Page 1 of 1

How bad does "cancel" look on a score report?

Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 2:14 am
by SplitHappy1
How bad does one cancel (in the eyes of adcoms) look on a score report? Is it worth it to just withdraw (I mean, I don't get a score no matter what)?

I'm getting nervous and insecure with less than two weeks to go. And probably justly so.

Re: How bad does "cancel" look on a score report?

Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 2:25 am
by Nova
They wont care about a cancel. They only care about your highest score.

However, if you dont think you are ready to perform at your peak because your PTs are all over the place, you should seriously consider withdrawing so you dont waste one of your 3 takes in 2 years. You could take it in Oct and have Dec as the back up. If you bomb both, take next June.

Re: How bad does "cancel" look on a score report?

Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 2:29 am
by SplitHappy1
Nova wrote:They wont care about a cancel. They only care about your highest score.

However, if you dont think you are ready to perform at your peak because your PTs are all over the place, you should seriously consider withdrawing so you dont waste one of your 3 takes in 2 years. You could take it in Oct and have Dec as the back up. If you bomb both, take next June.
I'm only considering taking it for the experience. Is this a legitimate reason for showing up on test day?

(Also my parents paid and I'd hate to have them find out I decided not to go through with it this time around. I could pay them back, or just say I was able to change the date to the October test and secretly pay for the new test on my own.)

Re: How bad does "cancel" look on a score report?

Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 2:39 am
by Nova
What is the range of your last few PTs? What is your target score?

It is up to you whether it is worth buring one of your 3 takes in 2 years for the experiance. IMO, it is not. If you cancel and score well in October, everything would be fine. If you cancel, take it in october and score below your target, then you will have to make the difficult decision to use your final take in December to improve this cylce, or hold off till next June/Oct for next cycle.

If there is a strong possibilty you will do well this June, and only plan to cancel if you feel you did poorly, then taking it in June seems fine.

Re: How bad does "cancel" look on a score report?

Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 2:43 am
by SplitHappy1
Nova wrote:What is the range of your last few PTs? What is your target score?

It is up to you whether it is worth buring one of your 3 takes in 2 years for the experiance. IMO, it is not. If you cancel and score well in October, everything would be fine. If you cancel, take it in october and score below your target, then you will have to make the difficult decision to use your final take in December to improve this cylce, or hold off till next June/Oct for next cycle.

If there is a strong possibilty you will do well this June, and only plan to cancel if you feel you did poorly, then taking it in June seems fine.
170+ and I'm in the low 160s (after not much organized studying; I've been sloppy).

I don't plan on applying this fall anyway, to be honest, at least now that it doesn't look like I'll reach my goal without more practicing. I'm shooting for fall '13 in order to get some work experience before matriculating and gain in-state status on the east coast.

Re: How bad does "cancel" look on a score report?

Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 1:13 pm
by Nova
Well, since you are not going to apply for a full year, you should probably sit this one out.