GRE questions regarding applications

<p>So in all likelihood I will be retaking the GRE in mid november. </p>

<p>The problem is that several schools I will be applying to have December 1st deadlines.
Question 1.)</p>

<p>Will my new scores be received by Dec 1 if I take the test on Nov 15? If they get there a couple days late will my application not have the new scores?</p>

<p>Question 2) </p>

<p>Do I have to wait to send all my apps until I get the new score? (if the school gets sent a new score will they know its my new score?)</p>

<p>I'm also worried that this won't give my letter writers enough time to send their letters. I told them all ahead of time that I need a letter but if they don't get emails from the schools until mid-late november and the deadline is Dec 1 then that could be a big problem.</p>

<p>Thank you for any advice!</p>

<p>Make sure that they have time to write the BODY of the letter (in which you should have asked by now). Late LORs are generally accepted because professors <em>get</em> each other but not the applicant. As for the GRE, it really depends how important that GRE is and whether or not your current scores are acceptable for Dec 1st schools. That’s a gamble.</p>

<p>Do not wait to send the applications. Usually, an application waits in the graduate school admissions office for all the components to arrive before it is forwarded to the program. For this reason, letter writers are notified upon submission of the application; they usually receive an email instructing them how to upload the letter. Don’t worry about having everything arrive at the same time because it’s just not possible. You can even send transcripts in advance of the formal application. </p>

<p>Next, you can send your current GRE scores to the Dec. 1 deadline programs. The committees are going to see both scores anyway, so you might as well make sure that you send everything in to make the deadline. You can call the graduate admissions office (not the program itself) to make sure that new GRE scores will be forwarded to the proper program when they arrive, even if another set of scores has already been passed along.</p>

<p>For later deadlines, you can wait until Nov. 15 to send scores. But remember that programs may not look at your application until it is complete.</p>

<p>When I applied last year the applications asked for the names and email addresses of my LOR writers and that segment of the application had a ‘save’ button. Within an hour of me entering the info and hitting save all of my LOR writers had received emails directing them to a website where they could upload the LOR they had written for me, long before I actually submitted the application. After they uploaded the LORs I was notified that they had uploaded a document into my online application (although I could not view it) so that I could be sure that I had all three on file before i submitted it.</p>

<p>The online applications will usually also tell you if they’ve received your GRE scores and transcript and added it to your file, even before the deadline (although U of Chicago assembled the files after the deadline, so some schools may not tell you pre-deadline). If you’re worried that they may have not received or lost your scores you can email them and ask them to search for them. I did that and the coordinator located my transcript in the wrong file and added it to mine.</p>

<p>If you haven’t done so already, you should make an application account at the schools you’re applying to and see how the app is set up. Usually the sections are saved individually, so you can edit info in one area (like personal) and save it, even if you don’t have your GRE scores or SoP uploaded.</p>

<p>Your GRE scores will probably not be received by Dec 1 if you take it Nov 15. The AW usually takes about 3 weeks to score. You can send the scores and ask them to add them to your file, post deadline, but if those are your only scores you might get shunted to the bottom of the pile because your application wasn’t complete by the deadline.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your replies!!</p>

<p>I think I should be okay with the LOR as all my letter writers are expecting emails and I think most of the apps send out the emails when I save like variola said. </p>

<p>I did already take the GRE so I do have GRE scores. </p>

<p>But I’m worried about the Dec 1 deadline. 3 schools have that deadline and I "need’ to retake the GRE for two of them. Am I screwed for those two schools since they might not get my new scores? One school (MIT) said that its okay if the new scores come a few days late. But I can’t help but think this will not be good for my application…</p>

<p>I think it should be fine. It took only two weeks for ETS to send my score report and display scores online. If you get your scores in two weeks, you can self-report the new scores on time even if the actual report doesn’t arrive at your schools until Dec 2nd or 3rd.</p>