First Attempt 670 (Q42 V40) - PC crashed at start of Quant - Retake?

Question

Hey all,

First of all I would like to thank everyone in this forum. Even though I have never posted anything until today, GMATCLUB has been a great source of learning and inspiration.

I took the GMAT today and scored 670 (Q42, V40), after four months of consistent study. At the start of the quant section, after I arrived from the first 8 minute break, the computer in which I was performing my test crashed while the center supervisor was trying to type his user and password in order to resume the exam. The computer crash consumed 3.5 minutes of my available time for quant and, even though I complained about the situation, the test supervisor said that there was nothing he could do and that I should continue with my exam. Starting the quant section with 3.5 minutes less made me very anxious and I'm quite sure I got at least 4 of the first 10 questions wrong. I was able to finish the section with 10 seconds left, however, throughout the whole quant section I felt very nervous.

I do not consider that the questions I was getting in the quant section were much more difficult than the ones I had seen in GMATPREP CAT's, in all of which I scored Q47 (CAT #1 720 - Q47 V42 / CAT #2 680 - Q47 V37 / CAT #3 690 - Q47 V37).

I really believe that my quant score and, as a result my overall score, were seriously hindered as a consequence of the technical problems I faced with the computer at the start of the quant section.

Since the first priority schools I am considering to apply (Cambridge, Oxford, HEC PARIS) have all average GMAT scores of 690 do you believe that I should retake the GMAT within 3 weeks?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

PugLyfe · Answer

You absolutely need to send a formal complaint email to pearson vue. They should grant you a free retake. Considering that you scored a lot lower on test day quant vs mock exams, I don't see why you wouldn't retake.

AjiteshArun · Answer

They should offer a free retake for sure. Make sure that you mention that you were not offered any other option at the center, otherwise they might come back to you saying that you accepted the loss of time.

VeritasPrepEdison · Answer

Thanks for sharing your experience with the community here.

Agree with the above advices, you should definitely request a retake. The difference could be critical in getting admitted or in getting scholarship opportunities later on.

Wish you all the best and look forward to your updates!

gmatgrl · Answer

It is really strange that the test supervisor said that there was nothing he could do and that you should continue with my exam.

Hope you have a written proof of this statement/event from the supervisor.

Which test center was it? Need to be careful of appearing in GMAT from that center.

kdus · Answer

Hi, I took my exam on April 4th, 2016, and this same exact situation happened to me on the Verbal section. Here are the specifics of my story:
 As I was going on my second break right after Quant, the young guy at the center took 2 minutes to check me out for my break (he seemed very unsure of himself, maybe even stoned). I asked him if he was new, to which he replied "yes". In any case, he was being very weird and extremely slow. He was just staring at the computer screen not knowing what to do. I ate my granola bar and quickly used the restroom because I expected this new guy to take another 2 minutes to check me in (very frustrating as he was just blankly staring at the screen and temporarily not doing anything both during check out and check in). He escorted me to my computer, but then he forgot to log me in using his password. I tried resuming the test, but the test asked me for a password. I waved at this guy, and he told me to wait a minute or so for him to get back and help me (in the meantime, the clock is ticking). So he comes over, enters the password, and it's wrong. He enters it again, and the password is wrong again - moreover, the password screen freezes, but the clock is still ticking. I asked him to get someone who knew what they were doing (you can imagine, I was super frustrated and upset at this point). So this new guy comes back with a supervisor, who then enters the right password. At this point, I had lost around 5 minutes; I was also very angry and upset. The supervisor tells me they will add back some of the lost time later on during my test. The stress from this very unprofessional situation affected me so much that I was not able to comprehend most of what I was reading during Verbal. My heart was beating so fast and so loudly that I could literally hear it. This distracted me even more.

Finally, the supervisor and this new employee come back. The supervisor then tells me to get up from my computer, and then takes his time teaching this young kid how to override the system and add back the time lost. During his 1 minute tutorial, my clock was still ticking!!! The supervisor ended giving me only 4 additional minutes (even though originally I lost closer to 5 minutes and his tutorial took an additional 1 minute of my test taking time). I complained to the supervisor that he needed to give me an additional 1 minute he used on the tutorial of the new guy. He told me to just take the test and that 4 additional minutes was plenty. As a net result, I lost 2 minutes on the Verbal section, and I was extremely pissed, frustrated, angry, and furious. And because of this unprofessional situation, I could no longer concentrate on the Verbal questions.

