Difference between 5 and 6 on AWA

[paradigm]

Hi everyone.

I'm wondering what most of you think about the difference between a 5 and a 6 on the GRE's AWA. I earned a 5 on my GRE and am wondering if the difference between a 5 and 6 is enough to warrant a possible retake of the exam. I've always been an extremely strong writer and so I believe that I am entirely capable of a 6 on the AWA. I'd been worrying that a couple of spelling errors may have made the difference between a 5 and a 6 on my GRE, so part of me wants to take it again and try for a 6 on the AWA.

I guess the question to ask now, though, is this: will a 6 on the AWA impress admission committees enough that it might yield an admission or funding (or additional funding) whereas a 5 wouldn't have? For the record, I'm planning on applying some MA in Economics and MPP (Public Policy) programs.

Thanks in advance for your insights.

[Bukharan]

No one cares about that score. 5 or 6 makes no difference whatsoever. Surely, 6 will 'impress' adcoms but this 'impressed' feeling will last 1 second and will probably (I really want to say 'definitely') have no impact on admissions or funding.

The only applicants for whom it may carry a wee bit more weight than to the rest of us are, perhaps, those doing Creative Writing. But even then, this is debatable.

Congratulations on your score!! 5 is awesome!

[starmaker]

I've heard a theory that for people (like me) in CS and engineering, there are some programs (not all) that will be really happy to see a high AWA score, because they see an engineer who can actually write coherently as a huge novelty. But even in that case (perhaps especially in that case), a 5 is a high AWA score!

I think it's less likely to have an impact on admissions, perhaps slightly more on funding, but not enough that it's worth retaking the test to go from great score to even better score. Spend the time that you would have spent studying for the retake, improving the rest of your app, and you probably come out ahead.

[IRunIntoThings]

I'm thinking it depends on what type of graduate school program you are trying to attend.

I'm interested in Public Administration and the adviser - who will also be looking at the applications - told me that a 6 is a whole lot better than a 5, especially if the other parts of my application (e.g. letters of recommendation, GPA, experience) are not very strong.

[runonsentence]

Honestly, I think that submitting a well-written SoP (and writing sample, if your field requires those) alongside your score of 5 will be more impressive than a 6 on the AWA. Since you have a strong AWA, I think you'd make better use of your time to work on those documents now.

Congrats on your score of 5!