When is too late to take the GRE?

[Clinpsyc01]

This is my first post so I apologize in advance if I've done anything wrong!

I was planning on taking the GRE next week, but I underestimated the amount of studying I had to do and I don't think I'll be ready. There are no seats available at my location in August (except when I'll be on vacation) so I was thinking of taking the exam on September 10th or 15th. I could probably do okay on the GRE if I crammed for the next week, but not as well as if I had another month and a half of studying.

My application deadlines are mostly on December 1st, with a few in January. Is September too late? I'm not overly worried about having to retake the exam because my practice scores are fairly good, but would it be too late if I had to retake the exam in October?

[xolo]

Hi hsrnl, I took the GRE last year and it took about two weeks iirc to get the official scores on-line. September should be fine, but like you say a re-take could get tight.

[TakeruK]

If you (re)take the exam in early October, it will not be too late for December deadlines. However, keep in mind that there are minimum time limits between taking tests (21 days I think). So if you take it in late September, you will not be able to retake in early October.

[hyronomus4]

One of my applications said that it can take up to three months for the school to get your GRE results.  Mine didn't take that long (I think it was a little over a month) but that's something to consider.

[darksteam]

Last year I took the GRE test on Sep 23, and I had planned to retake it again in late October.  However, I did not have a chance to retake the GRE. There were still a lot of things to consider such as the SOP, Resume, LoR, and TOEFL (if you are an international student like me).  Hence, I suggest that you should take the GRE first time as soon as possible, if money is not your problem, to know how the test and the test environment are.  You can use this information to prepare you for the test.  Also, you need to wait for three weeks to retake the GRE again. 

 

By the way, last year I submitted all of my applications quite late (almost on the deadline on mid December) and the results are not good.  

Since I have heard that some programs have limited seats.  In my opinion, you should not submit the applications no later than November.  

[TakeruK]

Last year I took the GRE test on Sep 23, and I had planned to retake it again in late October.  However, I did not have a chance to retake the GRE. There were still a lot of things to consider such as the SOP, Resume, LoR, and TOEFL (if you are an international student like me).  Hence, I suggest that you should take the GRE first time as soon as possible, if money is not your problem, to know how the test and the test environment are.  You can use this information to prepare you for the test.  Also, you need to wait for three weeks to retake the GRE again. 

 

By the way, last year I submitted all of my applications quite late (almost on the deadline on mid December) and the results are not good.  

Since I have heard that some programs have limited seats.  In my opinion, you should not submit the applications no later than November.  

 

I think most people just need to take the GRE once. Taking it multiple times is what ETS wants from you to get more money. Prepare appropriately and one test is enough.

 

Also, unless you are applying to rolling admission programs, it doesn't matter if you submit your application 1 month early or 1 minute before the deadline.