BfastofChamps Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 I recently took the GREs and was very happy with my verbal and quantitative scores (169 and 163 respectively) but just discovered I only got a 4 on the writing. Does anyone have any sense of how much this matters for a (social) psych program? I feel like my background should make up for this (I was actually a humanities major and have won awards for papers I've written), but I was hoping my GRE scores could help make up for some other deficiencies in my application so I'm curious to hear any thoughts on the issue. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarwinAG Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 I have heard that 4 is the minimum required. With your verbal and quant scores, it should not be a problem at all. I think you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockandroll Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 I honestly don't know how that section is graded. I felt like my writing sections were pretty decent, and I've always been a good writer... but I also ended up with a 4. However, that didn't cause me any problems- I got into five of seven of my programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychgurl Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 you'll be fine- make sure your statement is well-written to put any fears to rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessHooi Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I've a 153 and 155 for verbal and quantitative respectively and a 4 for analytical writing. I'm wondering if I should retake it too. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BfastofChamps Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Thanks everyone for your responses/reassurance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewin Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 A bad score--not that four is necessarily a bad score--raises the concern that you can't write. A well-written statement allays all fears; a poorly written one confirms them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJordano Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I agree with the above. The AW doesn't factor in as much if you have a well-written personal statement. Submitting a copy of other written work, like a thesis proposal may also help if the school attaching it to your application and having high grades in writing-intensive courses like research methods probably also helps. Also, if you have a high score on one subject it can make up for a not-as-great score on another. Your other two scores are really nice, so everything should be fine for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sshaw9 Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Agreed. If you can show that you can write well, then they may figure that you are just not a fast typer or something. But also consider that the AW apparently measures the ability to (articulate) reason well, so make sure you show those qualities through other avenues of your application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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