Banking GMAT scores?

[amtoninato]

Hello!

I will be taking the GMAT on Monday July 29th, but I am planning to bank this score until I actually apply for business schools later down the road. I just finished college and had the entire summer off before I start my corporate job this fall, so I thought taking the GMAT would be worthwhile because the scores are valid for five years. However, I've read online you must pick schools to send in your scores at the test center. Does anyone know if you can opt to postpone sending the score into schools and still have access to the score report? I'm not entirely sure what schools I'll be applying to yet, so I preferably would like to save the score until I apply in 2-5 years. If anyone has experience in this or knows about the process for "banking" your GMAT score, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

Have a great day,

Ashley

[[email protected]]

Hi Ashley,

On Test Day, you are given the opportunity to send your GMAT score to 5 schools (the $250 fee includes 5 "free" schools). If you apply to any additional schools, or you leave those 5 fields blank on Test Day, then you will be charged an additional fee for each score report. The current price is $28 per report, so that can add up to some serious money if you leave those fields blank (or apply to a lot of schools).

While you might not be sure of which schools that you'll apply to later, you can probably take some decent guesses. Think about dream schools, safety schools, likely candidates - you get 5 for "free", make sure that you use them. There is no benefit in leaving those fields blank.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[David@VeritasPrep]

You do get five free reports but if your question is, "can I wait to send in reports." Of course you can!! GMAC is willing to send as many reports are you pay for...within those five years of course.

As Rich said if there are schools that you might want to apply to you can send the reports for free. But there is nothing to stress about. Send the now, send the later, your choice.

By the way, I love the idea of banking a score. There is no process. You just earn the score. It is reportable for 5 years. Then you only have to worry about applications and recommendations and essays and not the GMAT score. Way to think ahead!

[amtoninato]

Thanks guys!!

Sounds good! I have a couple schools in mind, so I may just put those ones down for now. Do either of you know if those schools would receive my scores after my test or would they receive them later when I apply in the future? Also if I decide to retake the test, the schools would see both scores either way right? Thanks so much for the help! And yes thanks Rich, I am really glad that banking my scores seems like a good idea!

Ashley

[[email protected]]

Hi Ashley,

When you list a school on your GMAT score report, you're authorizing Pearson to give the school your score when the school ASKS for it. Pearson is NOT going to send out a bunch of score reports if you're not applying. A school won't ask for your report until you apply, which means the school will contact Pearson to confirm your score and receive the official report (which will include every score report that is in your file).

Just to reiterate, there is NO benefit in leaving those 5 fields blank. Even if you're just "guessing" at which schools you might be applying to in the future, you should fill in those 5 fields.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich