New to the possibility of Grad school--Help?

[monquin]

I'll get right to the point and say that I moved around a LOT after high school. I never made poor grades, but I did attend several colleges.

Now I have settled on a university and know I am going to be here to graduate from this university.

I know there's a lot of concern with others not wanting to report other colleges attended based on poor grades, but that's not the case for me. I made good grades, but I attended several colleges.

Since I am not tied down, I don't see a reason not to apply broadly. So, my question is this:

 

Are there any graduate schools that do not require report of all schools EVER attended?

I don't mind to report, so I am not asking if I can get away with not reporting. I am asking if there are any graduate schools that do not require to report.

 

Also, what would be the recommended time to take the GRE?

 

Thank you.

[fuzzylogician]

This is such a broad question. Yes, some schools only care about transcripts from your degree granting institution (usually if all the credits transferred and also appear on that transcript). Occasionally we hear on the board about schools that don't care about colleges where you only took one class, or colleges that you attended during high school. You need to figure this out with the schools you want to apply to, but if you say it doesn't matter then why even bother with this question?

Re: GRE, depends on how much studying you need to do and how much time you'll have to devote to your studies. You have a lot of time, assuming you want to apply during the next Fall application cycle, so you could schedule an exam for some time in the summer and therefore be absolutely sure you have enough time to prepare for the exam.

[monquin]

The point of asking this question was to find out if anyone, right off the bat, knew of any schools that did not require report of all schools attended. I have a couple of schools that I only received six credit hours total from. I thought someone would know of some schools that would not find it necessary to send an official transcript from those schools (especially since one of those schools requires payment for an official transcript). I plan to apply broadly, which means that I will apply to whichever school that I find fits my needs even if it is located across the nation.

Thank you for your help.

[ak48]

I think I took the GRE in september, after about 2 weeks of book studying (my kaplan book came with computer practice tests).

 

I've historically been a good standardized test taker, so it was fine for me. I also applied to places where I figured GRE wasn't that important anyway.

[ak48]

The point of asking this question was to find out if anyone, right off the bat, knew of any schools that did not require report of all schools attended. I have a couple of schools that I only received six credit hours total from. I thought someone would know of some schools that would not find it necessary to send an official transcript from those schools (especially since one of those schools requires payment for an official transcript). I plan to apply broadly, which means that I will apply to whichever school that I find fits my needs even if it is located across the nation.

Thank you for your help.

 

Honestly I think that this is a very poor reason to decide on a graduate school application. You should make the decision based on program fit, potential advisors and location. The minutia of application requirements, even if it does cost you an extra few dollars, should be irrelevant in my opinion.

 

FWIW, I had a few "transfer" credits from summer programs, and because they showed up in my graduating institution transcript (as pass/fail), nobody wanted a separate transcript for the 1-2 classes.

[fuzzylogician]

Honestly I think that this is a very poor reason to decide on a graduate school application. You should make the decision based on program fit, potential advisors and location. The minutia of application requirements, even if it does cost you an extra few dollars, should be irrelevant in my opinion.

What s/he said. Choose according to fit, not according to what transcripts a school requires.

And if you're serious about getting help, you should ask better questions. At the very least, tell us what degree you're applying for and in what field. Do you care about linguistics programs that didn't want all my transcripts? I suspect you don't.

[TakeruK]

I agree with others that this isn't a good way to determine which schools to apply to. But I also want to point out that many schools will just want unofficial transcripts, not official ones, so you don't have to worry about the hassle of ordering one (and paying for it)! Sometimes they will accept a screenshot from your online grades viewing system, or just order a transcript for yourself, open it, and scan it. Some schools even give you online access to transcripts with the words "UNOFFICIAL" all over them.

[ak48]

I agree with others that this isn't a good way to determine which schools to apply to. But I also want to point out that many schools will just want unofficial transcripts, not official ones, so you don't have to worry about the hassle of ordering one (and paying for it)! Sometimes they will accept a screenshot from your online grades viewing system, or just order a transcript for yourself, open it, and scan it. Some schools even give you online access to transcripts with the words "UNOFFICIAL" all over them.

 

 

Hm, most schools in my case wanted an official transcript eventually. I applied to 8 schools, and about half of them were content with unofficial transcripts to submit the application, but wanted a real transcript later in the process.

[tarrman]

@ak48 Same here. I've got to say, it makes so much more sense to just submit an unofficial transcript for the application and then a real one post-graduation. I chose not to apply to Stanford because they wanted TWO copies of official transcripts (and also because of the whole quals/funding/$125 application/Palo Alto cost of living is astronomical thing).

@monquin It might be worth contacting these schools closer to the time you apply. If you're having to submit official transcripts from 3-4 schools to 8 or so programs, the cost can get pretty expensive. Their might be some extenuating circumstances in your case. You should also take the GRE early on since you're only allowed to take it once every 30 days. I'd recommend trying it in the summer, and then again in the fall if necessary (I wouldn't take it more than twice).

[ak48]

@ak48 Same here. I've got to say, it makes so much more sense to just submit an unofficial transcript for the application and then a real one post-graduation. I chose not to apply to Stanford because they wanted TWO copies of official transcripts (and also because of the whole quals/funding/$125 application/Palo Alto cost of living is astronomical thing).

 

I forgot about the graduation thing. I'm a few years removed from college so I had my final transcripts throughout the process.

 

Stanford would have been nice, althou the quals are notorious indeed.