Schools making GRE submissions optional

[Nico Corr]

I spoke to admissions staff in two IR grad schools this week about possibly holding off applying in order to improve weak Quantitative GRE scores, both of which indicated that they recently decided to make GRE scores optional, and didn't think that was necessary. One of these schools is a top 10 program.  Will this set a precedent for others? Is this a good or bad development? I certainly think it will help ease the already considerable financial burden Grad students must surmount. 

[CakeTea]

The only reason schools do it to widen the pool of applicants. The same reasons B and law schools accept the GRE for GMAT/LSAT.

[Nico Corr]

12 hours ago, CakeTea said:

The only reason schools do it to widen the pool of applicants. The same reasons B and law schools accept the GRE for GMAT/LSAT.

That is probably not too far off the mark.