I worked for years at low-paying jobs in Korea as a translator and editor (tedious, exhausting work) translating dreck to make my bosses richer.

My first practice exam score, before any study, was 650 ish. I didn't study for the verbal bc I usually get 99th pctl on verbal in standardized tests w/o studying. I should have studied the Manhattan sentence completion book, I lost a few points on SC.

I studied about 4 hrs a day for quantitative using Magoosh. Beyond 4 hrs of study/day my head would hurt. Magoosh seemed ok and worth the price. I should have studied more for probabilities and permutations. The rest of the quantitative section was relatively easy.

I only got 4 hrs of sleep the night before the test due to anxiety.

I took the test at a Pearson VUE center in Korea. The woman who scanned my hand and ID looked at me with utter contempt. She knew she could get away with it because my future was in her hands.

The person taking a test at the next desk was a big ugly male. He kept grunting/shouting loudly during the entire second part of the exam (verbal). He was trying to sabotage me. I was hurt and disturbed but I don't think my score was affected. I finished the exam at least 5 minutes early and was the first to leave the test center.

I scored very low on the AWA, I think due to not being warmed up, trying to be too polished, and writing a small amount. I thought writing (at least at that basic level) was one of my strengths due to years of working as a translator.

Result: Verbal 45 / 99%, Quantitative 48 / 78%, AWA 4.5 / 39%

Evidence of my score: https://imgur.com/3cWDnie

I ended up not applying to any MBA programs due to social anxiety and lack of money. I was also in my mid 30s already.