GRE AWA Importance

[Bayesian1701]

I am applying to Statistics PhD programs for the 2018 season. I have done a few practice tests on verbal and quant and thus past week I did my first essays. The argument essay I get, but the issue task is not up my alley at all. I would give myself right now a 2.5 on Issue and a 4 on Arguement. My verbal is around 160, and my quant is around 163 (trying to get it up to 165+). I am a native English  speaker, and I have a research paper I am working on getting published as a writing sample. Does my AWA score really even matter? Do the separate scores (i.e. I-2.5, A-4) get reported or is there just the final score on the score reports sent to colleges?

[fuzzylogician]

AFAIK one score is reported; schools can see more details, but I doubt they do in fields like yours. The AWA is the least important component of the GRE, especially for someone who has published work and a good writing sample. You might also have a LOR writer discuss your writing abilities, if you actually get a low score in the AWA. The main thing to worry about is if there are any (unofficial) cutoffs that your score might be below, which might get your application tossed out before it's read. If this is the only component of your application that's a problem, you should be okay (cutoffs aside), but you should still try to aim for a better score, and also make sure the rest of your application looks good.