Over the past month, I’ve gotten many reports of GRE scores being put “on hold” lately. This is also described as scores going into “administrative review.” It seems to affect GRE tests taken both at test centers and at home. It may be connected to recent media reports of cheating on standardized tests. There are quite a few people on social media complaining about score delays right now.
Your scores might be put on hold due to suspected cheating, or some technical problem during the at-home GRE. Most of the time the scores are released in the end. Sometimes they are cancelled and you must take the test again.
Reports indicate that it sometimes takes up to five weeks for the score review process to conclude. Many people have are worried about missing application deadlines because of this problem.
To talk to someone at ETS about your case, you can contact the ETS Office of Testing Security. You can call them at the following numbers:
- 1-800-750-6991 (in the USA and Canada)
- +1-609-406-5430 (all other locations)
They answer the phone from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. When connected, you should be calm and explain your deadlines. Note that you may have to wait on hold for some time.
You can also email them, but that might take longer. If you want to try, their email address is: TSReturns@ets.org or communicatetestsecurity@ets.org
I do not recommend using the regular GRE customer support phone number for this problem, but if you want it here it is.
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As a last resort, you could try publically tweeting at ETS. Some people have reported success doing that. Others have gotten results after filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, though you might need a VPN for that if you are outside of the USA.
Remember: I’m not an employee of ETS. I’m just a guy on the Internet.