interpreter for GRE?

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actaeon

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hi - i'm studying for the GRE. their website says that if i want to request an interpreter, i have to fill out a long form and get my old college ODS to sign it, then mail it in and wait six weeks - and that's just to register so i can pick a test date! if they decide they want more documentation it could take even longer. this seems like overkill.

my understanding is that the only spoken parts are the instructions at the beginning and any time-remaining alerts. based on the practice GRE i went to the instructions are basically the same as for the SAT and ACT. do i really need an interpreter for this? could i just go in and take the test and be fine?

what have your experiences been?
 
surely somebody here has taken the GRE within the past ten years, if not sooner!
 
I'm using the Princeton Review GRE practice book to test this fall. The book gives you samples of what instructions will be along the lines of and suggests you memorize these basic instructions to save time on your test. However, these instructions are written within the test. As for the start of the test and breaks, it's hard to imagine what will be said that will be critical information. Can they not just accommodate you by writing down their stupid little script and giving it to you before addressing the room? It's not like it will give you an edge? I don't know what all the differences are between the paper-delivered and computer-delivered test, but maybe you could call and ask if the computer one is less verbal. When I've taken computer-based assessments, no one spoke to give me instructions, but that was not the GRE per se?

Just wow. I can't believe they want you to do all that so you can pay $185USD to take their stupid assessment. That doesn't seem very accommodating to me. ETS gets away with *everything*!

Also, the Princeton book has been really great for studying if you need study materials. I love it. They do a great job of demystifying ETS's methods and of disentangling the true intentions of ETS's purposely confusing diction. Some resources also offer DVDS, which I would hope are captioned.
 
hi acronym!

yeah, it's pretty absurd. i'm seriously considering just going and talking to the proctor beforehand. it'd be great if i could hear from people who have actually done this, just to be safe, but you're right that there's not likely to be any important announcements.

i've been looking at the barron's pass key book for 2013 and it seems pretty good, but since it's the math i need to study i'll use whatever help i can get, haha. will look at the princeton books as well, thank you.

good luck with your test!
 
I'm setting a test date today for computer-delivered in early October. I'll report back about what I hear. I'm only doing the General one, so if you are doing specialized tests, I may not be super helpful.

I do suggest you get a 2014-2015 copy. Your library probably has one or can get one too. Apparently ETS changes things *constantly* in terms of formatting.

Good luck to you, too!
 
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