Done(?) with TOEFL

One hell of a experience it was, indeed - completely unprofessional ETS guys and a bizarre design of the test center and of the exam format

I don't know how much I'll score but the Reading and the writing part went OK. I'm banking on my 5.5 in AWA to get me through the writing section. What's crazy about this exam is that there is a host of candidates( read physiotherapist wanting to do her higher studies, guys wanting to do their MS in Germany because their consultant told them to take the exam!) sitting next to you and speaking loudly when you are trying to concentrate. Can't they provide individual cubicles or noise canceling headphones!

Funny thing was that when I had my listening section, guys next to me had their speaking sections. Here, you will be asked to speak on a variety of topics, and I was completely flabbergasted by the responses of a few candidates. Some spoke of the rigor of the French education and how it churns out the best doctors, while the others spoke of how harmful rays from CRT cannot take the print edition of newspaper out of circulation.

When it was my turn to speak, few other guys also spoke with me in unison. Only in Reading and writing did I have some peace of mind. Going by the experiences of a few guys, I was aware of such environment but was not prepared enough to handle the catastrophe. The exam was supposed to start at 10:00AM but it started at 12:00PM, a network error caused the test admin to restart my computer twice! By the time I was done with the test at 3:30PM, I was feeling so god damn hungry that the thoughts of hamburgers and pizzas were already doing rounds in my head.

The experience was a stark contrast to the GMAT's. But as they say there is something positive in every experience, here too I had one. I went to McDonald's with the physiotherapist and we exchanged numbers.

I'm at the mercy of ETS till they send me some good scores in 15 working days.