Man, since when did getting into AA school start getting so competitive? This is such a drastic increase in competitiveness relative to how competitive it was in 2007 (or so I hear).
No, if I re-take the GRE, I won't be able to have my new scores sent before December. The reason for this is because I just took on the test on the 18th, which means that I can't take it again until approximately October 18th due to the new 60 day rule. According to the new GRE score reporting schedule, if I take the test on October 18th (the soonest date I can take it due to the 60 day rule), my scores won't be sent out until December at the earliest, which means I miss Emory's application deadline and possibly South's.
When you say to put my eggs in another basket, I assume you mean pursue another career? LOL. Even though it definitely isn't how I want things to work out, I am starting to realize that I may have to choose another career. If I don't get accepted somewhere this cycle (especially after having applied last year), it seems like applying for a third time would be overkill, especially since it's only going to get more competitive from here. Having said that, I will also begin researching other mentally stimulating and rewarding careers in healthcare in which the schooling programs don't require students to have super-high quantitative IQs. So far, the only fields that come to mind are dosimetrist/radiation therapist, respiratory therapist, perfusionist, sonographer... but, eh, none of them are as appealing as anesthesia, and I've heard that the job markets in several of those fields are even worse off right now than the anesthesia job market.