What are the odds?

Hey there,
I'm from the city of Bangalore. Today (Actually Yesterday), October 3rd, 2019, was the D-day! Or At least it was supposed to be. I'd booked the date well in advance, way back in the month of June and I thought I'd be all set to go and give my best shot at the test.

The Centre was Pearson Professional, Pride Hulkul, Lalbagh Road, Bangalore. I had the weirdest Test Experience. I speak from my Experience from the JEE, K-CET and the other exams I've previously attended. And, I must say this one stands out for a very odd reason. Of course, there's nothing like the GMAT, but, what I faced today that was totally nothing like the GMAT.

I woke up early and with a little anxiety. But, that wasn't something I could not manage. I visited the Temple next to my home and offered a prayer and asked the Lord to bless me with good fortune. My test was scheduled at 3:00 PM IST. I arrived fresh and with a mindset to go in and give it my best. But, speaking of my Best, I had noticed over the past month or so throughout my preparation, I was nowhere near a top test taker's ability. More about this later. Now, back to the Test Day story.

I arrived at the Pearson Centre early and waited chose to wait to take the appointment as scheduled. I did the formalities and walked into the Test Room. I saw that it was a busy day for the centre. Multiple test-takers were at their desks and in full flow, going about their exams. They looked a lot older than me. Some were tense, some calm composed. I remember telling myself - " Hmm, these people probably have great stories to tell. They seem destined to go to Business School". I could tell how their experiences were turning out, through the look of their faces. *Here's A Tip* On test day, if you're feeling nervous, just try to look around you and observe, You'll see that the others are just as tensed as you! That'll do a great favour and relieve you of the stress in that moment and saves you very important mental energy for the test.

I stepped into the testing room. So far so good. I felt a little anxious, but it was because it was the first time. I sat at my seat and did what the instructor told me to. Alright, I thought that was it. 3 months of preparation will show where I stand today, I thought. I decided to fully focus on the test.

The instructor logged me in. A Blank screen appeared. Hmm. It didn't seem like a problem. I raised my hand. The instructor checked the screen and asked me if I had begun the test. "I hadn't moved an inch until that point" I told him. "Okay, No issues. Move onto the next system" he said. Sure, I got up, picked my things and shifted. I remember telling myself "What could this possibly mean? Nah, this probably happens most of the time here." So, I moved, long story short. The same thing happened again. The instructor seemed a little dazed and told me to wait a minute. He then walks out, probably starts to tell his team about the issue and stuff of that sort. He didn't take a minute. I probably waited for at least 10 minutes before he returned and requested me to kindly wait outside while they try to handle the issue.

I spent the next 30 minutes in the waiting hall, watching these people pacing up and down the test hall as they tried to fix it. I looked at the clock and it was 4:00 PM and I still hadn't begun the test. " What the Hell is going on?!! I hope these people don't give me the shock of my life and tell me my Exam was going to be cancelled!" I thought. As it turned out, If you were to wait for 30 minutes or longer, then the test centre gives you the option to re-take the test for free on a later date. I'm not sure about the other testing centres, but at Pearson they have this policy. "Wow, could this be a blessing in disguise then?" I thought.

Here's some context. I wasn't at the top of my game at the GMAT. I have 90% accuracy in Sentence Correction. I am decent enough at CR. I was miserable at RC. RC brought my Mock Raw scores down so much that I was getting around the V30 mark consistently. And, over these 3 months, I just couldn't give enough time to Quant and was scoring around the Q30s. Yep. The Q30s! Though I am Indian and a male, I don't have an Engineering/Science background. So I think you can understand. But, these Raw scores translated to very poor scores in my mocks. I was getting scores just below the mid 500s. Very mediocre. I'm not going to Business School with these scores! I definitely saw myself taking multiple attempts at this point.

I quickly inquired about the terms of the rescheduling and other details. Without even bothering to ask about today's test first! The people at the centre were quite professional and really helpful. They said I can call the call centre with a unique Case ID (Which they provided me, in written form later) and get a refund processed, and then book another date at mba.com. I thought it was weird, but a good situation. Just think of it. I'd arrived at the test centre, got myself familiar with the environment and I'll be better prepared for the next time ( in a month or two). And yeah! I quickly realized the one thing I was forgetting. I asked them about today's test. They said, at this point, they weren't sure how long it would take to get the issue sorted. But, I'd already made up my mind.

I quickly called my parents and told them about this. They were puzzled and I told them I'll explain later. And so, I said I'll take the option of retaking the test. The folks at Pearson quickly notified their head office about my details. The instructor then told me " I don't know about Your Luck today, but this is like a one in a thousand sort of case". I smiled and thought "Definitely the Good kind of Luck!".

Yep, that happened. It is weird that a reschedule or a retake, whatever you may call it, would have to happen this way, but I walked out of the centre knowing that this really meant something. This journey is only going to end well. At least, I got another story to tell while I'm having a beer or something! Hehe.

PS - I found out only in the morning, but, the only ID that counts for verification is your Passport. I didn't know, and I was surprised by this. Jesus! What if I didn't have one?