The Educational Testing Service or ETS conducts GRE and even delivers a GRE Fee Reduction Program to candidates with unstable financial backgrounds. This GRE fee waiver initiative purely depends on the financial circumstance of the candidate and not simply on the basis of merit.
The GRE general test fee waiver can be somewhat expensive for test-takers. Its test fee in total is $205 worldwide, and as you must know is taken through computers.
Breaking down the fee structure- the subject fee is $150 for the following subjects whose questions will feature on the test paper. Those subjects featuring in the GRE subject test include – Chemistry, Mathematics, Psychology, Physics, English literature, and Biology.
However, as a means to make the GRE more affordable and accessible to all, the ETS offers its GRE fee waiver of around 50% to those unenrolled college graduates and college seniors. As a result of this, the new fee for these candidates will be around $102.50. And for the subject tests, the costs will be $75 in place of $150.
Before going into detailed discussion, one must also know the correct registration process. For this, please check How to sign up GRE?
Table of Contents
LET’S UNCOVER WHO-ALL ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GRE FEE WAIVER
Starting with the Unemployed Youth
To receive a GRE fee waiver, all unemployed youth will need to adhere to the following eligibility requirements.
- You must submit proof of your joblessness.
- You must be a citizen of the United States or its immigrant
- You must be 18 years old
- You must decide to take the test from Puerto Rico/ US Virgin Islands or Guam/ United States
For College Senior Year Students
To apply for a GRE fee waiver, here those key criteria.
- Must study and receiving financial aid from a college in the United States, its territories, or Puerto Rico
- Must be dependent on their parental contribution and getting $1400 in the senior year of college
- Must be a self-employed and financial contribution for the senior year should be $1800
For Un-enrolled College students
Those college students who are done with their graduation but lack enough funds for higher study can request a form for the GRE fee waiver. However, they have to meet these below requirements first.
- Must be self-employed and possess their Institutional Student Information Report (ISIR) showing their earning to be not more than $1800
- Must apply for financial aid from GRE administration
[Special Mentioning]
If you want more information about the GRE fee waiver for college seniors, unemployed, and un-enrolled college students, click here.
STEPS TO APPLY FOR YOUR GRE FEE WAIVER
To apply for the GRE Fee waiver, respective candidates must follow these crucial steps. But before starting, candidates should know that the ETS takes approximately 3-4 weeks to process this.
So, as a word of advice, don’t leave this to the 11th hour. Or else their requests may not process in time.
Here Are Those Steps to Follow for the GRE Fee waiver
- All respective candidates must contact their current school’s financial help office or Alma matter to meet all eligibility criteria
- Once eligible, their financial help office will issue a Fee reduction certificate along with their ISIR copy
- Candidates must adhere to all the instructions on the certificate and email those docs to the address shared. Refrain from faxing or sending photocopies of the fee reduction certificate. The ETS doesn’t accept them
- After the ETS’s approval, they will dispatch a promotional code or GRE fee reduction voucher. This will help reduce the overall test fee- be it for Subject tests or General GRE by 50%
- However, the promotional code is good for one-time use. And if you apply for a second GRE – be it Subject tests or General GRE within the same year of your fee reduction program approval, you will have to fill-up the form again to get the second promotional code. Doing so will save you the time and effort of repeating the whole process
TO SUM UP
Now you know that if you wish to take the GRE but don’t have the finances to bear its fee, you can apply for the ETS GRE fee waiver program.
This program is an appreciative ray-of-hope for students wanting to pursue higher studies but wasn’t able to before due to their lack of funds. However, this is only the start of your GRE. Once you know that you are eligible for the test, make a proper study plan. Then you have to work hard and work with countless practice tests and GRE textbooks to get a proper understanding of the exam format.
Also, don’t forget to take the initial diagnostic test, which will help you know about your baseline score. And that will help you understand your weaknesses and how hard you will need to work for your target score.