Many graduate programmes and business schools use the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) as a standardised test to evaluate applicants’ abilities and knowledge. Although the test is a crucial component of the admissions process, institutions also take other aspects into account. What is the validity of GRE scores is one query that many students have.
Most graduate and business institutions in the US and Canada require students to take the GRE, a standardised test. It is employed to ascertain a candidate’s suitability for a given programme. The Educational Testing Service owns and oversees the exam (ETS). The analytical writing, mathematics, and vocabulary portions of the test are meant to assess candidates’ capacity for abstract thought.
GRE score validity – Rules
Know Your Test: You need to be aware of which GRE test score is necessary for your graduate school since ETS offers two different GRE exam options, the GRE General Test and the GRE Subject Tests.
Choose a date for your exam: Once the exam is chosen, you must set the exam date ahead of the admission deadline. Select the GRE exam date that works best for you if you want to acquire two master’s degrees with the same GRE score.
Validity of GRE Scores: Since the GRE result is valid for five years, you should send it as soon as you can to the pertinent university. Your GRE results will be reliable and useful if you want to begin your second master’s programme immediately following your first.
GRE for College Admissions: Due to ETS’s lack of an age restriction, many students take the GRE during their final year of undergraduate study and submit graduate school applications as soon as their selected college is able to accept new students. Do it if it works for you, please!
What are the types of GRE tests and their score validity?
GRE General Exam – The GRE General Test is meant to assess your ability to understand complicated written language, solve math problems, etc. It includes analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. To go into graduate school, students take this test.
The purpose of the GRE Subject Tests is to evaluate your understanding of a particular subject or field of study. There are four subjects in the test: Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology.
How long is a score on the GRE General Exam valid?
Five years after the test date, a GRE General Test score is still valid. Submit your GRE score within five years if you want to attend a reputable graduate programme. Your GRE score will immediately expire and disappear from your ETS account after five years. You can repeat the GRE exam if you want to raise your score.
How long are the results of GRE subject tests valid?
Scores from GRE subject tests are valid for approximately five years after the exam date. It covers every subject, including psychology, physics, arithmetic, and chemistry. As you don’t receive your results until five weeks following the exam date, you can’t mail them immediately away in this case.
When will you receive your GRE results?
Your verbal and quantitative reasoning scores for the GRE General Test will be provided to you at the testing facility after you take the exam. Around two weeks following your test date, your Analytical Writing score will be available in your ETS Account and in the score report delivered to the people you specified to receive it.
Three weeks after your test date, your official scores will be emailed to the chosen score receivers and made visible in your ETS Account. It will take about five weeks for your official GRE General Test scores to be accessible if you took the exam on a paper delivery date.
The GRE score expires for what reasons?
The reason why GRE scores expire is that the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which conducts the test, wants to guarantee that the results utilised by institutions are up-to-date and appropriately reflect the test taker’s abilities and knowledge.
The ETS regularly conducts research on the GRE General Test and GRE Subject Tests to make sure that the exams are valid and trustworthy indicators of the abilities and knowledge they are meant to evaluate. The tests’ content and structure may alter as a result of this research, according to ETS. The degree to which the scores correlate with the most recent test version may not be obvious if results are not frequently updated.
Conclusion
We believe you now understand the significance of your GRE score. ETS, which administers the GRE exam, offers a five-year maximum validity period without renewal. For both general and topic tests, the evaluation is valid for 5 years. It is the same regardless of the test’s format, location, or method of delivery—paper or computer.
FAQs
How long do GRE results remain valid?
The GRE is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and according to ETS, scores are valid for five years following the testing year in which you took the test. Your GRE scores, for instance, would be valid until the end of 2025 if you took the exam in 2020.
Can I apply to multiple graduate schools with the same GRE scores?
Yes.
Can I submit my graduate school application with outdated GRE scores?
Individual colleges typically have the discretion to accept or reject past GRE scores. Scores older than five years may be accepted by some schools, while more recent results may be required by others. It is generally a good idea to inquire with the colleges you are applying to about their policy regarding accepting previous test results.
Can I extend the time that my GRE results are valid?
Your GRE results cannot be kept valid for longer. You can sign up for a new test date on the ETS website if your previous test results are no longer valid and you need to retake the exam.
Can I pick and choose which GRE results I send to colleges?
Yes, you can select the scores you want to send to colleges using the Score Select tool provided by ETS. This implies that if you’ve taken the GRE more than once, you can choose the results you think best reflect your aptitudes. Your ETS Account gives you access to the Score Select option.