How important is AWA and IR

Question

Hi, I will be taking GMAT test in 1 month, I have devoted all my time on V and Q section. But for AWA and IR, I don't know how much I need to prepare for it, or at all?
IR and AWA are really wired part of the test, a test that doesn't count scores? I looked up some answers online, some say it's important, others don't, so I am really confused,
I plan to apply for top 25 B-school in 2017 Fall. Any advice?

Thanks guys!

mvictor · Answer

Mate,

chineseburned has an incredible topic on AWA. Thanks to him, I got a perfect score without much preparation for this section.

Silviax · Answer

I read somewhere.... and it even may have been in the official guide I am not sure .... business schools get suspicious if you score below a 4.0. 
As long as you have a 4.0 or higher they most likely won't even bother to read your essay as long as your total score is good. 
I have also read somewhere that there is practically no difference between a 5.0 and a perfect score. It absolutely does NOT matter at all if you have a 5 or a 6. Business schools won't select an applicant based on a 5.0 or a 6.0. It simply does not matter.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi soimba0413,

Many Business Schools have publicly stated that they do not consider an applicant's IR score during the application review process. That having been said, if you're concerned about how an individual School/Program views the IR score, then you should do the necessary research (and/or contact the School directly to ask). As far as the AWA is concerned, most Schools just expect you to score a 4.0 or higher - beyond that, there's generally not too much emphasis based on that score either. That having been said, if doing just a little more work would net you a 6.0 instead of a 4.0, then there's something to be said for adding another 'plus' to your application. Business Schools also have the right to read your AWA Essay, especially if they think that there's something 'off' about your application essay(s). If they think that you've hired someone to write your application essays for you, then the AWA serves as an outside source for the basis of comparison.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

soimba0413 · Answer

Thanks a lot everyone for the answer! And looks like, the simple answer will just be
"Not very important, but score the higher the better."

SamirAbrahao · Answer

That's good to know! I was wondering what schools do to detect essay fraud.

HiLine · Answer

This topic is important for people like this guy:

Posted from my mobile device

GmatDM2016 · Answer

hi guys, 
I have my test in next 15 days. Please suggest the approach to study for IR. 
Are there any official questions (in any OG edition ) except the ones available in the mocks?

Appreciate your response.

Thanks !

AjiteshArun · Answer

Have you used the code in the OG to create an account on https://gmat.wiley.com? Once you log in, you can access the IR questions included with the OG here . The same link is there on the Wiley site as well. If you want even more questions, you could consider this (48 questions, paid).

GMATPill · Answer

While not as important as the main quant and verbal sections that follow after the AWA and IR sections on test day, you don't want to draw negative attention to your application profile by having a low IR score.

So we would recommend to do a decent job -- but don't worry about outperforming on the IR section.

For Quant and Verbal - this is where you need to outperform.

More thoughts and details with sample questions here: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... -reasoning

mcelroytutoring · Answer

The answer to this question depends on the B-schools to which you are applying, and your academic strengths as communicated in your application. As a general rule, though, you don't want an AWA or IR score that "sticks out like a sore thumb." The general consensus is that anything 6 or above on the IR or 5 or above on the AWA is a solid score, but feel free to contact your schools to ask what type of scores they prefer.

newyork2012 · Answer

my ..... his ir is even lower than mine

I feel a bit better after reading this

IR 3, Writing 4

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How important is AWA and IR

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