Rachel Kitson '05 is planning on going to graduate school next year. The sociology concentrator is looking at doctoral programs at schools such as Stanford University and the University of California-Berkeley.
But to apply to these schools, Kitson needs to take the General Record Examinations and until a few days ago, she didn't know how to get to the test site.
The GRE testing site is at the Prometric Testing Center in Warwick - 10 miles from campus - and Kitson didn't have a ride.
"I registered for the GRE on Nov. 13," Kitson said. "But the test is in Warwick, and I don't have a car here. (The test is) at 8 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday, and not a lot of people are going to be excited to drive you that early."
Kitson called several offices at Brown to see if the school provided transportation to the test, but she had no success.
"I called the Office of Student Life, the Career Development Center, the Transportation Office and the Graduate School Program, and I was redirected to a lot of places," she said.
Kitson eventually realized that Brown did not offer any transportation services to Warwick for the GRE - something some students say makes it harder than it should be to take the test.
Although Kitson eventually found a ride, she said it was frustrating that Brown had not made the graduate school application process easier.
"For a school that prides itself on sending its students to graduate school, transportation to the GRE should be something that should be offered," she said.
Unlike the SAT, the GRE is not offered on specific dates - each student chooses a date to take the four-hour general test. Subject tests for the GRE are given at Brown, and Kitson questioned why the general test could not be administered on campus as well.
"Every (graduate) school requires the general test before the subject tests," she said.
Kimberly DelGizzo, associate dean of the college and director of the Career Development Center, said Brown does not have the facilities to administer the general test on campus.
"We administer the subject tests on campus, but because the general test is computerized, they need a site that will have enough computers to accommodate all the students taking the test," she said.
DelGizzo said she has not received any complaints about the lack of transportation.
"No students have approached us and asked us to provide transportation to Warwick to take the test," she said.
She added that it is unlikely that the CDC will provide transportation to GRE takers in the near future. The center does not have a budget to hire a bus to take students to the site.
"I believe that there are other options, such as public transportation, that will provide students access to the site," she said.
The testing center is located near T.F. Green Airport. For students taking an 8 a.m. test, the airport shuttle leaves at 6:27 a.m. from Faunce Arch and costs $9 each way, and the No. 12 bus route of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority leaves at 7:11 a.m. from Kennedy Plaza and costs $1.06 each way for students.
But to some students, public transportation is an unsatisfactory option. Spencer Campbell '05 could not find a ride and will have to take a bus to get to Warwick.
"I suspect that I'll have to get up much earlier than I want," he said, noting that his test starts at 8 a.m.
Campbell also said he worried that his transportation troubles could affect his performance on the test, which he said is an "intellectually draining experience already."
"(The test) has a lot riding on it already; you don't need to worry about getting a ride on top of that," he said.
Campbell said he knew some students who were arranging a carpool to go to Warwick for the exam, but he added that in order to make an arrangement some students might have to make sacrifices about their schedules.
Most graduate schools require one or more GRE tests for admission. There are two types of tests: the general test and subject tests, which are given in eight disciplines and assess the skills of applicants in specific fields of study. The general test evaluates analytical writing, verbal and quantitative skills. Many graduate schools, including those at Brown and Harvard University, require the general test. In addition, many graduate programs also require the subject tests, depending on the applicant's field of study.
Brown is not the only college in Providence that does not provide students with transportation to Warwick for the general test - Providence College and the University of Rhode Island's Providence campus both ask their students to find their own transportation as well.
Kitson said she hopes that Brown will be more accommodating to graduate school applicants in the future.
"I think that providing transportation to the General Test should be a priority for Brown," Kitson said. "It should be a priority before (administering) the subject tests, because every school requires the general test first. If transportation for that is not in the budget, I think it should be."
