Can my toefl writing score compensate for my poor GRE AWA score?

[dranzer_kai]

My GRE score is 316 (Q-164, V-152, A-3 only )

 

But I ensured that I got better score in TOEFL writing section.

 

My TOEFL score is 107 (Reading,Writing,Listening-27 (each), Speaking-26).

 

I don't have time to retake GRE and frankly I don't want to retake it just because of AWA score. 

 

I am applying for M.S. in Electrical Engineering  (with Analog Design as my specialization).

 

Apart from my gre score I have a really good profile.

 

So can my toefl writing score compensate for my poor awa score ? Let's say department doesn't specify any awa cut off in the website.

Edited September 24, 2014 by dranzer_kai

[fuzzylogician]

Probably, though we can't guarantee that. Your SOP will also serve as evidence of your writing ability, so make sure it's polished. You could additionally have one or more LOR writers address your writing abilities, if you are concerned.

[perfectionming]

Personally, no.

 

The marking scheme is very different. GRE usually focuses more on contents, or logic I would say, whereas TOEFL focuses on your clarity while writing. Your score means that you can write clearly, but the contents are lack of depth.

[fuzzylogician]

Personally, no.

 

The marking scheme is very different. GRE usually focuses more on contents, or logic I would say, whereas TOEFL focuses on your clarity while writing. Your score means that you can write clearly, but the contents are lack of depth.

 

What does personally mean? There is nothing personal about it.

 

The GRE essay doesn't require any particular logic or depth, you can make things up and lie. The single most important factor in success is the 5-paragraph structure. The 5 paragraph essay is something that as an American you've been trained to write for years, and that international students normally never even hear about before starting to prepare for the GRE. To me, that's the main disadvantage of the AWA portion of the GRE for international students, and it just doesn't exist in the TOEFL because everyone who takes it is international. 

 

Anyway, though, both the TOEFL and the GRE only do a bad to mediocre job of testing whether someone is a good writer, imo. The SOP and writing sample are much better indications. 

[Catria]

The only time where, in STEM, the AW subscore on the GRE could make a difference, is when financial aid is awarded partly on the basis of GRE scores, because, like you said, the EE depts you're interested in do not have any minimum AW score.

 

However, can such aid be made available for masters in EE?