:30, 10:45, still nothing. We asked the guard what was the matter. The guard hesitantly told us that this was a routine thing here and no test started before 11-11:30 am. Finally at around 11:30 am, a lady entered the centre quite nonchalantly and we were informed that it was she who would be supervising our tests. A deep sigh of relief! The first guy (with the 10 am slot) was called in at around 12 noon followed by the second and finally I was called in at about 12:30 pm. Needless to stay we were all sitting there throughout (3 hours in my case), trying to keep ourselves fresh and mentally awake, fighting anxiety and hunger by munching on whatever we had brought for the intervals. The washroom was so dirty and stinky that one could not even drink enough water freely, for obvious reasons. By the time I entered the test room, I was quite tired both mentally and physically, given that Kolkata is quite hot and humid in May. In the area where we were waiting, there was no AC and we had to manage with a pedestal fan. Even inside the test room, there was no semblance of an AC (at least I did not find it any cooler) and I distinctly remember a noisy fan operating throughout. Rest of it was quite okay, no complains.
Now that I look back I feel I am lucky to have managed a decent score, but I do feel the whole situation did affect my performance. e.g. I performed worst on AWA, followed by IR and Quant (the exact sequence of the sections) - it may be a coincidence, or general nerves, but you never know! In any case, I'd have definitely preferred the 10:30 am start, given that I had conditioned myself for these timings throughout my practice regime.

Guys, I do not intend to discourage you from opting Kolkata, but I do want you to be prepared for something I had no clue about. The organizers are requested to do something serious about it, since the test centre really does not match up to the quality expected of it. I sincerely hope that mine was a one-off day and I'd be happy to know that I am wrong in my general assessment of the centre.

Cheers!

Manya Abroad - The Princeton Review has a center in Kolkata where we provide GMAT coaching to students at our center. We would suggest you to visit our center and schedule for a free demo class to see the quality of the coaching and then evaluate yourself to make an informed decision.

Let us know if in case you have any query regarding the GMAT courses available and we would be glad to help you out.

Manya Abroad - The Princeton Review