USC GRE Deferral Question

[Potato Cactus]

Hi All, 

I have a question about University of Southern California's GRE deferral. I am a master's student and already have GRE scores, but they are not good and I was planning on retaking the GRE to (hopefully) raise those scores, but because of the pandemic I decided not to retake the GRE. USC made it optional to submit scores, but requires scores to be submitted by the end of the first semester if an applicant is admitted. I would like to apply to USC, but I don't want to throw away money if they will throw out my application because I already have GRE scores and did not submit them. So here's my question, 

Would it be acceptable to apply to USC and not submit GRE scores even though they will require those scores to be submitted by the end of the first semester if admitted? 

It kind of feels like I'm trying to weasel a bad part of my application out and I think I'll get caught red handed. 

[Olórin]

Yes, it would be perfectly acceptable.

If you happen to get accepted and need to send your scores by the end of the first semester, the department probably won't even see them. Some admin in the graduate studies will just check-off that you submitted official scores by the required deadline.

 

[Potato Cactus]

Thanks, Olórin, I really appreciate your feedback!