A Few Questions About the Testing Process

[djh101]

Well, I have five days left until my testing date . I just have a few questions about the testing process and procedures.
1. Will the time be displayed during the test or do I have to bring a watch?
2. Can I choose my score recipients after I take the test (the schools that I apply to will be partially dependent on how I score)?
3. What items are allowed in the test center besides pencils, erasers, ID, and your ticket? Wallet? Car keys? Comb? Flash drive that I forgot to take out of my pocket? Loose change? Do I have to take the cardboard cover off of my eraser?
4. How much does ETS violate you before/during/after the test? Better than, worse than, or comparable to airport security?

[TakeruK]

Is this the General GRE or the Physics Subject GRE?

For General GRE at a testing center:
1. I remember not being allowed to bring a watch. There is a on-screen clock in the test software.
2. Yes, this is what I think happens (it's been awhile): At the end of the test, they ask if you want to report your scores. If you say yes, you see your score and then you get to choose 4 schools (if you don't like your score, then don't select any schools). If you say no, your test is cancelled and you do not ever see your score.
3. My test center only allowed pencils, eraser, pencil sharpener, my ID, and the key to the locker that stored my stuff. No scrap paper--they provided that.
4. They do a metal detector wand thing and they might take your photo. They make you turn out your pockets to make sure nothing is in them. They don't touch you though.

NOTE: The testing centers are not run by ETS, but by a third party company. They might enforce more strict rules than the ETS website because they want absolutely no risk of being suspected of cheating!

For a subject GRE that is usually in a school classroom. This is a lot like a school exam:
1. You can wear a watch, there should be a clock in the room and the proctor will often write the time remaining on the board, updating every 15-20 minutes.
2. No, you must choose your score recipients by the Friday before your test by mailing in a paper form (unless the rules have changed!)
3. They make you put your bags at the front of the room but they don't really check you individually. So you can keep wallets and stuff in your pockets. Don't take anything out of your pocket that would be suspected of cheating.
4. Both times I took it, there was no security at all. They just check your exam ticket to make sure that you are in the right place. Note that all the subject paper exams are written at the same time, so I was in a room with about 100 other exam writers. They try to seat you so that you are sitting next to someone who is writing an exam for a different subject. In both cases, the room I was in was filled with Psychology GRE takers and Physics GREs make up ~5% of the room, so it's pretty hard to accidentally end up next to another Physics GRE examinee.

[djh101]

For the four free recipients or all your recipients? After some thought and reading through the ETS site, it seems quite a bit implausible that ETS won't let you mail your scores after testing (especially since on registration there's a checkbox letting you send your previous scores along with your new one).

Anyway, thanks for the answers. Just over four days to go!

[TakeruK]

For the four free recipients or all your recipients? After some thought and reading through the ETS site, it seems quite a bit implausible that ETS won't let you mail your scores after testing (especially since on registration there's a checkbox letting you send your previous scores along with your new one).

Anyway, thanks for the answers. Just over four days to go!

Yes, what I said above applies to the four free recipients only. As long as you do not choose to cancel your scores, you can send your score at a later date for a price of 27 USD per school (until the score expires in 5 years).