<p>Hi
I wanted to know when is the best time to give the GRE?? I have just finished my sophomore year and am planning to appear for it this august......is this a good idea or should i wait till my junior year is over......</p>
<p>I am more inclined to appear this year because as an intl student i would have to give the TOEFL too.....n keeping in mind the program deadlines it would be much more hectic if i have to appear in the GRE,TOEFL and fill out applications all around the same time..... </p>
<p>What i need to know is that is there any harm in appearing a year earlier????Specialy if ETS decides to launch the new GRE after i appear??? And is it possible to get my scores sent to the universities 1 year after appearing from the ETS?? What is the procedure for that???</p>
<p>There is no specific "best" time to give GRE , make sure you have enough time to prepare thats pretty much the only factor. Also , if you are an intl and doing your undergrad in the US , you wont need your TOEFL scores for most colleges. In case you are doing your undergrad abroad then you will need TOEFL. TOEFL honestly requires 0 preparation , you could probably be spend around an hour to prepare for it and still get a near perfect score , so dont fret about it too much.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure your scores will be ok as long as they are valid , so you should be fine even if the GRE format changes(ETS usually states which are the last test dates till which old GRE's will be accepted and so on, you can double check on their website).</p>
<p>One thing to be aware of as an international - there are many fewer test dates available outside the US. You want to schedule your test so that if you choke or ETS screws up, you have plenty of time to re-take it.</p>
<p>Don't worry about the format change - scores are good for 5 years and they have a guide to comparing the "new" test to the "old" test for adcoms. (If they ever decide to re-launch the "new" format test.)</p>
<p>To send your scores outside of the 4 "free" ones you have to call or send physical mail - the details are on the GRE website.</p>
<p>WilliamC if i take the GRE now...would i be able to send the 4 "free" scores or will they be wasted as my application procedure wouldn't start till next year...... Can the scores be sent to an institute a year in advance????</p>
<p>Would it be a good idea to study for and take the GRE during the summer after freshman year? That way you can keep the rest of your summers free.</p>
<p>@Abso- Yeah you can send them a year earlier , which basically means they have it on file whenver you apply , they may ask you send them again nevertheless.</p>
<p>@Badman- Well getting standardized tests out of the way definitely helps , but you would rather do research/internships over the summer than worry about one test, assuming you are that certain about grad school you can use your time far more constructively than wasting an entire summer over a test.</p>
<p>Well a lot of people do work over all 3 summers or even research. I personally ended up working over two summers. But either way the point being that a summer worth of research or professional experience will carry a long way more than a GRE score.</p>
<p>Yes, I realize that a summer's worth of research or professional experience will get me a lot further than a GRE score but again, the only response I can give you is that I don't think I'll spend all three summers engaging in research or internships.
I'm going to have to spend at least one summer visiting my family and friends; this will either be the summer after freshman year or the summer after sophomore year. I was hoping to use that time to study for and take the GRE.</p>