162V/144Q/4.0 AWA - Advice please?

[chocochip]

I'm wondering whether I should take the GRE again. My gut is telling me yes, mainly because of that maddening 4.0 on the writing portion. I wasn't over the moon about my verbal, but thought with a strong writing score and a strong application, it would do for the programs I'm targeting (MA or MFA in Creative Writing, upper 50 in rankings, but toward the middle of the pack). Cost is a concern, but then again if schools look at the score for funding purposes, another testing fee now might be worth it in the long run. 

 

My quant. score was not surprising, given that I've been away from high school and college math for years (long story short, returned to school a couple of years ago to get my BA, so my last math class was 10+ years ago). I wouldn't mind raising it, but at the same time I'm aware that it likely isn't going to be a huge concern in my field. Unless, of course, the grad school has a minimum threshold. 

 

The writing score annoys me, though. I've got a 3.5 major GPA, and I work as a writing tutor. I'm confident in my writing skills. I suppose I need to just concentrate on the formula they expect rather than trying to craft something like I normally would.

 

Should I take it again, or concentrate on getting strong recommendations and polishing my applications to the best of my ability?

 

Thanks in advance.

[antigone56]

Darn!  If that writing score were just a 4.5, I'd say you were fine, but...I think if I'd re-take if I were you.  Just for the 4.5 or 5.  To me, 4 is pretty mediocre for an English major.  Doesn't mean you can't write well, just that it's a mediocre score.

[sacklunch]

Honestly I wouldn't worry about it for MA programs. It still falls in the average for writing scores and your verbal is well above the average for MA students (and plenty competitive/great for PhD programs). You may try to retake if it really bothers you, but I wouldn't waste any more time on studying for the thing. Spend that time on your SOP/sample.