GRE subject scores recommended, not required

[JoeWilliams]

So I got a 52% on my chemistry GRE. Its not awful but its not good. I was planning on not sending it to most schools, but if the school asks, “have you taken the Chemistry GRE test,” can I say no? Am I obligated to report it or is it a private score that I need not mention. On the GRE website I can find no discussion of this.

Thanks,

Joe

[SANDIEGO]

I wouldn't send it, and I wouldn't mention it. Pretty sure you're not obligated to report a score that is only "recommended".

[Quantum Buckyball]

So I got a 52% on my chemistry GRE. Its not awful but its not good. I was planning on not sending it to most schools, but if the school asks, “have you taken the Chemistry GRE test,” can I say no? Am I obligated to report it or is it a private score that I need not mention. On the GRE website I can find no discussion of this.

Thanks,

Joe

You don't have to send it.

Most school will only look at your subject GRE score if you told them you were interest in applying for their fellowships.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Quantum Buckyball

[TakeruK]

If I didn't want to report a recommended test, I would not have reported it. I'm not sure if you "have" to report it though -- almost all applications make you agree to a statement that's something like "I certify that all information provided is true and complete to my knowledge etc.." So if you answer "no" to the "did you take the test?" question, you are technically breaking that statement. However, not all sections on the applications are generally required (e.g. usually financial information questions are optional), so I would argue that since the test is optional, the question about the test is also optional.

I remember looking at some of the applications and realising there were actually very few required questions. So my advice to all application is to reveal only what you think is beneficial/neutral. If you are about to write something that might not look good, first check to make sure it's actually required. Usually, just before submission, you can click on a button to "check for completeness" and it will tell you if any required fields are missing. Obviously, there are some things you cannot hide, and sometimes omitting certain facts might hurt more than revealing a bad score, for example, so use your judgement!

I feel that despite the disclaimer you have to sign, whether or not you took a GRE test and your score is personal and confidential. Even if the school requires the subject score, you can still choose to not reveal/submit it and they will have to decide whether or not they want to still look at your application (probably not).

I had one school that "strongly recommended" the Physics GRE. I scored 44% and 52%. I submitted both scores and got in. Another school did not ask for the Physics GRE at all, so I did not submit it (I answered no to their question about having taken the test). However, my general GRE score did not get sent to them properly and they asked for a scan of the score report I got in the mail. The mail score report is for me only so it contains ALL of my test scores. When I scanned the score report, I blocked out the Subject GRE score section (using Paint lol) and wrote a note stating that I did not wish to report these scores because it was not required. I wasn't asked any questions about it and they accepted me. Technically, since all Subject GREs appear in the same section of the mailed score report, they didn't have to know it was Physics GRE scores instead of e.g. Math GRE scores from the past or something.

However, I think if a school doesn't require a subject GRE score, that means they probably don't really care. For the "strongly recommended" school, I decided that I'd rather show that I took the test and tried my best (since I got two consistent scores) instead of avoiding it at all.