GMAT Online - What We Know [Master Topic]

Quiet a piece of luck I have.
Dates are already filled for December in-person exams. Have to go for the online one.
Can just hope for a humane proctor now.

I am going through the same situation

Hey thanks for the resource! It is indeed helpful.
What order do you suggest for the test day then? Should I start with AWA?

Update on GMAT ONLINE exam disconnection issues.

As I thought this exam could not be any weirder for me, I keep being surprised with a whole new level of weirdness!

THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE AND WHAT I DID GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, AND OBVIOUSLY NOT EXTENDABLE TO OR ADVISABLE TO PERFORM ON OTHER CASES

My timeline today:
- I started my GMAT Online by launching OnVue, I followed on-screen instructions and everything went forward smoothly. did the quant and verbal.

- I didn't risk leaving the desk during the 5min IR break, THERE ARE TWO BUTTONS ON THE SCREEN "SKIP BREAK" AND "TAKE BREAK" do not forget to press the "TAKE BREAK" button if you want to take it! still, apparently, it does not guarantee that GMAC wont terminate the exam session if you leave the webcam, according to some test takers.

- at this point if the weather is cold and you do have the exam stress like me, during this break you most probably realize there is a serious urge to go to the bathroom, but nevertheless, I didn't risk leaving the desk, thinking that IR is not that much of a deciding factor for the schools (I might be wrong tho)

- to prevent future trouble do not forget to show your physical board's both sides before the IR. there is no strict warning telling you to do so at that stage, but not showing the board might put you in trouble later. so I showed the board and continued.

- 10 mins before the end, the surprise crawled in, and I got disconnected from the internet

-OnVue browser showed "This site cannot be reached" message and a reload button.

-Only after a few attempts to reload did I realize that I am disconnected, the reload button doesn't work, I am on wifi and I didn't tick the "automatic reconnect" to my network SO DEFINITELY TICK YOUR AUTOMATIC RECONNECT TO WIFI!!

-remember that you do not see your start menu to notice you are connected or not, and you do not have any access to your desktop because of a BrowserLock.exe process which runs simultaneously with OnVue app, to prevent you from accessing anything other than OnVue.

-Since I had no other choice, and the keyboard was not doing anything, I pressed ctrl+alt+del and a message popped: "ctrl+alt+del detected. the browser will now terminate" I remember trying this before, during the "System test" a few days ago. (hope GMAC does not read this thread ever! might affect my scores)

- I thought "OH GOD! once again you need to build a case and follow up and all that trouble...".
-Out of curiosity when I connected again, first I terminated the OnVUE and BROWSERLOCK.exe using the Task manager, then I ran the OnVue app once again, miserably accepting my fate and waiting to be refused access to the exam!

- it asked for my 9 digit access code, and when I put it in,

- VOILA! the webcam/mic/net speed test page appeared (this wont appear if you are refused access, because I tried this with my previous failed attempt).

- so at the beginning of the exam don't forget to write your access code somewhere. I had taken a screenshot with WINDOWS+PRNT SCRN buttons (automatically saves the screenshot in your "Pictures" folder) at the beginning of the exam.

- you can also write it in your phone. and dont worry about the webcam recording it, because the webcam has not started recording yet when you are offered a 9 digit code at the beginning, or when you have restarted OnVue.

-Back to the timeline: So at this point I was connected again.

- after that, the chat box appeared with proctor messages saying he had lost my video, and paused the exam! (I was lucky he didn't terminate it this time) , so I wrote to him that I am reconnected.

- he still didn't have the webcam feed, so I closed and opened the OnVue once more (this time more confidently) and I got back on track, with tons of distraction for the remaining questions.

This plot twist took me an extra 45 mins, and you do remember the bathroom urge! Im telling you The GMAT online also tests your urinary bladder capacity. Im sure I would get a perfect 800 in that test.

Cheers. hope none of this happens even to your most hated ones

Thanks so much for sharing!!! I have updated you as the owner of the first post as Mykrasovsky moved on Tuck and busy MBA life.
Hope you take good care of the first post and the "WIKI" element of this almost 3,000 post topic!

