I took the GRE two weeks ago and just got my official score reports: Q 730, V 800, AW 3.5.
I didn't feel great about my issue essay but I was pretty confident in my argument essay, and since the two are averaged I wasn't too worried. So the 3.5 is kind of a shock..,my issue essay was mediocre, but it wasn't THAT bad, and certainly not an accurate assessment of my writing skills. (A 3.5 is the 26th percentile)
I don't really want to take the GRE again since I got such good scores otherwise, but I'm worried that a 3.5 might disqualify me out of hand at some of my programs. I'm applying to some top-20 and top-10 programs in sociology, so writing is really important. Writing is one of my strengths (all evidence to the contrary ); I'm very confident in my writing sample and SOP. I just sort of blanked on my issue essay, and ran out of time before I really was comfortable with what I was turning in. I know that the AW score isn't generally taken as seriously as the verbal and quantitative sections, and adcoms will have examples of the kind of writing that I do with ample time, I'm just nervous...
If I have a strong writing sample and an 800 on the verbal section, will adcom members assume that the AW is a fluke, or is this really going to cost me?