Sending Subject GRE if Not Required?

[papillon]

Hello all!

I am applying to several English PhD programs, and a few of them do not require the Subject GRE. I was not planning on sending my Subject test scores to those schools, but I got my scores back and did better than I expected (720). Should I send that score even though it is not required by the schools? I don't want to send information the adcomms don't want/care about, but I also don't want to leave out something that might strengthen my applications. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks very much for your help!

[BrandNewName]

Wow! Congratulations on a fantastic score.

For programs where it's an option (Penn, for example), I would definitely submit a score that is that high. There is no way it could hurt you in that situation.

For other schools, when requesting the score reports, I would just have the subject text listed. It doesn't cost anything extra and if they don't want it, they don't have to use it. I know schools like Chicago say that they actively remove information about subject test scores if you submit them...but if it makes it through to the committees, I don't see how a 720 could do anything but make you look like an even better candidate.

[Medievalmaniac]

Wow! Congratulations on a fantastic score.

For programs where it's an option (Penn, for example), I would definitely submit a score that is that high. There is no way it could hurt you in that situation.

For other schools, when requesting the score reports, I would just have the subject text listed. It doesn't cost anything extra and if they don't want it, they don't have to use it. I know schools like Chicago say that they actively remove information about subject test scores if you submit them...but if it makes it through to the committees, I don't see how a 720 could do anything but make you look like an even better candidate.

Second this. It can't hurt your application to send that score in with your other GRE scores, especially when it's that good.

[wreckofthehope]

Wow! Congratulations on a fantastic score.

For programs where it's an option (Penn, for example), I would definitely submit a score that is that high. There is no way it could hurt you in that situation.

For other schools, when requesting the score reports, I would just have the subject text listed. It doesn't cost anything extra and if they don't want it, they don't have to use it. I know schools like Chicago say that they actively remove information about subject test scores if you submit them...but if it makes it through to the committees, I don't see how a 720 could do anything but make you look like an even better candidate.

Also offering congratulations Papillon - that's an amazing score!

I've thought about this question too and, like outofredink, decided that if schools say "the gre subject is not required, but you may send scores if you wish" type thing, then I've sent them. For Chicago, I didn't - because they explicitly stated that the subject gre will not be included in the assessment of candidates - I got the impression they would prefer you not to send it.

I have Canadian universities that I'm dithering over... it's definitely not a requirement, but not sure if it would help or not - if I don't send them, then they may think I'm only applying to Canadian universities, which could work in my favour, possibly...oh, I don't know.

[BrandNewName]

For Chicago, I didn't - because they explicitly stated that the subject gre will not be included in the assessment of candidates - I got the impression they would prefer you not to send it.

Yes, they're very emphatic about it, aren't they? And I didn't catch that notation until after I had requested my scores (they were one of the programs I listed on test day). I tried to get ETS to cancel them, but they couldn't...I doubt it will impact me negatively, I sure hope it won't. I can hear them now: "Look at this, sent his subject test, clearly has zero capacity for comprehension."

[papillon]

Thank you all for your advice. None of the programs I am applying to states specifically that they do not accept subject test scores, so I think I'm just going to send them, and it can't hurt. Thanks again, and good luck everyone in this crazy process!