AWA Devestation

[mmm]

So I took the GRE a couple of weeks ago, and got 700v and 750q. I had expected ten or twenty points more for the verbal, but 50 to 100 points less for the quantitative, so I figured that it all evened out. All in all, I was pleased with my scores.

However, my writing score was finally available online this morning. I was completely floored to find that I only got a 3.5! In retrospect, I can definitely see that I was overconfident in approaching it, and that I was too worried about the other parts of the test... Still, I consider myself an excellent writer -- even one who can adapt to the bland needs of standardized testing -- and never imagined anything lower than a 4.

I have a 3.98 GPA, I'm enrolled in my university Honors program (which is quite intimate and rigorous), I have excellent letters of rec, I have a great writing sample, and I'm working on what I hope will be a standout SOP...

I'm applying to a variety of communication PhD programs (my interests lie in Internet studies, new media, etc).

I'm fairly certain that if I took the GRE again, my verbal would stay more or less the same (perhaps a 10 or 20 point fluctuation), but my quantitative would likely drop significantly (that 750 had to be a lot of lucky guessing). Is it worth my time to retake the test just to boost my AWA?

[DrFaustus666]

So I took the GRE a couple of weeks ago, and got 700v and 750q. I had expected ten or twenty points more for the verbal, but 50 to 100 points less for the quantitative, so I figured that it all evened out. All in all, I was pleased with my scores.

However, my writing score was finally available online this morning. I was completely floored to find that I only got a 3.5! In retrospect, I can definitely see that I was overconfident in approaching it, and that I was too worried about the other parts of the test... Still, I consider myself an excellent writer -- even one who can adapt to the bland needs of standardized testing -- and never imagined anything lower than a 4.

I have a 3.98 GPA, I'm enrolled in my university Honors program (which is quite intimate and rigorous), I have excellent letters of rec, I have a great writing sample, and I'm working on what I hope will be a standout SOP...

I'm applying to a variety of communication PhD programs (my interests lie in Internet studies, new media, etc).

I'm fairly certain that if I took the GRE again, my verbal would stay more or less the same (perhaps a 10 or 20 point fluctuation), but my quantitative would likely drop significantly (that 750 had to be a lot of lucky guessing). Is it worth my time to retake the test just to boost my AWA?

You can request a re-grading of your AWA for a mere $55.00 USDollars, or you can re-take the whole test; but with a 3.98 GPA and a 700 Verbal, I don't think it's worth the trouble or expense.

Write a super-squeaky-clean-polished Statement of Purpose and (if asked for) a super-polished "Writing Sample" and the adcomms will see that the low AW score is an aberration.

I've taken the GRE three times (trying to get my Quantitative score up) and have received AW scores of 4.5, 5.0, and 5.5 .... and I think the 5.5 was the time I had a completely WTF-attitude towards the AW (while still not reaching the Q-score that you got BTW).

Point is: Nobody cares much about the AW score, when the applicant has a 3.98 GPA and a 700-Q, plus excellent writing samples to back them up.

Don't bother re-taking, IMHO.

John

[newms]

AWA scores aren't all that important, plus the schools will have your SoP to judge your writing ability. That said, some school do have a cut off point for AWA scores so you might want to check if the programs you're applying to have a cut off score.

Edited October 10, 2010 by newms

[Henry Hudson]

I agree with John. Your other materials will more than make up for it, if you polish them nicely.

[DrFaustus666]

But newms has a point too.

It's worth checking the programs you're interested in before you blow off the AW completely. ... I remembered a post a while back ... Some very few programs have minimum AW scores. The vast majority don't but a few do.

John

[strokeofmidnight]

So I took the GRE a couple of weeks ago, and got 700v and 750q. I had expected ten or twenty points more for the verbal, but 50 to 100 points less for the quantitative, so I figured that it all evened out. All in all, I was pleased with my scores.

However, my writing score was finally available online this morning. I was completely floored to find that I only got a 3.5! In retrospect, I can definitely see that I was overconfident in approaching it, and that I was too worried about the other parts of the test... Still, I consider myself an excellent writer -- even one who can adapt to the bland needs of standardized testing -- and never imagined anything lower than a 4.

I have a 3.98 GPA, I'm enrolled in my university Honors program (which is quite intimate and rigorous), I have excellent letters of rec, I have a great writing sample, and I'm working on what I hope will be a standout SOP...

I'm applying to a variety of communication PhD programs (my interests lie in Internet studies, new media, etc).

I'm fairly certain that if I took the GRE again, my verbal would stay more or less the same (perhaps a 10 or 20 point fluctuation), but my quantitative would likely drop significantly (that 750 had to be a lot of lucky guessing). Is it worth my time to retake the test just to boost my AWA?

I'm in English, not communications, but I'd wager that there are some overlaps. The AWA scores really isn't that important. For my field, it's something of a joke: my professors roll their eyes at it. When I "teach" the AWA section (I taught/tutored the GRE for years), I tell my students that if they ever write for my (English/literature) class as I'm about to train them to write for the AWA section of the exam, I would fail them. I'm only half-joking...the sort of writing that the AWA privileges goes directly against what counts for strong writing in my field. All of this is to say...the AWA is kinda useless for my field (and I would guess, most humanities fields that require a writing sample).

