Re: Who is Taking GRE at Home?
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22 May 2020, 02:48
Took the GRE at home at 12 noon my time. It was pretty relaxed. The proctor was very chill - I showed her my whiteboard once in the beginning. I also had a paper towel with me to wipe it down and I just had to show it to her in the beginning of the test so she could confirm there was nothing written on it. Had to awkwardly turn my laptop around so she could see all corners of my room. There was also this part where you needed a mirror or to use your iphone front camera so she could see your screen. I kept turning the phone wrong but I think it worked.
When it was time for my break, I was able to leave the room to get a snack from my kitchen and use the loo. This was a really nice break from my little desk. I played with my dog for a bit which was a high stress reliever for the second half. BUT...
When I came back from my break, and watched the clock countdown to starting the next section...the test froze and wouldn't start. I couldn't reach my proctor for almost 10-15 minutes, which was stressful because of course I started thinking the worst like "what if I have to start all over??!!" Eventually, she brought on someone else to get the test running again - this took about 30 minutes.
It's a LONNNNNG day. At the end, you don't get to see your scores until AFTER you decide to report them or not. So, it goes like this:
Screen asks if you want to report or cancel. You click "Report".
Next screen says something like "confirm you don't want to cancel - you didn't choose an option on the prior screen". (This was confusing - just choose "report" again)
THEN it asks you to submit your school information. I had to get the school codes off my phone, which I guess wasn't a problem since the test was done.
And, now, FINALLY, after entering the school codes, you get to see your score.
SO, even though you get to see your score - it isn't until AFTER you've decided not to cancel. That's the only sorta annoying thing.
Otherwise, pretty straightforward experience. Not too painful. Proctor was silently watching and has control of your computer so they can see if you open anything else up. Definitely take the online exam while you have the chance - taking it in my home, near a window, on a sunny day, was super relaxing (if test-taking can be relaxing).
