Carl vs ETS

Applying for grad school is one of the most harrowing experiences I have ever been a part of. Not only does it cost an incredible amount of money (about 500 dollars so far), but it is a mess of bureaucracy and hoop jumping so complex that you should be given a degree upon completion of your application materials. The first major hurdle I encountered was getting my transcripts from Lane Community College sent to Oregon State University. For the other two colleges I attended, getting transcripts sent was a breeze, it took about a total of 2 minutes for two schools. Lane, however, was not about to make it so easy on me. I couldn't order online, because I didn't have a valid "L" number (student ID number). I tried to call Lane, but every time their automated phone service forwarded me to the enrollment services department, the phone would just hang up. I finally decided to go down to Lane and take care of it in person, but to my chagrin they were closed that day for an inservice. I was really happy at this point. The next week after my anger subsided enough I went BACK to Lane one last time, and even though I had to wait in line for over an hour, I got the transcript sent. Lane is also the only school that charged me to send official transcripts. Complete and utter failure.

Now to the latest problem...

I am now applying to Central Washington University, which I kind of decided at the last minute but figured I could do during the Winter Break. The first hurdle was my "extremely reliable" 4 month old mac laptop breaking for the second time, which I had to ship out to the service center to get fixed. It is now fixed, and luckily I didn't lose any of my stuff. After this I got all of my application material sent in about an hour, except my GRE scores. I figured this would be the easiest of all the things I needed to get in. Boy, was I wrong. The website asks for a email conformation number that you get when you sign up for the test to log in to the website. When I put the number in, I get an error message that says it is an invalid number. It is the only number I have received and should be correct. I tried emailing ETS and got a automatic reply that said "due to high email volume allow 7-10 days for a response. I tried calling them today and after navigating the maze that is their automated phone system, the phone began to ring for a customer service representative. After about 20 rings, the service informed me that it too is receiving high call volume and wait times were extremely long. After about 10 minutes holding I was given the opportunity to leave a message stating my problem. This evolved recording separately your first name (spoken and spelled), your last name (spoken and spelled), your city (spoken and spelled), your state (spoken and spelled), your conformation (which is the reason I am calling), and finally the trouble you are having. I basically shouted my problem, which probably won't help my case much, but it's better to yell at the recording than a person, I suppose. Lets all hope this ends peacefully and without any bloodshed. It really makes no sense that this is what is holding up my application, but I guess it had to be something.