Schachfreizeit wrote:
Hello,
when you do the official practice exam, would you just do the quant and verbal part or also integrated reasoning and the essay?
Time is very precious for me since I only have one month to prepare.
Do universities care about the score of the last two sections?
Hi
SchachfreizeitMost of us know that IR and AWA scores are given separately and hence they don’t affect your GMAT score out of 800. Thus, the direct impact of these scores on your admission is pretty low. In fact, some schools don’t even look at your IR and AWA scores till the point you meet a bare minimum. I recommend scoring a minimum of 5 on IR and 4 on AWA. For Quant focused courses, I would recommend 6+ on IR.
WHAT DO ADCOMS SAY? "Well, if 2 students are identical in all aspects (which rarely is the case), then probably IR score can be a differentiator”
“If someone hasn’t written their own essays, we may look at their AWA score”
“If someone’s Quant score is slightly less, then we might consider a high IR score as a good sign”
I’m sure from the above quotes you can understand the importance given to IR and AWA by Adcoms. If in doubt, feel free write to your target school to understand if they have any specific requirements.
SHOULD I IGNORE IR AND AWA THEN? No, I never mean to say so. IR can be particularly important for Quant focused courses and AWA can be used to evaluate your writing capabilities. There is a high chance that no one would reject you for not having a great IR and AWA score, but maintaining a good score is always suggested. The best part is it is not that tough to score well on these sections.
SKILLS TESTED ON IR AND AWA
IR – It tests your understanding of drawing inferences from information which could be in form of tables, charts, or simple text. If you’re good at Quant, there is a high chance that you will do well on IR with 4-5 days of dedicated effort. In such a case, solving
OG questions and GMAT Prep free questions are enough. If you’re weak in Quant, you should consider dedicating around 10 days or so for IR and using additional resources.
AWA – Some people consider AWA as reverse of CR. If you’re good in CR, then you can look at the AWA argument, identify the logical gaps, the strengtheners, and weakeners and finally write the essay. There is a Chineseburned template that you can use to practice AWA. I consider myself good in CR and was able to score a 5.5 on AWA using Chineseburned template with minimal practice. The article can be found here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-get-6-0-awa-my-guide-64327.html
WHAT SHOULD BE YOUR STRATEGY?
Well depends on how much time do you have and how well you’re doing on the main sections – Verbal and Quant. I would recommend that you
dedicate a week for IR and AWA preparation if you’re decent with data and good with Critical Reasoning. Summary - If I’ve to summarize in 1 line I would “IR and AWA are not critical but the higher you score, the better it is."
Trust it helps!
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29 Nov 2022, 06:45