Since the exam day is a bit stressful and things might get complicated, I thought I should share the checklist I created prior to my exam

"1 HOUR LEFT TO THE GMAT ONLINE EXAM" CHECKLIST

it goes as follows:

• 1-Unplug the landline phones.
  
• 2-Lock the door to prevent people from entering accidentally
  
• 3-Turn off the doorbell if you are alone.
  
• 4-CHECK YOUR INTERNET QUOTA – SOME INTERNET PROVIDERS APPLY USAGE QUOTA (EITHER WIFI OR HOTSPOT). YOU ARE CONSTANTLY UPLOADING YOUR VIDEO FOR 3HRS GIVE OR TAKE, SO BE CAREFUL NOT TO RUN OUT OF GIGABYTES.
  
• 5-Check your prepaid phone balance! You might need to accept or make international calls which are a bit more costly than domestic ones.
• 6-Fetch your ID, with your credentials written in English, exactly the same way as in your profile (with a signature on it I guess! As stated in the GMAC rules). If you are from a GMAC-restricted country due to local data privacy rules, I will share some valuable information later that might be helpful. READ HERE!
  
• 7-GO TO THE BATHROOM!! You will thank me later for this.
  
• 8-Close extra windows, doors, turn off washing machines, microwaves, anything with a beeping or humming noise around you to prevent distraction. Maybe even analog clocks with a ticking sound??
  
• 9-Set up the Air Conditioning to have a convenient temperature during the test, a little cool temperature somewhere around 20~23 Celsius is advised, to sharpen your math skills.
  
• 10-Terminate your PC updates.
  
• 11-Fetch your CLEAN whiteboard, 2 markers, and one eraser.
  
• 12-I GUESS a bottle of water is permitted, because one of the proctors told me so right at the beginning of my exam. However, nowhere else did I see this information.
  
• 13-Silent your mobile phone(s) and turn off vibration. You do not need to put your phone aside until the point where you are already done checking in and are asked to do so. When you want to put it aside, it is better that you still be visible on the webcam while moving farther. Until the proctor does not see you seated, he/she won't release your exam in the first place.

How long are GMAT online scores generally taking to post for folks nowadays? Official messaging says 7 business days, but my account says it could take up to 20 days if they need to verify something or there is an issue. Took it on Saturday 12/5, got another scheduled 12/23, but would really like results ASAP on the 12/5 test, as it would help me focus toward 12/23...

Funny that I would write that post. I just got results, but my mba.com account is freezing up and won't display my percentages.

Hi - I took the test at a center today and completely bombed it. Significantly lower than my mocks and even lower that my baseline test pre-studying. I have really bad test anxiety, which definitely was a factor. As such I am debating taking it at home 2 days from now. Do I have to wait 16 days in between the test center and online versions? Or can I go ahead and take it?

Hello. You can go ahead and take your online attempt. There isn't any requirement to wait for 16 days between two modes. Hope you will overcome your anxiety and do well. All the best

Posted from my mobile device

Did you get the score you wanted? Is that the 660 you have on the profile or this is a new one?

Hey,

does anybody know whether you can truly choose between the regular gmat and the online gmat? My regular GMAT exam at a test center got cancelled for no reason (at least they did not state a specific reason) and there were no test dates available for December so that I had to opt for the GMATonline.

However, I just read on the mba website that in order to be eligible to take the GMATonline, Test Centers MUST be closed, which is not the case in my region. Can anyone confirm that I am eligible to take the GMATonline? All other information published by gmac sounds as if the GMAT online does not depend on test center closures...

Thanks in advance!

Hi. The mba. com has some conflicting information (some of it is not updated timely and some of it is outdated while some pages just seem to disappear at times).
Yes, anyone can schedule a GMAT Online regardless of your test center status in your local area with exception of a few exotic countries.

ALso, you do not have to wait to take the GMAT Online and can take it same day or next day as your test-center based exam, and many people do take these right away back to back, some with success.

Quote from mba.com:

Hi - I had a question regarding the rescheduling of my online exam (4 days left).

