worse Analytical Writing score second time 'round...

[repentwalpurgis]

Ugh.

 

There isn't much to say here - nailed a 5 the first time taking the GRE.  Just received the score back today - it's a 4.5! 

 

Of course, when sending out my four free scores, I chose to ONLY send the latest because my verbal and quantitative were better, and ultimately, the first quant score is just really bad...

 

What do I do now?  Should I pay to have the first scores sent, since my AW is better?

[Nautiloid]

Personally I wouldn't worry about it that much. It seems that programs are more interested in actual writing samples than what you can come up with in an extremely short amount of time on a mostly irrelevant subject. Besides, a 4.5 is still well above average.

[repentwalpurgis]

Personally I wouldn't worry about it that much. It seems that programs are more interested in actual writing samples than what you can come up with in an extremely short amount of time on a mostly irrelevant subject. Besides, a 4.5 is still well above average.

Is it above average, though?  It's just frustrating that I got a much higher percentile the first time, ya know?

[SocInTheCity]

Some schools ask for your best score in each area....don't stress!  

[TakeruK]

Is it above average, though?  It's just frustrating that I got a much higher percentile the first time, ya know?

 

Yes. http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide_table1b.pdf

 

The table shows you how your scaled scores compare to other people who took the test (i.e. your percentile ranks). A 4.5 AW score is the 78th percentile, well above the median. Also, Table 1C tells you the average (mean) score, which is 3.61. Note that these are in comparison to all test takers, not just the comparison with others applying to your program/field!

 

Whether or not you should send the first set of scores again to the 4 schools (negating your 4 free schools advantage) depends on whether or not you think the improvement in Quant is worth the drop in AW for your field. Don't forget there are other aspects of your application (e.g. writing samples?) that might also help demonstrate your writing ability but maybe not as many other ways to show your Quant ability (if it's even important?)

 

Now that ScoreSelect is available, I usually recommend that people use their 4 free schools for the schools they are least interested in, so that they can the most control over which scores their top choices will see!

[repentwalpurgis]

Thanks, Takeruk.  You are always here to make a stressed applicant feel better!  Decided to not send the first score.

[papergrader83]

Keep in mind, too, as others have said, that the writing section is the most subjectively scored.

 

I mean, I know an applicant with a published book, several published essays, and a strong editing background who scored only a 5.5 (97-ish percentile) on that writing section. WTH? You'd think she'd get a 6 no sweat. 

 

And of course, standardized test-taking is a performance, too. Sometimes we perform more adeptly at different times, though we're probably capable of a certain limited range on each given test date.

 

Don't sweat it too much.