I was hesitant at first to take the GMAT in the middle of China, and strongly considered going to Hong Kong or even Shanghai, but settled on taking it in Nanjing, where I am currently located. Huge mistake. Other than being provided a chair to sit in, the test center did not provide any of the most basic elements required for a test taking environment. The worst problem was the noise. I was seated in the station closest to the door, outside of which was a public hallway. Proctors were located in an office about 20 meters down the hallway. During my test, some kind of commotion or altercation broke out in the hallway, directly behind the door, which was not at all sound-proof. No effort was made to control or quiet down the argument, and when I complained, I was told by the proctor, an early 20's female, that she had no way to control the perpetrators, because that were large males and she was only a girl. Serious. This is exactly what I was told.

The distracting noise went on, with increasing violent intensity, for about HALF of the verbal section,
DO NOT ever take an exam in this test center. I was told that many Chinese will go to Shanghai instead (SH is of course a much nicer and more developed city), and that is exactly what I should have done. A couple of last pieces to add: it is EXTREMELY difficult to find, and housed in a tucked away corner of the huge Nanjing University campus. It is in a very old and run down building with no central air conditioning. There is constant noise from other offices and people in the building, as the testing room is at the top of a public stairwell. Bathrooms are gross but on par with 2nd-tier city China. Test Center employees do not speak English, and do not do their jobs as GMAC describes their jobs to be (I had to argue to get another note pad before verbal--the girl thought only one was allowed). This place should absolutely lose their contract (though I'm sure, as always in China, the reason they have it has to do with some "strategic" relationship).

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For test center at 500 Fifth Avenue. Just 1 block from the 7 train stop at Bryant Park. I arrived early for my 8AM test (at 7:15am), and was initially turned away from the building because "Pearson isn't open yet." Returned at 7:30, was testing by 7:50am with about 12 other people (not all GMAT testers).

The woman directing/overseeing the test room was a little sassy, but otherwise everyone was very nice. Automatic refill of test taking yellow pad when I changed from Quant to Verbal section. Noise-blocking headphones at desk. Quiet, calm space with natural light. Very accessible. Polite staff and convenient bathroom location. Would retake the test here.

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Very nice place, professional proctors, Dell computers, prompt response when you raise your hand (within 10 - 15 seconds).

On my first GMAT there was some noise from the floor above, but the second one went fine. They do provide ear plugs (3M brand), i do not use ear plugs, for some reason i dont feel comfortable with them.

Suggestions: if your test is at 1PM or 5 PM, please use a cab, as parking space is rarely empty. But if its at 9AM, you can park on the empty site between Manipal center and the Peasron VUE building.

Proctors are fast in getting the formalities done, and they do not allow you inside until 30 minutes before the test. So i would suggest an entry 15 minutes before the test.

Cons: The chairs are a bit old, the cushion is no longer soft and the arm rests shake a bit, I hope they get new ones soon.

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Well, I had scheduled a GMAT appointment for May 21st, 2012. The test was to start at 2pm but due a 'technical fault', the test started at 2.30pm.

As I started writing AWA, there was huge lag - i typed one sentence on the keyboard and the monitor displayed just a couple of words. I somehow managed to cruise through the AWA section.
As I clicked on the second last question of the Quant Section, the computer hung!!! can you beat that !!
The technical team could NOT fix the glitch. Few moments later, I was informed that I had no option but to reschedule the exam.

I was totally pissed, had a major fracas with the administration team at the center and also, with Pearson' call center folks in Malaysia.

I managed to reschedule the exam on 22ndMay. Thankfully, on 22nd, everything went smoothily and I got 710.

I wouldn't suggest anyone to take the exam at the Ahmedabad center for you might be the next one taking the exam twice.

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Very friendly staff. Absolutely no glitches. Very comfortable testing environment. All the Pc's were in good condition & Ac's maintained at perfect temperature.

The only issue is that its located in a very congested suburb area and travelling all the way to the test center takes a good 90-120 mins for people in the mainland. Unfortunately, thats the only place available to give the test in Mumbai. The place is full of traffic, so make sure you have sufficient time in hand.

Also, I reached the center 75 mins before the scheduled time. I had to wait outside for almost half an hour before I was allowed inside. So do not go too early.

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Took my 1st GMAT at the Chicago Pearson location at 200 W. Adams - got a 730.

Test center was very easy to find and conveniently located in the Loop. Staff was EXTREMELY nice and helpful throughout the entire appointment. They made me feel comfortable, especially my proctor Donnie, who gave me a little pep talk right before I went in and cracked a few jokes. Really helped calm my nerves. They also did everything they could to help me do my best. For example, they were very observant when my 8 min breaks started, so I didn't have to wait at all to get checked out. Each time I checked out, they reminded me of the current time and how much time I had for break.
Also, they automatically switched out my test booklet during each break and gave me extra markers.

