159V 164V 5.5AW for Biological Science Graduate Programs

[Dachyman]

I recently got my scores back and they were as in the title. I'm looking to apply to top biological life science programs in the US (Stanford, Yale, etc.) and my question is, should I rewrite to increase my verbal score? I'm worried that it may fall beneath that nebulous 'cutoff score' that admission officers have in mind while screening applications.

Unrelated question, does the AW score influence admission that much?

Thanks for all advice!

Edited August 27, 2018 by Dachyman

[BabyScientist]

I don't think you need to worry too much about your GRE scores, especially verbal. GPA will be the first thing they look at for cutoffs.