HesseBunuel90 Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Hello, I first took the GRE General Test, which is required by all the English Literature Programs to which I am applying, in July. On the verbal section, I scored in the 89th Percentile, which, while certainly solid, was slightly lower than what I was aiming for. I scored better on the analytical writing section, with a 5.0 out of 6, but I have been told that most schools put greater emphasis on the verbal section rather than analytical. I continued to study and retook the exam a month later. Unfortunately, I ended up scoring one point less in both verbal and quantitative. As many schools look at an application holistically, I was not overly discouraged, as I had several professors look at my writing sample and statement of purpose and I have worked hard on both, and my undergraduate GPA was high (3.86). However, the analytical section score was just emailed to me, and I actually scored higher, and I am now in the 98th Percentile. Although I am proud of this, I don't know if this would cancel out the slightly lower verbal and quantitative scores. Should I send the initial scores or the retakes? If only I could mix and match and choose the best individual scores, but, alas, life doesn't work out that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetuavix Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Unless a school specifically says the analytical writing score is important, send the higher verbal and quant scores. Getting a 5.0 is a great score as it is, and most schools only want to see that you don't get an embarrassing AW score (>3.0), especially since they will be reading a writing sample and SOP that will give them a much clearer idea of your writing skills. One point in verbal or quant probably won't make a huge difference, but those scores definitely matter more than AW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now