Does the AWA score has no effect on the final score???

Question

Hi,

I just got the GMAT review 11th edition book and I read on page 12 that the AWA score doesn´t effect the total score.

Does that really mean that it has no influence on the score (e.g 700) wich is required by the universities???

Thank you guys!

bb · Answer

That's right - AWA does not impact the actual GMAT score - AWA is graded separately and is awarded a score of its own. 
You will get your GMAT score (200-800) immediately after the test - it is the unofficial score.
Your official score will arrive in 2-3 weeks and will include both the GMAT and the AWA scores there. AWA of course scored on a scale from 0 to 6. Most people score within 4-6 and don't spend more than a few days to prepare, but if writing is really tough for you, you may want to consider practicing more than that - there are some templates and ideas in this forum and Prep books for how to organize your essays and minimize time and maximize output. Your main focus should be math and verbal multiple choice sections.

bb · Answer

You can use this  guide how to get a great AWA score.

BigObamaFan · Answer

I have heard that the AWAs are available to the business schools and they can read them if they want to? Is this true?

bb · Answer

YES!

one of the purposes of AWA (not often publicized) is for schools to be able to compare your AWA to your school essays and if the two are significantly different (your AWA's are poorly written with many grammatical errors but your essays are flawless), that may draw some attention.

However, this is usually not a concern for the majority, since almost anyone I heard of scored between 4 and 6 and it is really not that hard to get a good score on AWA. (I think I spent a total of 8 hours preparing for it.) BUT - you should write your AWA's with an expectation that may/will be read by the Admissions.

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Does the AWA score has no effect on the final score???

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