Your personal locker is located right in the reception lobby, and the test room was just a few steps from the reception desk. Check in took about 10 minutes, and I was able to start my test 1/2 hour before my appointment time. The bathrooms are just outside of the reception area, and although you need a key to get in, they have plenty of keys available to sign out.

The room was a tad warm, but they had a few floor fans on and was able to adjust since I dressed in layers. Room was very quiet.

I can't speak for Parking options since I walked. But its located in the Loop, so expect to pay steeply for parking!

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Location: Nettur Technical Training Foundation, Bangalore, India

When I showed my European passport, the proctor told me I would need a second form of ID to be allowed to take the test.

This was nowhere mentioned in GMAC's website. I had to rush back, stressed and under the impression that I would not be allowed to take the test.

The test center was also very noisy. Despite the ear plugs I could hear many students outside talking loudly in the hallway.

I have filed a complaint and hope to get a voucher to discount the exam fee when I retake the GMAT.

Other than that, the center was "OK". It was easy to find. The proctor was relatively friendly. The whole test center was located inside a school, with class rooms and lots of students around the test room. The mass of students created a lot of noise, that could be heard despite of the ear plugs I used.

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I took my GMAT at Pearson VUE, Hyderabad India on March 26th 2012. Prior to the test I never gave a thought about how a test center could affect GMAT score. After all its only a test center. But I was proved wrong. Let me tell you how.

I was scheduled for the test at 9AM slot. I arrived at the test center(which is centrally located and has easy accessibility) well before 8:30AM. The staff at the center are very courteous and explained all rules to me. Also they have put few Lord Ganesha Idols on the welcome desk (to help those who seek some divine intervention :) ).

The test center is right next to the busy SP Road which is noisy due the traffic on the road. Though the building is acoustic and cuts down most of the noise, still some disturbance was there and that distracted me a lot. I requested for a pair of earplugs and the proctor was prompt in handing over that to me.

Overall the proctor was attentive and didn't waste any time whenever I raised my hand for any kind of assistance. Hence full marks to the staff present at the test center.

The only problem which affected me most was a technical glitch, which was definitely out of the staff's scope. The test started with a 40 minutes delay and this delay pumped up my blood pressure and a fear of rescheduling the test was looming. Hence in the end when the test started I was a bit high on the adrenaline.

Overall the test center was comfortable with clearly marked seats, deposit lockers, clean restrooms and drinking water facility. But don't forget to carry an jacket with you since the AC is very cold over there and it all depends on the comfort level of all other test takers.

Hence I would rate the test center as follows:
1-best .... 5-worst

Location: 1
Connectivity to the test center: 1
Ambiance:1
noise level:3
seating arrangement:1
A/C:3
restrooms:2
misc facilities: 2
Staff at the test center: 1

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Location
Excellent, easy to find. But there is no parking, go early to find a spot.

Facilities and restrooms
Everything clean and they have fresh water. However, they do not have lockers. They take your things and store them until the end of the exam. If you want something from your bag in the break you have to ask one of the supervisors to bring your bag, take what you want out, and ask the supervisor to store the bag again. You should not bring anything valuable because you don't know who may have easy access to your things and the test center is not responsible. In addition, make sure you get enough scratch paper before starting the test, because if you need more you would have to go upstairs, ask for a new one and then go again downstairs. That might mean at least 2 minutes. I don't take too many notes so it was more than enough for me.

Noise level
No noise from street. However, you can constantly hear people going up or down the stairs next to the room. The noise from other test takers next to you can be annoying too because the keyboards make a lot of noise when typing.

Staff
Here comes the big problem. When I took the exam there were two women. The younger one was friendly, but the other seemed very angry since the first minute I saw her. She was in an extremely bad mood. During the first break, because of her fault I lost 2 minutes in my Q section and had to start it arguing with her instead of relaxing and concentrating during the break. She didn't want to log me in because she told me she was not able to do it, and the other woman (the younger one) was talking on the phone and the old woman told me she could not be interrupt the young woman because the phone call was more important than my exam. After complaining A LOT the old woman finally went down the stairs telling me her user and password will probably not work. The user did work but it was already around 2 minutes late and I could not concentrate properly during the first half of the Q section.

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I used the Dallas, TX Pearson VUE center twice. Both times, the test center was absolutely wonderful and very conducive to taking a nerve-wracking exam such as the GMAT. The proctors were very cordial and quick to respond to any questions. On my 2nd visit, the lady who checked me in even made sure to take all phones to prevent test-takers from touching it in their locker and thus, having their test cancelled.

Additionally, the testing center was very easy to find, and I never had any trouble with parking either time. The room was very quiet and well lit, and I experienced no trouble regarding computer log-ins, scratch pads, or noise. A+

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