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Is WA decisive in religious studies programs? need help:)


mj0901

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hey, i took GRE and the score wasn't that satisfactory. also, I am being quiet skeptical about the GRE itself...

 

anyway, my scores.

V: 164 Q: 161 AW: 3.5

 

What do you think? I was stunned when I found out my AW percentile..... omg. I practically blew up this..

I can absolutely retake the test but the problem is that I do not know how to do better on the AW section and there's no guarantee I would get higher score next time. 

 

I am interested in PhD Indiana Bloomington and ASU religious studies. 

FYI, since I am an international, my current TOEFL score is; 112. in writing section I got 28 out of 30. 

 

Am I hopeless?  :unsure:

 

 

 

** gosh. typo on the head. now I understand why I bombed my AW.

Edited by mj0901
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Every school and every department has a different approach to GRE scores, so it's hard to say for sure unfortunately.

 

By and large, I think that your writing sample is weighed more than your GRE score for determining your abilities, but I could be wrong. Focus on making your writing sample awesome, because I think its one of the primary facets of your application. (when I interviewed for graduate school, even the graduate students seemed to have read through our writing samples!)

 

That being said, I would definitely take the GRE again. Your verbal and math scores should not hold you back, but i'd suggest buying a book for the writing (this one seems nice?). I feel confident that you can raise your score to maybe a 4.5 if you practice, and maybe just chance upon a more fitting writing prompt. (From what I've seen, a 4.5 seems to be good enough)

 

Ultimately, every year is a surprise and there are no hard and fast rules about GRE scores and acceptance. I didn't do too well on the GRE and got in virtually everywhere I applied, but I put in countless hours on my writing sample. It's so easy to get lost in average scores, GPA and what not that people forget the point of the graduate school application: to show a committee that you are intelligent, hardworking, clever, and a human being. However your application accomplishes that (i.e. GRE scores, GPA, writing sample, statement of purpose, relevant coursework) is not important.

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 anyway, my scores. V: 164 Q: 161 AW: 3.5.
Your V and Q are very competitive! Your TOEFL is good too. Don't be too hard on yourself! I'm sure when you practice more, you would get your AWA score up to snuff. My advice is to prepare a General outline for each essay, and fill in your ideas according to the specific tasks, so you don't have to waste any of your precious 60 minutes to figure it out. It might not get you a 6 but a 4.5 to 5 is very doable! Good luck!
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