Although I have applied to American universities for undergraduate, I am not banking on being accepted (in which case I would also need full financial support/scholarship). However, I definitely know I want to go to grad school in the US, preferably at an Ivy League or top American university (eg. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, Caltech, UC Berkeley, NYU).
Subsequently, I am considering taking the GRE several years early in order to get it out of the way and give me more chances to resit if I need to. What would you guys say about this? Is it worth taking the exam early or is it better to complete a few years of university beforehand?
*Also, sorry if this is in the wrong forum. Please feel free to move it if it is.
^Exactly what he said. Plus, I think most universities would prefer a score which isn’t over 3 years old.
Ahh ok. So would you say it’s best to do it either one or two years before?
Yep. Preferably a year before.
I don’t think schools will pay too much attention (if any) to when you took it but unless things have changed recently scores are only good for 5 years so this is probably too early. If you want to do the test early that is fine, but I would probably wait until about junior or senior year of college. Keep in mind also that although the Math is pretty basic and does not go beyond what you learn in HS, the reading definitely goes beyond what you have probably been exposed to and many of the passages are the type that you would see in college or even graduate school. So you will probably be better prepared for that section in particular after a few years of college.