In the end, I ended up a 690 (Q48, V35). I think my true Verbal score should have been around V40-42.

OfficialGMAT · Answer

Hello,

We are investigating these issues with Pearson VUE and will follow up with any further actions or information we'd request from you. Thank you for reaching out.

Thanks,
Jeremy

kdus · Answer

Hi Jeremy,

I'm extremely disappointed with the unprofessional treatment I received from both the Pearson Vue testing center and the Pearson Vue customer service. From my post above, you are well aware why I was disappointed with testing center. However, the customer service seems to be very unprofessional, and here's why:

1)  On Monday April 4th, 2016, I called Pearson Vue GMAT customer service to report an incident. I did this 10 minutes after I finished my exam. During this phone call, I was PROMISED that per Pearson Vue policy my case would be resolved in 3 to 5 business days (5th business day being Friday April 8th, 2016) .

2)  On Thursday April 7th, I started getting worried that no one had reached out to me yet. I called the customer service the same day and was assured that I would receive a resolution on Friday April 8th.

3)  On Friday April 8th, no one made an attempt to reach out to me with a resolution of my case (incident report). I called the customer service again, and was promised that I would hear back on Monday April 11th (which is the 6th business day).

4)  On Monday April 11th, no one made an attempt to reach out to me again!!! Seriously!!!?!?! I did call the customer service again, and I was told to wait (mind you, I was on the phone for exactly 27 minutes). The customer representative then tells me that I will not be receiving a free reschedule for my test because the 240 seconds (4 minutes) compensated to me was fair!!! The Pearson Vue technical department did an investigation and noted that I lost 244 seconds initially (4 minutes and 4 second). FIRST, I told the customer service agent that in reality it was more than 244 seconds because I had to have a small conversation with the test administrator BEGGING to have them add back the time lost (this took time). SECOND, I mentioned that I was EXTREMELY STRESSED about lost time because of technical issue CAUSED by an unprofessional test admin who did not enter a password to log me in into the computer initially, then entered the wrong password. THIRD, I was not even sure if any time was going to be added back to my Verbal section. I ended up guessing on several questions trying to make up lost time. Moreover, I was panicked and stressed to a point where I was not even understanding what I was reading (an adrenaline rush would do that to you in a stressful situation). FOURTH, when the test admin and his supervisor came back, they told me to get up from my computer (meanwhile, the clock is ticking), and then the supervisor started teaching the new/unprofessional test admin how to add back the time (the clock was still ticking, and they were UNFAIRLY using my test taking time for their little tutorial session). All in all I lost closer to 6 minutes, but was compensated only with 4 minutes and TONS OF STRESS.

In the end, all I wanted was a reschedule because of being treated unfairly. Now, I want my money back because I paid $250 for a reschedule yesterday. This time I'm taking the test at a different test center location.

Please do something about it.

Thanks!

OfficialGMAT · Answer

Hello, We think there may be some confusion in matching your complaints here with the complaints we have logged officially. Could you please contact us at socialmedia@mba.com with your GMAT ID or incident number so we can address the issues? Sorry for the delay on working this out. Thank you, Jeremy

alexisporben · Answer

Hello Jeremy,

I wrote an e-mail to GMAT Candidate Services the same day I took the exam. I received an e-mail reply six days ago and I was informed that my case was under review. Since then, I have not received any further information. How long does it usually takes for a case to be reviewed?

Thanks in advance.

OfficialGMAT · Answer

It varies depending on the case and the factors surrounding the investigation. For follow-up, please contact socialmedia@mba.com with your GMAT ID and/or incident number and we can follow-up. Thank you, Jeremy

alexisporben · Answer

Hello,

I would like to inform all of you that today I received an email from GMAT Customer Service in which they offered me a free retake of the exam.

I would like to thank Jeremy, Social Media and Marketing Manager from GMAC, for his help on my case.

VeritasPrepEdison · Answer

Great to hear this, wish you all the best on the rest of your MBA application process. Thank you for sharing!

kdus · Answer

Hi everyone,

I would also like to share with everyone that yesterday, April 18th, I received an email from GMAT Customer Service informing me of a $50 discounted rate to retake the GMAT. Thank you Jeremy for reopening my case.

However, I have already paid $250 for my retake this coming Friday April 22nd. I emailed GMAT Customer Service the same day (April 18th) asking for a $200 refund (in light of the $50 discounted rate offer). I will report when I hear back.

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First Attempt 670 (Q42 V40) - PC crashed at start of Quant - Retake?

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