Catastrophe definition, a sudden and widespread disaster: the catastrophe of war. See more.
1 Total Time: The computer-delivered GRE takes 3 hours and 45 minutes for the average student.  Experts recommend sitting for the GRE exam one year prior to entering graduate school. This allows for ample study time and the option to retake it if desired.
So you might not even know if you need a retake until about 2 weeks after the test. This means that ideally you should actually take the GRE at least 36 days (15 days to get your score + 21 days to schedule a retake) before your app is due.