Does choosing not to submit GRE scores look bad (particularly for CS PhD programs)? I am preparing to submit applications to high ranking CS PhD programs in the US. My GRE quant score is not quite what I wanted (162V/163Q). I have strong research experience, good letters from professors I worked with, and a decent GPA (~3.6) from a top 10 undergrad CS school. However, my quant score is only around 80th percentile, whereas many top CS programs have averages in the 90-95 range.
I'm not sure if submitting my GRE scores will hinder my chance, or if the opposite case is true. Is it the case that a student without GRE scores will look lazy, or look like their hiding poor scores?
All of the institutions that I am applying to have made the GRE optional.
I would assume, but can't guarantee, that if they have a policy that GRE scores are optional then the policy would preclude assumptions about missing scores. So, in that sense you are probably safe.
But, you can hardly control for what an individual committee member might have in the back of their mind.
It might even be possible to learn more about the policies used and how interpretations are made in such cases.
Since some places now make them optional, some students choose not to take them, I also assume. And in the US, at least, admission is based on a wide variety of things, of which test scores are only one.