[humanser] GRE Preparation Materials in Accessible Formats

[Michael Abell]

Hi Christina,
	I would encourage you to contact Valerie at the Baltimore office so that she can advise you along the way. These are the very subjects that NFB has been working on and to be able to see the process in action would be valuable. This would hold true even if things go perfectly.
	As you pointed out, colleges have deadlines as well as test dates, so you can't afford for a delay while they figure out how to accommodate you. With the requirements needed to remain competitive, it is good to knoew that you have experience and the world's greatest advocacy group in the nation beside you all the way!
	Good luck on your journey!

Regards,

Michael “Big Dog” Abell

Helping individuals to find their eyes in the dark.
(480) 369-0805



-----Original Message-----
From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Christina Moore via humanser
Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2015 8:23 PM
To: Human Services Division Mailing List
Cc: Christina Moore
Subject: [humanser] GRE Preparation Materials in Accessible Formats

Hi,

Below is the link for accessible format materials from ETS for the GRE preparation:
https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/disabilities <https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/disabilities>
As I mentioned in the call I have found out the following about the GRE exams:
1. The GRE Revised General examination is able to be taken in braille, large-print and through other means explained on the official GRE website:
www.gre.com <http://www.gre.com/> (links to the ETS GRE page).
2. The GRE subject test (if required by your graduate school) is not able to be taken with the computer-voiced program.
3. The computer-voiced program that is available for the GRE revised general examination is not a screen-reader such as JAWS, NVDA, WindowEyes, SYstemAccess or any other screen-reading software. Since it is self-voicing I have no idea what the key commands would be and I do not want to figure out how to use the program while taking the exam (too much to worry about at once in my opinion).
4. The requesting of accommodations is quite cumbersome and involves printing out several forms and locating information throughout various documents on the ETS website. I am aware (after speaking with sighted peers at my college also applying to the GRE) that the process for them is not cumbersome at all. It should not be this way for us as people with disabilities and I am planning to see what I can do about that process.
 It is not just us as blind people that have to go through this process but all people with any sort of disability and that is not right.
5. When applying to the GRE plan to apply to the exam well in advance of when your fellow classmates would be applying. I know of a classmate that applied late September that is taking the exam tomorrow. We do not have that leisure because it states within the documentation for students with disabilities and health-related needs that once the application is received along with the documentation verifying a person’s disability and ETS approves that person for accommodations that can take about three-four weeks provided that the information is correctly submitted and submitted tot heir approval. If not, it can up to six weeks to be approved and another six weeks if documentation needs to be resubmitted.
Meanwhile, graduate schools have required deadlines that they approve and accept applications and they may not let a person’s GRE scores being delayed as a reason for delaying the approval or declining of an application to their program.

I hope none of this is confusing but if anyone has any questions, do not hesitate to ask. I will be submitting my packet of information to apply this week most likely and then I wait until they tell me I am approved or not approved.
We cannot even choose an exam date until the accommodations are approved which makes sense but is still quite annoying.
That is all I have for this post. If anyone has difficulty navigating the ETS website and would like links sent to them, I do not mind sending links in response to this.
I hope everyone had a nice weekend and that everyone’s week starts out well.
Christina
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