How important is the AW ?

[Julien D]

Hi everyone,

I would like to apply for MPP (HKS,...) and I have received the following GRE results : V162 (90th), Q166 (89th) and AW 3.0 (15th).

I feel so stupid for that AW... I hadn't studied much, and I think I clearly didn't have the right method. In addition, English is not my native language, and I have the impression that having 162 in verbal is a stroke of luck that will not happen again.

Do you think I should take the test again? Is the AW really an important element for the admission committee of a MPP?

I have also scored 28 on the TOEFL writing test which may help ?

Thank you in. advance for your help !

[GradSchoolGrad]

4 hours ago, Julien D said:

Hi everyone,

I would like to apply for MPP (HKS,...) and I have received the following GRE results : V162 (90th), Q166 (89th) and AW 3.0 (15th).

I feel so stupid for that AW... I hadn't studied much, and I think I clearly didn't have the right method. In addition, English is not my native language, and I have the impression that having 162 in verbal is a stroke of luck that will not happen again.

Do you think I should take the test again? Is the AW really an important element for the admission committee of a MPP?

I have also scored 28 on the TOEFL writing test which may help ?

Thank you in. advance for your help !

I mean, it really depends on other factors in your application.

I scored a 4.0 and about the same for the rest. I was able to get into graduate school programs by filing an optional addendum that I am a published author (x4).

If your background doesn't include much writing, the 3.0 might seem problematic. If you have done a lot of writing, you might want to highlight that.

[Julien D]

7 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

I mean, it really depends on other factors in your application.

I scored a 4.0 and about the same for the rest. I was able to get into graduate school programs by filing an optional addendum that I am a published author (x4).

If your background doesn't include much writing, the 3.0 might seem problematic. If you have done a lot of writing, you might want to highlight that.

Hi ! Thank you for your answer.

My background include an engineering school (3.85GPA), a consulting firm & working for my government. I guess it can't be counted as "a lot of writing"... and I should take the test again. 

But I find it surprising how most people only talk about the verbal and quant scores, it made me feel like the AW was not really important

[GradSchoolGrad]

Here is the deal. AW usually doesn't matter unless it is terrible. 3.0 isn't terrible. It is more like the low end of acceptable. Manage your time however you want. 

[gentvenus]

If you do retake the test and want to improve on your awa, you can try submitting an essay to AWAProfessor and the feedback will be really helpful. They even taught me the secrets of official essay graders (3 full pages worth).

Google them!

[Julien D]

11 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

Here is the deal. AW usually doesn't matter unless it is terrible. 3.0 isn't terrible. It is more like the low end of acceptable. Manage your time however you want. 

Thank you, it is much clearer now. Given the the master competitivity (probably increased by numerous deferrals), no way I can get into HKS with a low end of acceptable, even if the rest is good. The deadline being on Decembre 8th, I have 2 weeks to study for a test !

[Julien D]

2 hours ago, gentvenus said:

If you do retake the test and want to improve on your awa, you can try submitting an essay to AWAProfessor and the feedback will be really helpful. They even taught me the secrets of official essay graders (3 full pages worth).

Google them!

Hello, thank you for your help ! Do they give feedback on only one essay, or can I shot them more than one ?

I have ready this on their website, WDYT ? Is it marketing or can it be true ?

"98.9% of our students indicated that their actual AWA score is within 0.5 points of their most recent AWA Professor score"

[Paulyo83]

@Julien D fake news

[FutureLMHC]

I recall seeing/hearing somewhere when I was studying for the GRE that AW score of 2.5 is the average for non-native speakers. It may be something to explain in your statement of purpose or during an interview, but not an absolute deal breaker.