low analytic writing score (4) for humanities PhD programs at top tier schools-- take again?

[mottstreet]

Hi,

I recently took the GRE on one of the last days before the August retiring of the test fomat. I received a 780 (90th percent) in math and a 690 (97th percent) in verbal. I was surprised to find in the mail yesterday that I only received a 4 in analytic writing (45th percentile). I had prepared for the questions and even studied through many of Kaplan's responses to the 200 or so questions.

I'm a published author and so I think the admissions boards would consider this, but moreso that they would consider writing samples I give them, which I have unshaken confidence in. Still, do you know of any people who for some reason scored low on only the AW component?

Should I take this again? I'm interested in applying to foreign language literature or english language literature programs at Columbia, Yale, Princeton, and NYU.

Thank you,

Robert

[vertige]

Hi Robert, I am applying to similar programs. I think your GRE is pretty solid, though conventional wisdom is that 700 is a good cutoff for the Verbal section if you're going into the humanities. I got a 710, and I studied till my eyes bled, so I'm just going to keep it - I'm not nearly enough of a perfectionist to go through it again! The short of it is, if your writing sample and other qualifications are on, a less-than-stellar GRE shouldn't be an issue. Also, the AWA is ridiculous, and published work and your writing sample will make up for that score; the committee is full of brilliant writers who have published books, and it is axiomatic that they would rather see content than some random un-tenured grader's opinion. On the other hand, if you want to take a shot at improving your Verbal score, you could attempt to raise the AWA while you're at it. But of course I won't insist; to be honest, I'll probably be competing with you for at least one of the spots in the schools you listed Good luck my friend!

Edited August 2, 2011 by vertige