Score reporting and Application Q

[bludreamz]

Hello. I'm planning to retake the GRE this summer and I know they let you report 4 or so scores for free at the time of the test. I have a general idea of which schools I want to apply to, but 1) haven't started the applications 2) haven't asked the professor of interest if they are taking on students.

My questions:
Can you send a score report if the school doesn't have a file for you? (Or do they automatically make one?)

Seeing how you should ask a professor if they are taking on students in the fall, how do you know what schools to send scores to if you take the GRE before that time?

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[KillerDiller]

In my experience, schools don't have a problem hanging onto your GRE scores even if they don't yet have an application from you. They simply start a file with the first piece of information they get and then build it from there until it's complete.

As far as contacting profs goes, if you're worried about it, why not just contact them over the summer before you sit for the exam? I emailed professors in the summer before I applied and I think all of them replied and told me whether or not they would be taking students. Also, sometimes you get lucky and the school's website will have this information already in place.

If you don't have any indicator that a professor is taking a student then it becomes--just like so many other things in this application process--a gamble.

 

[bludreamz]

In my experience, schools don't have a problem hanging onto your GRE scores even if they don't yet have an application from you. They simply start a file with the first piece of information they get and then build it from there until it's complete.

As far as contacting profs goes, if you're worried about it, why not just contact them over the summer before you sit for the exam? I emailed professors in the summer before I applied and I think all of them replied and told me whether or not they would be taking students. Also, sometimes you get lucky and the school's website will have this information already in place.

If you don't have any indicator that a professor is taking a student then it becomes--just like so many other things in this application process--a gamble.

Thanks! I will do that!

 

[JockNerd]

Seeing how you should ask a professor if they are taking on students in the fall, how do you know what schools to send scores to if you take the GRE before that time?

Just pick four schools you're sure you'd apply to if the prof is taking someone. You might miss one, or even all four, but there's no super clean way of doing that if you're not emailing profs till later.