What challenges do applicants face when using the home-based GRE for U.S. university admissions?

Question

Yash Mothia · Accepted Answer

Applicants sit through the home-based GRE issued to them to use in taking admissions into U.S. universities and face a number of difficulties affecting the whole process and their results thereafter.
First, the biggest technical challenge encountered in the home-based GRE is apprehended in this version. Though the home-based version is designed to have fewer glitches, most likely a small number of takers will face internet malfunctions, computer inconsistency, or problems with software on the test day. This will certainly cause tension and result in overall compromised performance among the students since they are not receiving the level of support they would have gotten at a testing center.
Another is the problem of validity. Some institutions and programs tend to view scores taken at home as less reliable than those that were taken in a controlled, off-campus environment. The reason is a perceived test security and cheating. Applicants are thus worried that their scores taken from home may be viewed with a lot more scrutiny or worse, not seriously considered by admissions committees.
Home environment distractions will likely affect the tests taken. A quiet testing center has significantly less likely disruptions than an applicant's home, where there may be family members and pets or other noisy things occurring in the background. This lack of control makes it difficult to focus in such a setting and will lead to poor scores.
There is also a need to have extra planning and organization in terms of preparation for the home-based GRE if taken from home. Testing space must be verified with the test, meaning suitable can be a quiet, distraction-free area in the home. This is very challenging for students who may live in shared housing environments or even cities with typically very high noise levels.
As if this were not enough, the administrative logistics of home-based GRE scheduling creates another form of obstruction. Testing availability, rescheduling due to exigent circumstances, and a host of other issues might significantly burden the applicant. Combined, these factors can create a rather stressful testing experience that adversely affects one's overall performance and confidence.
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