Last-minutish GRE testing & score reporting

[hotmessexpress]

Hey everyone! So I was temporarily living abroad somewhere that only offered the paper-based GRE. I had registered for it and everything but ended up deciding to return to the U.S. sooner than I had originally planned. I canceled that registration and have since signed up to take the computer-based version in the States. I know that this is really risky considering that I'm applying to Ivies and other top 10 programs, but I'll be taking the GRE for the very first time in about two weeks. Most of my deadlines are in late-December and early-January. Since I'm taking the GRE on Nov. 22, when can I expect that my programs will receive the scores? Should I consider the option of self-reporting in case my schools and fellowships aren't apprised of my scores by the deadlines? I'm not freaking out... but maybe I should be?

I feel extremely well-prepared (...well, for the Verbal section anyway), so I'm not in the least worried about the fact that I'll probably only get to take it once. I've been consistently getting Verbal scores in the mid-700s and higher on PowerPrep and a plethora of other practice exams. Since I'm applying to Ph.D programs in the humanities, the Verbal section is really the only one that matters. I had a close friend who aced the Verbal and had below a 600 on his Math and he got into 7/8 humanities Ph.D programs, all at Ivies and other selective schools. However, I did apply for some competitive national fellowships so I have to be sure to get something respectable (~600s) on the Math section... Worst case scenario, I have to shell out the money to retake it in early Dec., if anything to boost up the Math a little for the fellowships (but I really don't think it will come to that). Considering that I'll likely only get one shot and that it's so late in the game, am I being too nonchalant here, or am I alright?

Warning: The following is slightly sesquipedalian and may contain trace amounts of grandiloquence. It's definitely not my intention to suddenly sour this post; I'm only providing the following background info to contextualize my situation. Consider yourself warned. I graduated summa cum laude from an Ivy in the "HYP trinity" with the same major as what I'm hoping to study in grad school. My thesis, which I will be using for my writing sample, received accolades in my department. My adviser and other professors, well-known scholars with friends at the schools on my list, will be writing coruscating letters of recommendation to support my applications. Furthermore, my alma mater is on my list of grad schools partly because it's one of the top programs in my field, and my professors have made it abundantly clear that they'd be delighted to have me back. They're very confident in me and have reassured me that I'll get into most if not all of the schools on my list. The friend I mentioned earlier who was accepted practically everywhere he applied had a similar background as mine. These are among the reasons why I'm not so worried about taking the GRE only once and so late. I'm posting under another alias here because I'm more or less well-liked on this site under my main username and I didn't want to ruin that with this post...

P.S. The poll I made for this thread is mostly for fun (and procrastination). Your actual responses in the thread or via PMs would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all so much in advance!

[hotmessexpress]

Hey there! I appreciate the reassurances but could someone please give me an estimate as to when I should expect grad programs and fellowships to receive my GRE scores if I take the computer-based version on Nov. 22, 2010? Thanks!

[TheDude]

Boston University is towing a hard line with my scores. I emailed today and retook the test Nov. 10. Basically if my scores aren't there in 15 days I'm f*cked and my app doesn't get looked at. They told me I'd have to pay to send my first scores as a precaution in case my second didn't arrive in time. I'm freaking a bit since the program is such a good fit.

I'd freak some. I still haven't seen scores for my first test now 13 days later.

[milkshake22]

I wouldn't freak out. I am also taking the test overseas on Nov. 20th (although I already took it on Oct. 26, but something went wrong, so they cancelled all the scores and everyone in the country has to retake it again). I would email the schools whose applications are due at the end of December just to make sure though. I emailed two of my schools yesterday and informed them about my testing date... still waiting to hear back from them, but honestly, I would not freak out! Don't worry and good luck!

[abraxas]

I'm in a similar situation. Due to family problems at home I wasn't prepared at all for the GRE so I delayed it until December 13th to give myself plenty of time. However, most of my grad school programs have deadlines of January 15th, with two having January 1st or January 4th deadlines. Should I move the GRE up a week to make sure I don't cut it too close? Especially with Christmas and New Years holidays possibly interfering with reporting.

[GK Chesterton]

I'm in a similar situation. Due to family problems at home I wasn't prepared at all for the GRE so I delayed it until December 13th to give myself plenty of time. However, most of my grad school programs have deadlines of January 15th, with two having January 1st or January 4th deadlines. Should I move the GRE up a week to make sure I don't cut it too close? Especially with Christmas and New Years holidays possibly interfering with reporting.

I think you're both over-stressing. You'll get your score when you finish the test, at least for the 2 important sections - self report those, and tell them the score reports are on the way and will confirm it. They won't really give a shit about AW and the GRE isn't all that important either.

Edit: I did this my first round and was accepted at all three of the relatively competitive programs I applied to. No one asked me any questions.

Edited November 15, 2010 by GK Chesterton

[hotmessexpress]

I think you're both over-stressing. You'll get your score when you finish the test, at least for the 2 important sections - self report those, and tell them the score reports are on the way and will confirm it. They won't really give a shit about AW and the GRE isn't all that important either.

Edit: I did this my first round and was accepted at all three of the relatively competitive programs I applied to. No one asked me any questions.

Thanks GK Chesterton, that's what I intend to do. One of my recipients is a competitive national fellowship program but their deadline is, thankfully, a bit later, so everything should turn out alright in the end! Thanks for your input.

Edit: Thanks to all the previous posters, as well, for your help. I'm not freaking out much at all... We'll see how things turn out. If I remember to do so, I may come back and report to you all how things turned out, if anything so that future folks in this situation have yet another outcome to consider.

Edited November 15, 2010 by hotmessexpress