Pathetic Experience in the online GMAT exam
[#permalink]
01 Sep 2021, 06:00
Hey all,
Yesterday, I had my first GMAT exam and I thought it will be better to opt for an online GMAT test pertaining to the Covid situation. The checks went smoothly and my test began. I chose Verbal then Quant. As soon as I reached the third question, the proctor started having issues with my screen sharing. She told me to click on "The Arrow". However, there were only 3 buttons on the screen, next, help and the cross button the close the exam window. I told her there was no arrow but she kept insisting to click on the arrow and that I was not looking properly. I asked her for the arrow's precise location on the screen. She says "its on the screen somewhere". Thereafter, I found a way to switch to the meeting tool the proctor was using and she did some troubleshooting. All this was happening as my timer was clicking. Good 7-8 minutes wasted just because of some technical issue on her end. I had to rush through my verbal section and guess the answers to a few questions too.
Post that, the break started. I called out for the proctor, since you need to show your whiteboard before leaving. No one responded. She responded 3 minutes post my break started. She checked my whiteboard, I rushed to the washroom and came back in a jiffy. I called out for the proctor again. No one there. I still had good 2 minutes left. My break ended and quant section began automatically, proctor had still not responded. I had no option but to get on with my test. As I start solving the first question, proctor came back and said that she needs to do her checks. "Show me your whiteboard, show me around, beneath your table etc.". After the checks, unfortunately both of my markers stopped working. Yeah bad luck. Both of them seemed to be working fine before and yet both of them decided to stop working. I tried to get them to work for a while but they did not work. I called the proctor for help. No response. I had started to panic by this time. I could not leave the work station and get another marker without letting the proctor know. I then decided to use the online whiteboard. If anyone has had experience with the whiteboard, I'm sure they would know what the online whiteboard is like. It kept freezing and windows kept telling me the program is not responding. Proctor has still not responded to my callouts or texts. Its been a little over 10 minutes now and I am still no the first question. Hopeless, I tried solving the questions in my head with whatever little help I was getting from the whiteboard. No time to think questions over, no time to check my calculations. Rushed through my quant section as well. Ended up with a 590.
Kindly, do not appear for GMAT ONLINE. If you do, then you can know what can happen to you too. Proctor was very irresponsible and even though faulty markers weren't her fault, her presence would sure have had made it easier for me to cope up with it. Moreover, as you click the next button or select an option, the window freezes an awful lot. Nothing was wrong with my laptop or internet. I got a new laptop just for this exam. Unfortunate horrible experience.
close
