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about retaking PGRE and sending score

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 2:38 am
by ddnath
Is it a problem if I take physics GRE more than once? Is there any negative effect if I send my better score to universities after retaking the PGRE?

Re: about retaking PGRE and sending score

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:14 pm
by TakeruK
There are different options to report your GRE scores. Some options will show all your scores and some options will let you pick which one you want to choose. You can read about it here: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general ... oreselect/

Note that your options are different on test day than after test day. There are less choices on test day but you do get 4 free score reports on test day!

Re: about retaking PGRE and sending score

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 9:40 pm
by Catria
To make sure you are not wasting those free test reports, you have to list up to four schools you would apply to without fail. That is a little tricky when it comes to subject GRE tests...

Re: about retaking PGRE and sending score

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 3:33 am
by cwr
Also, be sure to note the different policies that exist.

A colleague of mine was going to rewrite the exam in October, because he felt like he was definitely short of 990 territory and wanted to get closer to a perfect score. However, UCSB has the following policy with regard to GRE scores:
Q: I have taken the GRE exams more than once. Can I mix and match the results?

A: GRE scores can not be mixed and matched. We will review only the most recent scores, regardless of the outcome.

Source: http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/education/p ... ate#mixgre
Take from this what you will, but this struck me as a somewhat unorthodox policy. I'm lucky and glad that I'm only taking the General and Subject exams once, so this won't be a problem for me, but it is something that everyone should be aware of because I'm sure some other schools take a similar stance.

Re: about retaking PGRE and sending score

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:27 pm
by TakeruK
@cwr: I saw policies like this back when I was applying and I am very willing to bet that UCSB's page is just plain outdated. Before "ScoreSelect" (implemented in 2012 I think), every score report sent always contained every single test written in the last 5 years.

During this time, if your scores were something like (I'm even using the old 800 point system from back then!)

Test 1, October 2010
GRE V:600/800
GRE Q: 800/800
AWA: 4.5/6

and

Test 2, January 2011
GRE V: 650/800
GRE Q: 780/800
AWA: 4.5/6

some students would want to "mix and match" scores and report something like
GRE V: 650/800, GRE Q: 800/800, AWA: 4.5/6.

UCSB's page is saying you cannot do this, you must report scores as a set. Some schools have different policies when you report more than one set of scores though. The two most commonly seen ones where "We'll average your scores" or "We'll take the most recent" (as UCSB is saying).

However, in today's "ScoreSelect" world, you can choose exactly which set of scores to send. You still can't mix and match but if you took it three times and only send them your best set of scores, they won't know that you took it two other times.

Re: about retaking PGRE and sending score

Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 12:20 am
by cwr
TakeruK: Ah! Thanks so much for this!

This makes a lot of sense. Some pages can easily be seen to be outdated (like Caltech's, since it still lists "average scores" that are on the 800 point scale), but it didn't occur to me that this might just be outdated. (I thought "why does ETS advertise this score select thing when a school says it'll only look at your most recent?" but that makes a lot of sense.)

Thanks again!

Re: about retaking PGRE and sending score

Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 7:45 am
by ddnath
Many thanks to all of you for your response. By the way I registered for the October test. I was not from purely physics background and was preparing for general GRE and TOEFL too. But at this point of preparation I am thinking for a reschedule of PGRE to April. In that case I know that I will not be able to apply to Physics departments in this 16 fall. :(