<p>When I entered my self-reported GRE scores for my first few applications, I used the data from the score report that was sent to me. However, when I decided access the online score report on the GRE website, I discovered a discrepancy: the scores are the same, but the percentiles on the online score report are slightly higher than those on the mailed report. I decided to use the data from the online score report on the later applications due to the higher percentile.</p>
<p>However, schools generally don't like seeing discrepancies between the self-reported data and the official reports. I'm a bit worried, since I don't know which version of the scores will be sent to the schools. Is this something I should tell the schools about, or will they find out about it on their own?</p>
<p>The version on the website will be sent to all schools that you designated later in the year. Your original four got the same report, with percentages, that you did at first.</p>
<p>The same thing happened to my daughter, more or less. She filled out all her applications with the information from her original score report. Her first four universities received reports, with percentages that were identical to those she entered; however, the other five universities received later GRE reports that had changes in the percentage – her Q went down a point and her AW went up 2. She had no idea that the percentages had changed until she opened the later score reports which had been sent home, not to school.</p>
<p>I’m sure this happens all the time. As long as the actual scores are correct, I wouldn’t worry.</p>
<p>I was in the same situation, and I figured out that it is due to the fact that GRE modifies the percentile based on their update on the annual score data of the batch of the new GRE takers who are also representative of the most current applicants to grad school for a certain year. This is for the adcom to “compare the scores, whenever earned, with those for a recent reference group.” This is their words on the Percentile Rank section you can find on the back of the GRE Score report you received from ETS.
I myself think it does not matter which one you fill in the application, because the official score report will reflect the most updated percentile.<br>
Hope that this helps.</p>
<p>Which means that many people’s percentiles will change with the annual update, perhaps even multiple times in multiple years. Your percentile changes aren’t anomalous.</p>