<p>So, if you are a rising senior in college and know that one day you will attend grad school, but can't afford to go right away, should you take the GRE's senior year and ask for reccommendations too? How current do they have to be?</p>
<p>GRE scores are valid for 5 years. It is the student’s decision when to take them.</p>
<p>Letters of recommendation must be current, and in most fields, should include not only the applicant’s undergraduate background, but also what the student has been doing since graduation. </p>
<p>Students who will not be applying to graduate school right out of college should speak to their potential recommenders, and inform them of their plans. If the professors agree to write letters, they can then be contacted when the student is applying, provided with a current resume, and reminded of all of the necessary other data (courses taken and when, grades earned, etc.). It is also wise for students to hold on to graded term papers and offer to provide these to recommenders when the time comes to solicit letters.</p>
<p>It is also often a good practice to share one statement of purpose with one’s recommenders. This helps in composing appropriate, targeted letters of rec.</p>
<p>Bottom line: students considering graduate work in the future should speak to their current professors about this. The professors in the student’s field are the best advisors in seeking appropriate graduate programs for that student, and can offer invaluable advice about further preparation the student should undertake after graduation (languages, etc.).</p>
<p>Let’s say we want to attend graduate school after 5-6 years of full-time work in industry. With this experience, do we still need to send GRE scores for top schools? What about 8-10 years of full-time work, if we choose to go back to school to keep up with the tech?</p>
<p>lil_killer129,</p>
<p>Yes.</p>