The GRE in itself is often useful only for scholarships, or as a baseline (and generally flexible) "first cut" score. I've never heard of the AWA being taken into account in either case--though it should be noted that this does vary from field to field. (Several of my GRE students who were looking to go into nursing tells me that their programs ONLY care about the GRE score. To me, this reinforces my gut instinct that the more important writing is to your field, the less the ad-comms will care about the AWA score...and vice versa).

[DrFaustus666]

I'm in English, not communications, but I'd wager that there are some overlaps. The AWA scores really isn't that important. For my field, it's something of a joke: my professors roll their eyes at it. When I "teach" the AWA section (I taught/tutored the GRE for years), I tell my students that if they ever write for my (English/literature) class as I'm about to train them to write for the AWA section of the exam, I would fail them. I'm only half-joking...the sort of writing that the AWA privileges goes directly against what counts for strong writing in my field. All of this is to say...the AWA is kinda useless for my field (and I would guess, most humanities fields that require a writing sample).

The GRE in itself is often useful only for scholarships, or as a baseline (and generally flexible) "first cut" score. I've never heard of the AWA being taken into account in either case--though it should be noted that this does vary from field to field. (Several of my GRE students who were looking to go into nursing tells me that their programs ONLY care about the GRE score. To me, this reinforces my gut instinct that the more important writing is to your field, the less the ad-comms will care about the AWA score...and vice versa).

musing

There might be some utility (not necessarily measured by the GRE's AW score mind you), but there might be some utility in testing nurses for fast, accurate, concise and highly structured writing-----which of course IS what the AW purports to measure.

Nurses and other practitioners (social workers, for example) constantly write short essays on their latest visit with Mrs. Smith and Mr. Jones, and, as they're constantly under time pressure (thank you managed health care!), they must be efficient.

Again, this post is NOT to be construed as saying I think it's a good idea for a nursing graduate program ONLY to consider the AW score. I do think that some measurement of writing ability (coupled with remedial or specialized courses if necessary) may well be useful.

[augustquail]

You can request a re-grading of your AWA for a mere $55.00 USDollars, or you can re-take the whole test; but with a 3.98 GPA and a 700 Verbal, I don't think it's worth the trouble or expense.

Write a super-squeaky-clean-polished Statement of Purpose and (if asked for) a super-polished "Writing Sample" and the adcomms will see that the low AW score is an aberration.

I've taken the GRE three times (trying to get my Quantitative score up) and have received AW scores of 4.5, 5.0, and 5.5 .... and I think the 5.5 was the time I had a completely WTF-attitude towards the AW (while still not reaching the Q-score that you got BTW).

Point is: Nobody cares much about the AW score, when the applicant has a 3.98 GPA and a 700-Q, plus excellent writing samples to back them up.

Don't bother re-taking, IMHO.

John

It's sounds crazy, and maybe this doesn't apply to people who haven't done a lot of writing, but I really think the wft attitude helped me. I looked over a few prompts before the test, but overall, the AWA was the only section I didn't study for, and I got a 6. I just figured vocab and math were more important, and I've had a lot of experience banging out an A paper in a very short amount of time. I think this was an example my procrastination actually helping me.

And ets is definately looking for a very specific kind of writing, but I think overall you just have be able to say that you answered the question they asked you. It's not like only crap papers with no imagination get good scores; I talked about some crazy shit in my issue essay (it was kind of a "science vs. art" question), but it fit, and I reeled myself in before I brought in deleuze.

[DrFaustus666]

augustquail: you wrote: It's not like only crap papers with no imagination get good scores

I've had that experience too, repeatedly, ever since about fifth grade--the papers on which I work hard, think about, try to "craft" in the most logical way with the best rhetorical technique I know---those papers got B+'s---whereas my WTF-papers, written beginning at 5 a.m. on the day they were due for a 9 a.m. class, got A's.

Congratulations on your 6.0 !

[Lizzla]

For what it's worth, there's a lot of this going around...I've seen a number of threads about unexpectedly low AWA scores this season, and the general consensus seems to be that as long as you've got a solid SOP and writing sample, a poor AWA won't torpedo your application. As my advisor told me, "If a program is foolish enough to jettison an otherwise strong application because of a WRITING test, when they have examples of your REAL writing, you certainly don't belong in that program anyway!" Which is pretty nerve-wracking when it's your future up in the air, but it did make me feel better about my 3.5. With your scores and GPA, I think you're going to do just fine.

[mmm]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I talked to some faculty (at the university I'm currently attending) and they more or less echoed the sentiments expressed here.

I've decided to let my scores stand and not worry about taking the GRE again this season. I figure that I've got enough on my plate as it is, with grad apps, senior thesis, etc... It's not as if I'd have time for the GRE anyway. *sigh* What will be, will be.

[Sh1234567]

I have to agree with the poster who said they didn't prepare for the AW section and got a 6. I did the same thing the first time I took the test. I didn't practice at all for the writing section and practiced much more for the other sections. I was accustomed to writing short essays in a timely manner since I had discussion post requirements in my online courses. I have to say that procrastination actually helped me too! I took the test again on Wednesday, and I seemed to have lost my flair for bullshitting essays! The stress of retaking the test really killed my score.

Unfortunately, I had a 6 AW and a 520 verbal, which didn't really seem to correspond.

[Mocha001]

I had the same issue. My writing score was 3.5. I am very disappointed.

The question was much harder than I thought. I think I will retake it and improve my score.