When applying to graduate school, many students take the Graduate Record Exam, or GRE. In most cases, people who take the GRE do so within a year of their application deadlines. However, because a GRE score is valid for five years, you may choose to take the test several years before you are ready to apply to grad school.

So, if you’re still an undergraduate, it may be beneficial to take the GRE now, whether you plan to attend graduate school right after graduation or at a later time within the next five years. By taking the GRE now, you’ll avoid having to deal with the exam down the road.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the advantages of taking the GRE while you’re still in college. Additionally, we will discuss some considerations in making the best decision for when to take the GRE.

Let’s begin by considering a couple of the major reasons why you might want to take the GRE while you’re still an undergraduate student.


As a college student, your daily routine likely consists of either going to classes or studying for classes. Consequently, it is reasonable to conclude that you are in “study mode” while in college. Adopting a study-mode mindset is extremely important when you’re preparing for the GRE. Thus, already being in study mode can work to your advantage.

You’ll find much success in your GRE preparation if you look at the GRE as just another college class. For example, let’s say that you’re enrolled in five classes this semester. If you were preparing for the GRE, you would just consider the GRE your sixth class. In other words, you would approach your GRE preparation with the same vigor and dedication you bring to your regular college classes.

If you are apprehensive about adding GRE preparation to your current academic workload, don’t be! Consider how you might feel three years after graduating from college, working a 60-hour week, and not having cracked a textbook in years. Or let’s say it turns out that you decide to attend graduate school soon after graduation. How would you feel if you postponed your GRE prep until the last month or two of your senior year? Then, instead of making great final memories of college, you were bogged down with GRE studying? In either scenario, you can see why, mentally, you would be better prepared to study for the GRE now rather than down the road.


If you know that you’ll be applying to graduate programs either during your senior year or a few years after you graduate, then there is no reason not to get the GRE off your plate as soon as you can. If you are a 19- or 20-year-old reading this article, I can tell you that, as you get older, your life will begin to fill up with new responsibilities that you do not currently have to deal with.

Based on that fact alone, my advice is to fit GRE studying into your life now. Do it while your everyday routine is much simpler than it will likely be years down the road. With the GRE out of the way, you can focus on improving other aspects of your grad school application. For instance, you can focus on keeping up a stellar GPA or getting extra work experience in your chosen field. These types of things will undoubtedly be important components of your application.

Although you may not realize it now, a lot of time and energy are needed to prepare for the GRE successfully. Some students need to study for months before they are ready to take it. So, if you wait to take the GRE until you have a demanding job or even a heavy class load, you will find it challenging to find time to do much else outside of work or class and GRE prep.

If you are pretty certain that graduate school is in the cards for you right after graduation or soon after, then get the GRE out of the way, so you have time to improve your resume and candidacy for graduate school.

We have covered the reasons why taking the GRE as an undergraduate is a good idea. So, let’s now discuss a couple of questions you should ask yourself before you decide to take the GRE in college.