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!
