Poor GRE Chemistry Scores!

[Mona_1993]

Hi everyone ,

 I just got my GRE chemistry scores - 30%, significantly lower than what I expected.I am applying for a PhD in organic chemistry for Fall-2017 and Chem GRE is highly recommended by all the universities that I am applying to. Should I report this score? 

Here is the list: Cornell, UIUC, UCI, UCLA, Yale, Columbia, Pittsburgh.

[dagnabbit]

Hmm, that's a tough situation. My advice would be to swallow your pride and seek the guidance of your letter writers, as they may have been on admissions committees before and therefore might be able to tell you whether no score would be better than a non-competitive score. Good luck!

[The Dark knight]

Absolutely not!! Why would you want to report a 30th percentile score. It will do you no good except maybe earn you respect from one of the members on the admission committee that values honesty and courage very much. Don't even think about reporting this score. Take the test again and score well if possible or just send your application without a chemistry GRE score.

[Mona_1993]

Even I thought of not reporting this score. But UCI and Cornell require the subject GRE scores for international students. I have already submitted my application for these 2 few days back and only yesterday got my result. How important is subject GRE  for the application?

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by Mona_1993

[Mad_Scientist]

I did not report my score (I was in that same boat as you) and have so far been accepted to Rochester with no other decisions in yet. Not quite the caliber of the programs you have listed, but still top 50. Strong GPA, general GRE, and research should work in your favor and can outweigh not reporting the subject test score.