Frequently asked questions about the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) Which GRE test do I need to take? General Test. When is the GRE offered? The GRE is offered MondaySaturday yearround at computerbased test centers in the United States, depending on the availability of the testing site. Where are the GRE Test sites located? The GRE is offered at computerbased test centers in the United States. Locally, you may choose to take your test at: Prometric Testing Center 5075 Shoreham Place, Suite 180 San Diego, CA 92122, USA (858) 8662120 When should I take the GRE? We generally advise prospective students to take the test 45 weeks in advance of the application deadline of February 1. This allows enough time to retake the test, if needed, and for the university to receive your official score. How do I send the GRE test results to USD? Include the University of San Diego's Institution Code number 4849 on the test registration form. When will I receive my official GRE score? Verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing scores on the computerbased General Test will be sent to you and the institutions you designate within 10 to 15 days of your test administration. I took the GRE late and my score will be sent to the university after the February 1 admission deadline. Will you accept unofficial scores in the meantime? The admissions committee will not review any applicant files until they are complete and include an official GRE score. The test administrators of the GRE do not offer a printout of unofficial scores; you will only be able to view your verbal and quantitative scores at the conclusion of your exam, this does not include the analytical writing section. This section will still need to be scored and results for this section will be unavailable until the official scores are reported.
School of Leadership and Education Sciences Office of Outreach and Recruitment 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492 Phone (619) 260-7988 • Fax (619) 849-8138 • www.sandiego.edu/soles/prospective
What is the minimum score that you will accept? What if I receive a low score on the GRE? Will I be eliminated from the applicant pool? No single criterion alone determines the Doctoral Admission Committee’s decision to admit or deny an applicant. We view your GRE score along with all of the other application materials to help us consider each candidate in a holistic manner. Students who are admitted to our program have had a wide range of acceptable scores. Those with lower scores generally include other items (letters of recommendation, writing samples, etc) that strengthen their application. I took the GRE when I was pursuing my master’s degree. Is it possible to use this score for admission? Yes, only if your test score is not more than five years old. Otherwise, you will need to retake the GRE. Contact Educational Testing Service (ETS) to arrange for your GRE results to be sent to the University of San Diego. Our Institution Code number is 4849. Do I have to take the GRE if I have been in the workforce for awhile, have other advanced degrees, or have taken the GMAT? Can the GRE requirement be waived? We require all applicants to take the GRE. The committee that reviews applications will expect everyone who applies to have taken the GRE. While we do not consider the scores as the sole indicator of one’s potential for success in our program, we do see it as one piece of data that helps us in our decision making process. Additionally, it is the one piece of data that is consistent among all of our candidates, thus one thing that we can use as a comparative measure, and in the assessment of our program. In particular there is a writing portion of the exam, and we often look at our pool of candidates as a whole to measure our program effectiveness with respect to individual scores and student success in our program. Do you offer any GRE test preparation courses? Yes, USD offers GRE test preparation courses. For more information, please call (619) 2604579, email testprep@sandiego.edu or visit www.sandiego.edu/testprep/gre/gre_features.php How can I obtain more information about the GRE? Can I contact someone directly? Please visit the Educational Testing Services (ETS) GRE website at www.gre.org for more information. Or you can call them directly at: • 16097717670 Monday Friday 8:00 a.m. 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time (except for U.S. holidays) • 18664734373 (toll free for test takers within the U.S., U.S. Territories* and Canada) Monday Friday 8:00 a.m. 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time
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16097717714 (TTY) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for test takers who are deaf or hearing impaired
Recorded information is available 24 hours a day with a touchtone phone. Phones are busiest between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and all day on Monday. *Includes American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands.