Appealing to ETS about fee refund; Late official GRE scores

[child of 2]

I showed up at the testing center today with my Driver's license, but they told me I needed my green card or some other stupid government issued document because I wasn't a citizen. The email confirmation they sent me was "You must bring a valid photo identification with signature" and somewhere in the fine print, there was a link to their ETS ID policy that said if I didn't have these documents, I don't get to take the test and my fees would get forfeited. I've already rescheduled (day after Christmas; fml). When I called, the rep told me I can try to appeal to try to get some of my money back; any would be better than none. Is it worth the time?

More importantly, my earliest final deadline is 1/1. UT-Austin is 12/23, but I think they can take the late score according to their website... I plan on getting everything finalized before Christmas, after which the only remaining document would be the official scores. And as far as I know, the quant and verbal scores should be processed not long after the testing day; it's just the essay scores that's going to be late. Will this be a significant influence on my chances?

P.S. I know it was largely my own fault for not reading everything. But you can't really argue that this isn't all bullsh*t. The ETS is a blood sucking sham

PPS Yes I will notify every relevant program that the official GRE scores will be late.

Edited November 24, 2012 by child of 2

[kaykaykay]

I do not know a couple of years back when I took the GRE they made it very clear that non citizens need their passport to take the test. No offense but in theory I think you should carry your passport (or I20?) always with you. As much as I had issues with ETS (including an almost nervous breakdown over the phone ) they are cruel and unreasonable even if something is their fault.

My experience is that programs accept somewhat late GRE scores. Good luck.

[Instigate]

A little known fact is that ETS stands for Evil Testing Serpent. But seriously, sorry to hear you had problems with ID i know it is a bitch. I dont think it is worth spending 2-3 hours on the phone with them when you have to focus on your applications. Try to get the best score you can on your test and only after you finished your applications you should try to get the refund.

[child of 2]

I might take a couple of minutes to go out of my way to hound at them over the phone for being assholes (after they reject my appeal). It's immature, unwise and stupid. But it's $175 of my hard earned money that they took from me. m-fkers...

[Pinkman]

I do not know a couple of years back when I took the GRE they made it very clear that non citizens need their passport to take the test. No offense but in theory I think you should carry your passport (or I20?) always with you. As much as I had issues with ETS (including an almost nervous breakdown over the phone ) they are cruel and unreasonable even if something is their fault.

My experience is that programs accept somewhat late GRE scores. Good luck.

Always carry your passport with you?! Are you serious?

Anyway, no harm in getting some of your money back especially when that can be re-used towards application fees.

[kaykaykay]

Always carry your passport with you?! Are you serious?

yep they told us something along those lines at the int'l student orientation. but as I said it might have been the I20.

[1Q84]

I do not know a couple of years back when I took the GRE they made it very clear that non citizens need their passport to take the test. No offense but in theory I think you should carry your passport (or I20?) always with you.

At the very least, passport should be used at all "very-serious" events needing ID... that should just be a given. I'm a Canadian citizen and I brought my passport to my test... who the hell is gonna argue with a passport?

[Pinkman]

yep they told us something along those lines at the int'l student orientation. but as I said it might have been the I20.

That sucks. But I suppose if its been mentioned in your orientation, you pretty much have no choice.

[TakeruK]

At my international student orientation, they said that we should NOT be carrying our passports everywhere we go, because it's a good way to get that stolen/lost! Instead, we were told that we should be aware that ID from our own country may not be accepted in the US so we should always use our passports when we know we need to really verify our identify. The passport, I-94, and I-20/DS-2019 together prove that we are who we say we are AND that we are legally allowed to be in the US for school.

So, they told us to bring our passports if we are going to e.g. go to the Social Security office, the DMV, etc. but not just on a regular basis. One potential exception is going to bars/buying alcohol. Some places will only accept in-state Driver Licenses or passports. For these purposes, we were recommended to get an in-state ID card or driver license ASAP. However, so far, my Canadian driver's license has not caused any trouble yet (other than a few extra moments to locate my DOB since it's in a different place).