97 miles.

That's how far away the nearest Math GRE Subject Test site is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a top 30 school in a combined statistical area of 2 million people.

Likewise, someone living in San Diego, CA only has one chance to take the Chemistry subject test this year, and will need to travel 101 miles to LA in order to do so. A student at Indiana University-Bloomington will need to make a 1 hr 56 minute drive through Indianapolis for the Math Subject Test, not factoring in metro area traffic. 

The subject tests are offered up to two times this fall, and only in the spring in some locations. A little too much traffic can mean forfeiting the chance of even applying to a preferred graduate school. 

Students who can afford it may get a hotel room nearby. Those who can't will take the test with a few hours less sleep. This situation puts students of lower socioeconomic status and with disabilities at a systematic disadvantage, exacerbating accessibility issues with the GRE already identified by the academic community.

Subject test requirements have already been dropped by several top US graduate programs. Some still recommend them, but UChicago, the #3 math graduate program in the country, won't even accept them anymore. Indeed, requiring standardized tests for admission to graduate school is the exception that proves the rule. Most countries do not require such tests for graduate admissions. 

If these tests are a requirement in the United States, it is up to the academic community to ensure that the tests are accessible to students regardless of geography, disability status, or socioeconomic background. 

Our demand: 

Every R1 university should have a testing site within a 1 hour drive. 

To whom:

Our demand is aimed at ETS and universities, who have the power to negotiate with ETS. Additionally, we encourage the academic community to spread awareness, and ask graduate departments to be mindful of these issues this next admissions season.