RANT: Sending official score reports to colleges

[KnickNut3]

I'm applying to grad schools, and some of them take a "self-reported" GMAT score (i.e., you type it in). Then, if you get accepted and enroll, they ask that you send an official one. Totally logical--there's no reason to lie, because you'll have to prove it later, and there's no reason to send a report if you're not getting in, as your score is irrelevant.

Some, though, require an official score, sent in a sealed envelope from the testing commission, before they will release your decision. The cost? $28 for a piece of paper, per school. Furthermore, you can't just send it to "Harvard." If you're applying to 5 different programs at Harvard, you have to send it to Harvard 5 different times, at $28 a pop.

(a) What's the point in requiring a sealed score report when I'm probably not getting in anyway, and even if I do, I might not matriculate?
(b) Why do they charge $28 for piece of paper? Yes, I know--because they can. I wouldn't be surprised if the schools get a kickback of those $28 as incentive to require it.

Unfortunately, I didn't predict correctly every school I was going to apply to when I took the test 2 years ago, so I didn't use my "free" ones properly. It's sure a racket if you don't, though.

 

[Farang]

Everyone's got to make a living. I think most schools only require one score even for multiple programs, though, at least ones I've applied to.

 

[OCGuy]

How much did you pay for your 4 year degree? Isnt that just a piece of paper?

If you interview like a jackass, or have no inter-personal skills, it could have the same worth as Charmin.

 

[silverpig]

Question: I'm about to do the GMAT. When I get to choose the list of schools to send it to at the end of the test, can I just spam it out to say, 20 schools and then apply to only some of them?

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: silverpig
Question: I'm about to do the GMAT. When I get to choose the list of schools to send it to at the end of the test, can I just spam it out to say, 20 schools and then apply to only some of them?

IIRC you get 4

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
How much did you pay for your 4 year degree? Isnt that just a piece of paper?

If you interview like a jackass, or have no inter-personal skills, it could have the same worth as Charmin.

1. Uh, no. It's an education. Stupid analogy. The piece of paper I'm referring to doesn't provide any additional information that they couldn't just get a copy from me, or, at most, get an electronic confirmation from the test center.

2. What the hell does interviewing have to do with this? Can you read?

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: Farang
Everyone's got to make a living. I think most schools only require one score even for multiple programs, though, at least ones I've applied to.

Nah, each school that I'm applying to multiple programs requires separate reports. There's "making a living," and then there's "exploiting supply and demand by having a monopoly."

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: KnickNut3

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
How much did you pay for your 4 year degree? Isnt that just a piece of paper?

If you interview like a jackass, or have no inter-personal skills, it could have the same worth as Charmin.

1. Uh, no. It's an education. Stupid analogy. The piece of paper I'm referring to doesn't provide any additional information that they couldn't just get a copy from me, or, at most, get an electronic confirmation from the test center.

2. What the hell does interviewing have to do with this? Can you read?

Nevermind. I wouldnt worry about applying to "Harvard" if I were you. I think ITT Tech is in your future.

 

[sactoking]

I had to send transcripts/score reports to the Graduate School and the School of Business. I sent them to the B-School and they admitted me to the program, then forwarded the package on to the Grad School for the rubber stamp.

You're getting hosed.

 

[torpid]

Does ITT Tech have PHD programs? If so I might have to apply. That's about as much effort as I could muster when it comes to higher education.

 

[tmc]

yup, exams like gre, gmat, etc are just a big ripoff.

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31

Originally posted by: KnickNut3

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
How much did you pay for your 4 year degree? Isnt that just a piece of paper?

If you interview like a jackass, or have no inter-personal skills, it could have the same worth as Charmin.

1. Uh, no. It's an education. Stupid analogy. The piece of paper I'm referring to doesn't provide any additional information that they couldn't just get a copy from me, or, at most, get an electronic confirmation from the test center.

2. What the hell does interviewing have to do with this? Can you read?

Nevermind. I wouldnt worry about applying to "Harvard" if I were you. I think ITT Tech is in your future.

Is that why I was accepted there (Harvard) for undergrad?

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: sactoking
I had to send transcripts/score reports to the Graduate School and the School of Business. I sent them to the B-School and they admitted me to the program, then forwarded the package on to the Grad School for the rubber stamp.

You're getting hosed.

Interesting. I'll talk to the offices and see if they can both use the same report, at least before I shell out twice as much money.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

The biggest ripoff of all is the lack of correlation between these test scores and the future success as a student.
Back when I flirted with the idea of pharmacy school before settling on biochem I managed to pull a 87th percentile overall on my PCAT.
I can assure you, I may be an intelligent guy but I know I'm not more capable than 87% of the kids applying to pharmacy school.
I promise you that.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
The biggest ripoff of all is the lack of correlation between these test scores and the future success as a student.
Back when I flirted with the idea of pharmacy school before settling on biochem I managed to pull a 87th percentile overall on my PCAT.
I can assure you, I may be an intelligent guy but I know I'm not more capable than 87% of the kids applying to pharmacy school.
I promise you that.

