The PTE exam is one of the most famous English language proficiency tests. Around 1 million students across the globe appear in this exam. Among them, there is a huge number of people who retake the test because their PTE score validity expires. So, it has been a major disappointment among the students why they have to appear again and again in the exam. So, read this article to get knowledge about the PTE validity and how to extend it. Moreover, it is recommended that you take the PTE exam mock test on a regular basis to move with the updated score requirements of the universities.
What is PTE Score Validity?
After taking the exam, your PTE score validity is 2 years. After that, the validity is removed from your profile and you have to re-appear for the exam. Furthermore, you still get an option to extend your score validity. The only catch here is that there are some criteria to consider the extension. Thus, you will read this part later in this article with the tips to extend it. But for now, let us discuss the importance of the validity of the score.
What is The Importance of PTE Score Validity?
“Once you have given the exam, what is the need of re-appearing in it again?” This question is in the minds of a lot of people and read this section to get a satisfactory answer to it.
The major reasons behind the PTE score validity are:
Language proficiency changes over time:
The command or the skills of the candidate over the language changes with the passage of time. Moreover, there are a lot of reasons behind this such as usage or practice. However, this score examines the current skills of the candidate over the language. Therefore, it becomes important for the candidates to re-appear in the exam after some time.
To maintain test integrity
Imposing a time limit on the test scores is important to preserve the reliability of the results integrity. Moreover, this guarantees that the institutes have the most recent data on the candidates. Thus, it will make your identity clear in front of the institution.
Alignment with institutional requirements
Many academic institutes and immigration organizations wish to get the recent documents of the applicants. Moreover, it ensures that the applicants can fulfill the recent requirement criteria of the institution. Thus, this 2-year validity period fits well in this case.
University admissions:
It will become easy for the colleges and universities to shortlist the candidates. Moreover, they will consider the person with the test in the most recent time over the person with a gap in the exam. It is because they have proven their language proficiency with reference to the recent trends in the academic world.
Change in the exam pattern:
As discussed above, the trend of the academic world changes with time. So, the pattern and syllabus of the exam also change. Thus, the institutes consider the people with recent scores more than the older candidates with a gap.
Changes in vocabulary:
Every year, there are around a thousand new words added to the English dictionary. Moreover, if you lack in the practice, then your skills in the language may suffer. This is why there is a validity of PTE score, to check the current status of the candidates.
These were the reasons because of why the PTE score is valid. Also, remember to take the PTE exam mock test on a regular basis to stay updated with the current exam pattern and language trends. So, now you are aware of the time of validity of the exam and its importance. Let us discuss what to do if your PTE score expires or is about to expire.
Can You Extend Your PTE Score Validity?
In most cases, you have to re-appear for the exam once the prior score is invalid. Still, there are a few considerations where you get an option to extend the validity of the exam score. So, it is important that you are aware of these situations. Therefore, these considerations are:
- Medical reasons: If you are suffering from any medical issue, you can apply for the score validity extension. However, you have to show a genuine medical certificate to the authorities to extend the validity.
- Visa processing delays: There are cases when you face delays in visa acceptance. So, in such cases, you have an option to extend the score validity. However, you need to show them a valid proof in such case.
- Other Circumstances: You can show valid proof to the authorities and ask them to extend your score validity. However, the reason should be serious and considerable.
So, these were some of the circumstances where validity extension is considerable. Now, if you can extend it, know a few things to keep in mind while applying.
How To Extend Your PTE Score Validity?
These are a few tips that every candidate should take care of while applying for the validity extension.
- The request for a score extension can be made only once.
- Request for the period extension before the score expires.
- This extension process asks for no extra fees. Thus, if you have a valid reason, then it is free to extend the score validity.
- Remember to collect genuine proof while applying for this process.
- Be prepared to answer the questions asked by the authorities.
So, these are some basic things that you need to keep in mind before applying for the score validity extension.
Conclusion
To conclude, this was all about the PTE score validity. Now you are aware of the time limit of the score validity and also why it expires. After that, you read about the reasons you can apply for the validity extension and also things to keep in mind during this process. Therefore, now you can apply for the extension and go for the PTE exam booking dates process. Thus, you still have an option to make your study abroad dream into a reality.