So... I just took the EA online and while the proctoring experience was good (no complaints!), the OnVue software was a NIGHTMARE to work with!!!
The first time the proctor launched the exam, it caused my MacBook Air to overheat and froze my dock in a way that it obscured some of the buttons on the bottom of the screen. Had to contact the proctors to relaunch the entire thing & had to wait for a nerve-wrecking ~3 mins while the system sorted itself out on the backend.... (nerve-wrecking cos the entire system was unresponsive even when i clicked the relaunch button on the OnVue screen AND when i tried to minimize, maximise, close, or even move the OnVue screen around - I was seriously considering if I should reboot the entire system but thankfully it started responding after a while!).
In the last ~5 mins* my laptop must have gone into powersave mode.... When the test said times up & asked to flash the whiteboard, I realised that the video had stopped (frozen up) cos it didn't capture my movements (nor my attempt to show the cleaned whiteboard). However, the rest of the test went through (Pearson VUE dashboard shows that I no longer have a scheduled exam; under [Past Exams], it says the EA has been successfully delivered).
Panicking now cos I'm not sure if it would be counted as a valid exam.
Have written in on email to enquire.. let's hope they get back soon!
Some other noteworthy observations:
1. Unlike the official GMAC EA prep package, the 30 mins allocated to each section actually span both segments INCLUDING their respective start (instructions) and end (review) pages --> 9 "filler" pages in total. This means you need to pay a lot more attention to the clock than during mocks & try to click through the "filler" pages as quickly as possible. Even the time your system takes to load a page is counted towards the 90mins clock, so only go back to review questions if absolutely necessary!!
2. You're apparently not allowed to speak aloud during the examination (even though you're alone and can't possibly be disturbing anyone else taking the exam) - this was a real bummer especially when tackling sentence correction questions (I tend to read the options aloud so I can hear which sounds better/correct
)
3. With the hiccups in time and system-performance, the actual EA felt a lot harder than the mocks (both the GMAC official prep and the GMATClub EA tests).
*couldn't tell the exact time cos I only realised the computer fan stopped whirling crazily at the last 2 quant questions and the OnVue programme locks up the screen (so you can't see the systems bar which has the battery/wifi connectivity icons)
Edit:
Uploading my GMAC Official Prep Scores and GMATClub Scores (taken on Christmas 2021 and New Year's Day 2022)
Attachments
File comment: GMATClub EA 3&4
Screenshot 2021-12-25 at 6.46.16 PM.png [ 146.35 KiB | Viewed 6224 times ]
File comment: GMATClub EA 1&2
Screenshot 2021-12-25 at 6.46.09 PM.png [ 148.94 KiB | Viewed 6214 times ]
EA 4a.png [ 161.59 KiB | Viewed 6212 times ]
EA 3a.png [ 281.33 KiB | Viewed 6212 times ]
File comment: Official Prep EA 4
86% correct (no EA score-equivalent generated)
EA 4b.png [ 311.43 KiB | Viewed 6193 times ]
File comment: Official Prep EA 3
83% correct (no EA score-equivalent generated)
EA 3b.png [ 229.24 KiB | Viewed 6208 times ]
File comment: Official Prep EA 1&2
EA 1n2.png [ 231.38 KiB | Viewed 6208 times ]