I dunno, taking the practice LSAT as far as I can tell it is probably a good indicator as to your talent to study law. I learned some things after a few practices and topped out at around 165, but I always got a few flat wrong because I could not figure out the correct answer. The only problem I have with it is the speed at which you have to take it.

 

[Finalnight]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
The biggest ripoff of all is the lack of correlation between these test scores and the future success as a student.
Back when I flirted with the idea of pharmacy school before settling on biochem I managed to pull a 87th percentile overall on my PCAT.
I can assure you, I may be an intelligent guy but I know I'm not more capable than 87% of the kids applying to pharmacy school.
I promise you that.

I dunno, taking the practice LSAT as far as I can tell it is probably a good indicator as to your talent to study law. I learned some things after a few practices and topped out at around 165, but I always got a few flat wrong because I could not figure out the correct answer. The only problem I have with it is the speed at which you have to take it.

Yeah, LSAT actually has a fairly strong correlation to 1st year law grades. One of the few exams that correlate like that.

 

[sactoking]

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
The biggest ripoff of all is the lack of correlation between these test scores and the future success as a student.
Back when I flirted with the idea of pharmacy school before settling on biochem I managed to pull a 87th percentile overall on my PCAT.
I can assure you, I may be an intelligent guy but I know I'm not more capable than 87% of the kids applying to pharmacy school.
I promise you that.

QFT. I took the SAT and ACT as a sophomore and got a 1450 and 42 (I think). I graduated with my undergrad degree with a 2.3 GPA. I didn't try very hard in my 4.67 years.

I took the GMAT and got a 710, and now have a ~3.5 GPA as a B-School student (I'm only a couple of semesters in).

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: sactoking

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
The biggest ripoff of all is the lack of correlation between these test scores and the future success as a student.
Back when I flirted with the idea of pharmacy school before settling on biochem I managed to pull a 87th percentile overall on my PCAT.
I can assure you, I may be an intelligent guy but I know I'm not more capable than 87% of the kids applying to pharmacy school.
I promise you that.

QFT. I took the SAT and ACT as a sophomore and got a 1450 and 42 (I think). I graduated with my undergrad degree with a 2.3 GPA. I didn't try very hard in my 4.67 years.

I took the GMAT and got a 710, and now have a ~3.5 GPA as a B-School student (I'm only a couple of semesters in).

It seems like you are an intelligent person who had trouble applying himself. That is why colleges also look at grades and extracurricular activities, to see how much you can apply that score of yours.

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: sactoking

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
The biggest ripoff of all is the lack of correlation between these test scores and the future success as a student.
Back when I flirted with the idea of pharmacy school before settling on biochem I managed to pull a 87th percentile overall on my PCAT.
I can assure you, I may be an intelligent guy but I know I'm not more capable than 87% of the kids applying to pharmacy school.
I promise you that.

QFT. I took the SAT and ACT as a sophomore and got a 1450 and 42 (I think). I graduated with my undergrad degree with a 2.3 GPA. I didn't try very hard in my 4.67 years.

I took the GMAT and got a 710, and now have a ~3.5 GPA as a B-School student (I'm only a couple of semesters in).

It seems like you are an intelligent person who had trouble applying himself. That is why colleges also look at grades and extracurricular activities, to see how much you can apply that score of yours.

Which illustrates why standardized tests don't predict future success, but the potential for future success.

 

[Wreckem]

Originally posted by: Finalnight

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
The biggest ripoff of all is the lack of correlation between these test scores and the future success as a student.
Back when I flirted with the idea of pharmacy school before settling on biochem I managed to pull a 87th percentile overall on my PCAT.
I can assure you, I may be an intelligent guy but I know I'm not more capable than 87% of the kids applying to pharmacy school.
I promise you that.

I dunno, taking the practice LSAT as far as I can tell it is probably a good indicator as to your talent to study law. I learned some things after a few practices and topped out at around 165, but I always got a few flat wrong because I could not figure out the correct answer. The only problem I have with it is the speed at which you have to take it.

Yeah, LSAT actually has a fairly strong correlation to 1st year law grades. One of the few exams that correlate like that.

Well yeah. Those who would likely bust ass to get a 165+ and more likely to bust ass in law school than those who didnt study much for the LSAT and got in the 150 range.

 

[daniel1113]

It's the same with law schools. Just about every school requires an LSAC report, which costs $12 a pop. Not as bad as $28, but it still adds up if you apply to 8 or more schools.

I was gonna say that at least the LSAC report was somewhat useful, as it also includes letters of recommendation and your college transcripts; however, the letters of recommendation service was another $150 or so.

Factoring all those costs on top of the actual exam cost, and it gets expensive.

 

[rocadelpunk]

i have to pay $40 graduation fee

$120+ for teacher certification tests that I could have passed when I was in middle school

and $60+ for each certification applications/fee

Talk about a kick in the pants! I thought I was doing them the favor of being a math teacher with an actual degree/background in math and engineering + Masters in education : )

 

[dbk]

Good luck at Harvard