<p>Wisteria:</p>
<p>This is not the first time that a departmental website has incoherent information when the information is corrected piecemeal. I take the list of required materials I posted as far more binding than the explanatory one you’ve posted. What it may mean is that if GRE scores are not available by the time the applications are reviewed, they will considerably weaken the latter. It depends on the timeline for looking at applications. Many have Dec. 15 deadlines and are looked at in mid-January.
Perhaps the operative word is “formally.” The admissions committee may take a preliminary look at an application that is very strong but is lacking the GRE scores, but will only formally review it once all the elements have been received. This, however, puts the applicant at a disadvantage if the committee has already decided on a list of admits and would have to knock out someone in order to make room for the late addition.</p>