Graduate School - Testing

Applying for Accommodations on Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional School Examinations

This information was prepared by Caroline Summer, MA, MFT, Learning Disabilities Specialist, Disabled Students' Program, University of California, 230 Cesar Chavez Center. Phone: 642-0518 Email: cxsdsp@berkeley.edu

• Apply early. If you think you will need accommodations for a standardized exam, begin the application process well ahead of time. You will need to submit your "request for accommodations" with your other application materials. (Never submit the "request for accommodations" separately from the other materials.) If you submit the entire packet early, there may be time for you to submit additional materials if you are asked for them. If you are denied accommodations, there may be time to appeal.
• Review all the directions for test-takers with disabilities on the appropriate website. See the list below for several websites. If you can't find the directions for test-takers with disabilities, do a search for "disability." Or go to the section that tells you "how to register for tests."
  Exam Websites

  • Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)
  • Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT)
  • PRAXIS (Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers)
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
  • California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST)
  • Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)
  • Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
• While you are at the website, download all the forms you will need, including the ones that your Disability Specialist must fill out. (Application materials for many tests are also available at the Career Center, 2111 Bancroft Way.) You may also want to print out directions for the applicant (for your own reference and your Specialist’s).
• Note other useful information on the website. For example, the ETS website gives you sample questions from various exams and even permits you to take a sample computerized exam (if you have a PC). You can also order preparation materials.
• Make an EARLY appointment with your DSP Specialist to discuss the application process. Do your "credentials" meet requirements for accommodations on this exam? Is there something more you need to provide? Will the Specialist have ample time to prepare the forms you’ll need? Will there be time to appeal if your application for accommodations is rejected?
• Follow the application guidelines exactly; don’t count on correcting errors or submitting additional documentation later. Submit everything on time or early; you won’t be "given a break" on deadlines because you have a disability. Follow every direction precisely. Put your name and social security number on every piece of paper you submit.
• Remember that the process of evaluating your application for accommodations may take a long time. In some cases you may not know whether you’ll be accommodated until close to the date of the exam, so you may want to practice taking the exam with both regular and extended time.
• Consider appealing if your request for accommodations is denied. If you’ve applied early, it’s likely that there will be time for an appeal. Talk with your DSP Specialist about ways you can improve your chances of getting accommodations on appeal.
• If you receive accommodations, recognize that (for a few exams) your scores may be reported as resulting from "non-standard accommodation." The LSAT, for example, reports that "scores earned with additional test time are reported individually and will not be averaged with standard-time scores of other nonstandard-time scores. Percentile ranks of nonstandard-time scores are not available and will not be reported."

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