Can I reschedule my Online GMAT to Test-Center in Bangalore, India? If yes, so what fee is applicable? Since I see $25 for rescheduling online whereas $150 for rescheduling in-person (less than 14 days left).

Thanks for the reply bb

Another question - I have read the Pre-Testday Checklist and found it incredibly helpful. Is there anything to do before the actual testday? I know that I have to run the check on the mba website, but do I also have to download anything or run a check from OnVue Proctoring?

Thanks again for any help! I appreciate it!

For all folks from
Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan who are not permitted to take the GMAT ONLINE test,
I have figured out how this policy is enforced and I am sharing how I FINALLY took my exam

As stated by GMAC:

“the exam is available in most locations, with the exception of: Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan due to regulatory and local data privacy rules.”

LOCAL DATA POLICY RULES part implies that if you are for example an Iranian (my case) but you are located somewhere else at the test day, for example Armenia (again my case) you can take the test. You expect the system to perform a location check and say “OK you are good to go”
BUT YOU CANNOT!

I exchanged 10+ emails with GMAC and Pearson arguing this issue but they keep either forgetting or postponing it. So at some point I gave up convincing them, and complied by their rules.

First, How does GMAC check where you come from?

Two checks are done:

1- The OnVue browser checks your IP and determines your internet location. So if it encounters IP’s from the mentioned countries, it will prevent you from continuing. I tested this with an OnVue system test feature on 8 December 2020 with an IP from Iran, and could not connect to Pearson servers. Now this raises the question: Does Iran filter access to Pearson website? Or Does Pearson deny service to a request from Iran? I DON’T KNOW.

2- When registering the online exam, your profile is checked, and if in your profile your address is registered in one of the above-mentioned countries, it wont let you continue with even the exam registration, EVEN IF YOU ARE PHYSICALLY LOCATED OUTSIDE THE RESTRICTED COUNTRIES (I tried this) stating that “the service is not available in your country” which, I know, is dumb! There are thousands if not millions of Iranians and Chinese living in the US with an H1B or F1 visa, and obviously none of them have violated the LOCAL data policy rules! Still, they cannot take the ONLINE test unless they ask Pearson to change their country, and then take the test NOT USING THEIR PASSPORT AS ID, but maybe a driver’s license or other US-issued ID.

How I passed these two checks?

1- I usually travel to Armenia. So I fixed a date for my exam that I knew I would be there. To be frank I don’t know if VPN will work to mask your real IP, but what I know is VPN’s have their own downside or IP leak. Pearson might have developed other methods to check the leak or other factors such as your system time zone, phone location, etc. so VPN is a risky option. Also note that Pearson says VPN is not recommended but it does not mark it prohibited.

2- I have an Armenia issued special passport, and it took me 45 days to have GMAC and PEARSON change my profile’s “Country” entry from Iran to Armenia. I of course provided a scanned ID.

Failed workarounds and tips to consider:

• I first tried creating a new ID with my Armenian credentials, but mba.com detected and joined the two accounts to eachother, keeping my former info.
• As it turns out, each person has TWO profiles, one on mba.com (OFFLINE PROFILE they call), one on Pearsonvue.com (ONLINE profile)!!
• When I sent emails, GMAC customer service updated my “OFFLINE” profile info to Armenia, (the one you see on mba.com) BUT
• Pearson had not changed my “ONLINE” profile info (the one you see after clicking on ”register an online test” on the top left). As it turns out, GMAC AND PEARSON ARE SEPARATE ENTITIES! And do not have much information from eachother. So I separately sent emails to GMATCandidateServicesEMEA@pearson.com (for my region obviously) to have them change my country in my ONLINE profile.
• Only then was I able to register for an exam: with a non-Iranian ID and when I was not located in Iran, with my country in both OFFLINE AND ONLINE profiles set as somewhere other than Iran.
• I showed my Armenian ID at the test day.
  

I am not sure that rescheduling will allow you to give the exam at the center when you scheduled an appointment for the online test.
If you want to give an in-person exam you have to cancel your online appointment and schedule for an offline one. (if only you don't want to give the exam both ways)