Stupid Mistake! Submit anyways?

[PathIntegrals92]

So, I thought I submitted my test scores to a University after taking the test. Turns out I did not and I didn't realize it until recently :/ ...

The deadline is Jan 1st, but the official score will not reach on time. I really wanted to apply to this school, but I am worried they will just throw my application away without the official scores. Normally I would submit anyways, but their website explicitly says EVERYTHING needs to be submitted and in by this deadline at least three times.

Two of my recommend(ers) already submitted their letters. Should I just apply and submit anyways? This is a school that I do have a shot of getting into.

[deterministic devil]

Definitely you should apply. Admission rules are not so strict as it seems. Admission committee will not evaluate until your application materials are complete but in any case you must submit your online application in time by the deadline.

Good luck.

[slowdweller]

They won't throw it out. I'd say submit it if your scores/recs will be in before the 10th. Harvard said that the same thing for their December 15th deadline. One of my rec writer submitted his on the 20th and they accepted it just fine.

[seeyouauntie]

Apply for sure. What's there to lose? A small fee to ets?

[TakeruK]

Definitely send it anyways. This happened to me too, but I/the school didn't realise this until after the deadline and I noticed the online thing still said "no scores received". Contact the school, let them know the scores will be arriving late due to an institutional code mixup or whatever and send it now. Chances are, they will receive it before the program actually begins reviewing applications!

[PathIntegrals92]

Thank you for all the replies everyone! The University is closed until January 5th apparently for winter break, hopefully by magic they will get it by then. Though, that seems unlikely.

I'll contact and let them know! Hopefully they will have it before they start reviewing. I plan to apply still! Thanks again.

[TakeruK]

Maybe it was just random luck, but my ETS scores arrived at my schools within 2 business days, and in the non-academic world (i.e. ETS, post office etc.), there are plenty of business days between today and Jan 5! And in fact, some schools actually get the scores electronically from ETS, not via snail mail.

For example, in 2011, one program had a deadline of Dec 1. I wrote the Physics GRE on the November date (back then, the fall test dates were Oct & Nov, not Sept & Oct) so the scores were not available until Dec 11. I decided to apply to this Dec 1 school in late November, so they were not part of my 4 free scores. I wrote to the school to explain this and on Dec 11, I got my scores, ordered the Score Report from ETS and emailed the school to let them know that my scores are finally coming. The next day, the grad secretary emailed back to say that they will "download" the scores from ETS that evening and I should check my profile the next morning to see if my scores are there. Indeed, the next morning, my profile showed the correct scores, only 2 business days after sending them!

This email exchange (I just dug it out of the archives to make sure I remembered correctly) makes me think that in some cases, when you "order the score report", all you really are doing is paying $30 for ETS to allow the school in question to download a few digits! This makes the most sense to me (other than the blatant ripping off of students and schools) because it would be so much more work for everyone for ETS to mail the scores and then the schools to manually sort and physically attach paper reports to your files. However, when I brought this up to other people, they indicated that their email exchanges with their grad secretaries implied that physical paper copies are sent. So, perhaps this varies from school to school?

In any case, you might not have to rely on magic to get your scores to the school by Jan 5. Who needs magic when you have electrons?

[PathIntegrals92]

Maybe it was just random luck, but my ETS scores arrived at my schools within 2 business days, and in the non-academic world (i.e. ETS, post office etc.), there are plenty of business days between today and Jan 5! And in fact, some schools actually get the scores electronically from ETS, not via snail mail.

For example, in 2011, one program had a deadline of Dec 1. I wrote the Physics GRE on the November date (back then, the fall test dates were Oct & Nov, not Sept & Oct) so the scores were not available until Dec 11. I decided to apply to this Dec 1 school in late November, so they were not part of my 4 free scores. I wrote to the school to explain this and on Dec 11, I got my scores, ordered the Score Report from ETS and emailed the school to let them know that my scores are finally coming. The next day, the grad secretary emailed back to say that they will "download" the scores from ETS that evening and I should check my profile the next morning to see if my scores are there. Indeed, the next morning, my profile showed the correct scores, only 2 business days after sending them!

This email exchange (I just dug it out of the archives to make sure I remembered correctly) makes me think that in some cases, when you "order the score report", all you really are doing is paying $30 for ETS to allow the school in question to download a few digits! This makes the most sense to me (other than the blatant ripping off of students and schools) because it would be so much more work for everyone for ETS to mail the scores and then the schools to manually sort and physically attach paper reports to your files. However, when I brought this up to other people, they indicated that their email exchanges with their grad secretaries implied that physical paper copies are sent. So, perhaps this varies from school to school?

In any case, you might not have to rely on magic to get your scores to the school by Jan 5. Who needs magic when you have electrons?

Putting lots of faith on electrons at the moment!

You know I just saw that for the last reports I requested to be sent, they did it within two business days too! However, I have no idea how it works for the schools. What you described is very interesting. For some reason, I imagined they (schools) get an official ETS email with the report or something. I too heard that they mail reports , but I have no way of knowing which schools do which method.

I guess that most schools are not as hardcore about deadlines for certain documents like their websites make them to seem.

[astroprof]

Just to provide a little additional reassurance: we receive (and review!) late materials every year. Deadlines exist for a reason, but the stern warnings are mostly to ensure that the majority of the material is provided in a timely manner. On our end, it can take several days to organize the applications (either creating physical folders with the applications, transcripts, test scores, and letters assembled, or creating electronic documents with the physical material (transcripts and scores) scanned and sorted). Thus, if material arrives only a few days late, it will still be reviewed by the admissions committee during the first round.

Also, ETS does send us physical copies of the GRE score reports, but they also allow us electronic access before the physical copy arrives. If we are missing the physical copy at the time of the review of applications, we will look up the scores via the electronic access. So, yes, your scores should be available to the institution within about 2 business days, even if it takes longer for the physical copy to arrive.

As a final reassurance: most US schools are closed between Christmas and New Year's, so all of your transcripts, score reports, and any other physical aspect of your application are likely collecting dust in University mail rooms this week. That mail will be distributed to the departments on Monday, at which point someone in each department will open, sort (or scan), and record the receipt of scores/transcripts. So anything arriving prior to Jan 5 will be the equivalent of meeting a Dec 31/Jan 1 deadline.

[PathIntegrals92]

Just to provide a little additional reassurance: we receive (and review!) late materials every year. Deadlines exist for a reason, but the stern warnings are mostly to ensure that the majority of the material is provided in a timely manner. On our end, it can take several days to organize the applications (either creating physical folders with the applications, transcripts, test scores, and letters assembled, or creating electronic documents with the physical material (transcripts and scores) scanned and sorted). Thus, if material arrives only a few days late, it will still be reviewed by the admissions committee during the first round.

Also, ETS does send us physical copies of the GRE score reports, but they also allow us electronic access before the physical copy arrives. If we are missing the physical copy at the time of the review of applications, we will look up the scores via the electronic access. So, yes, your scores should be available to the institution within about 2 business days, even if it takes longer for the physical copy to arrive.

As a final reassurance: most US schools are closed between Christmas and New Year's, so all of your transcripts, score reports, and any other physical aspect of your application are likely collecting dust in University mail rooms this week. That mail will be distributed to the departments on Monday, at which point someone in each department will open, sort (or scan), and record the receipt of scores/transcripts. So anything arriving prior to Jan 5 will be the equivalent of meeting a Dec 31/Jan 1 deadline.

Thank you so much for the reassurance astroprof! Lesson learned, definitely. =)