TL;DR: How a power cut and other irregularities affected my score and how Pearson VUE does not want to take responsibility.
I was supposed to take my exam on the 21st of November at 9am. When I got to the test center, there was no power. It took 30 minutes for the test admins to get the generator running. Because of the delay, my exam was successfully rescheduled to the 23rd. The following are the irregularities I had to endure on the 23rd:
1. Despite arriving at the test center 30 minutes before the scheduled time, the test administrator was late and I only began taking the exam 15 minutes after 9am. I always took my practice exams from 9am to 12:46pm. I can take a 5 minute delay, but 15 minutes or more can produce unexpected results.
2. At the beginning of the Quant section, the computer I was using abruptly shut down. It took an additional 5-7 minutes for the administrator to power the computer up and sign me back in.
3. This is the big one! 10 questions into the verbal section and on the second question of my first RC passage, the test center generator died. It took about 10 minutes for the generator to come back on and for the administrator to sign me back in. I had to recalibrate and read portions of the passage again.
"We have researched on concern and found out that your exam was started 15 minutes later because of some technical issue occurred at the scheduled time. Yes, your system was restarted twice, however, there was no time lost because of this issue. You were able to see all the content during your exam and attended all the questions without any error. "
Really? Because there was no time lost then everything is okay? The people who administer the exam sound like they have never taken the exam before! If I am in a rhythm, a rhythm I have been building since March, any sudden interruption could be the death of my score. Must I add sudden power cuts and interruptions to my practice exam routine to really prepare for this exam Pearson VUE? The GMAT is a very hard, competitive exam...it does not need help! Do not make it worse.
I am posting this because I will to take the GMAT again, but before I do so I have to make this public and let everyone know how in some developing countries, Pearson VUE test centers are not up to par. $250 is a lot of money(that's literally my monthly grocery budget). If MBA schools are going to compare my score to the score of an American candidate, can we all at the very least take the exam under the similar conditions.
Thank you.
I was supposed to take my exam on the 21st of November at 9am. When I got to the test center, there was no power. It took 30 minutes for the test admins to get the generator running. Because of the delay, my exam was successfully rescheduled to the 23rd. The following are the irregularities I had to endure on the 23rd:
1. Despite arriving at the test center 30 minutes before the scheduled time, the test administrator was late and I only began taking the exam 15 minutes after 9am. I always took my practice exams from 9am to 12:46pm. I can take a 5 minute delay, but 15 minutes or more can produce unexpected results.
2. At the beginning of the Quant section, the computer I was using abruptly shut down. It took an additional 5-7 minutes for the administrator to power the computer up and sign me back in.
3. This is the big one! 10 questions into the verbal section and on the second question of my first RC passage, the test center generator died. It took about 10 minutes for the generator to come back on and for the administrator to sign me back in. I had to recalibrate and read portions of the passage again.
"We have researched on concern and found out that your exam was started 15 minutes later because of some technical issue occurred at the scheduled time. Yes, your system was restarted twice, however, there was no time lost because of this issue. You were able to see all the content during your exam and attended all the questions without any error. "
Really? Because there was no time lost then everything is okay? The people who administer the exam sound like they have never taken the exam before! If I am in a rhythm, a rhythm I have been building since March, any sudden interruption could be the death of my score. Must I add sudden power cuts and interruptions to my practice exam routine to really prepare for this exam Pearson VUE? The GMAT is a very hard, competitive exam...it does not need help! Do not make it worse.
I am posting this because I will to take the GMAT again, but before I do so I have to make this public and let everyone know how in some developing countries, Pearson VUE test centers are not up to par. $250 is a lot of money(that's literally my monthly grocery budget). If MBA schools are going to compare my score to the score of an American candidate, can we all at the very least take the exam under the similar conditions.
Thank you.
