GRE scores: are folks OK with them even if they're on the tail end of validity?

[monsterbash]

Preface: this is in all likelihood a really stupid question!

I took the general GREs in September 2007. I applied unsuccessfully to PhD programs this past season and I'm waiting till Fall 2011 to give it another go, which means that my scores will be just over four years old by the time I apply and about four-and-a-half years old by the time anyone sees them. (And, if I make it in anywhere, they'll have just expired soon after I begin in 2012.) So they'll still be valid for the application deadlines, but I'm wondering if they're still acceptable or if newer scores (say under three years) are strongly preferred? Do ripened scores "look worse" than newer ones?

I've looked on the websites of most of the schools that are on my list, and so far I'm just seeing instructions that call for valid scores: no other age limit. But especially after seeing the post about Rutgers's stipulations, I just worry that other schools might also not be too keen on older scores even if they do accept them.

Thank you all so much.

[Alette]

I really don't know. My gut feeling is that, if you did well (700+ verbal and 5.5+ AW with an acceptable Q score), then you don't need to take it again as long as your scores are less than 5 years old. But if you didn't, and/or you're too nervous about cutting it close at 4 1/2 years, then I'd take it in the spring or early summer, before they change the test in August.

Really, you should contact potential schools and ask what they think. That's the only way to know for sure. I hope for your sake they say, "Nope, you're OK!"!

[lifealive]

Valid scores are valid scores. It shouldn't matter whether or not they were taken in 2006 or 2011. Five years is a (relatively) small period of time, and your brain probably has not changed that much since then. For most people over 30 or 40 (i.e. most admissions committee members and faculty), 2007 was yesterday. Even in 2011 it will be like yesterday. In fact, I think a lot of older people would laugh if you referred to anything from 2007 as "old."

If your scores are decent, you should just plow forward and work on the real meat of your application. That time will be well used. I wish I had taken my GREs well before I worked on my applications so that I could have focused more on what mattered.

[monsterbash]

Thank you both very much!

I completely recognize how stupid it is for me to call anything from 2007 "old." Like I said before: this is a totally silly question, but one that's been nagging me nonetheless. Thanks again!

[booktobook]

You should probably check with each program, though. For example, I know Carnegie Mellon specifically states that your GRE scores cannot be more than two years old even though ETS says they are valid for five. You should be fine for most schools, but it is worth it to check.

[fall-11]

If it helps, my GRE is from 2007 as well, but I'm not retaking it. Good luck!