stella365201
I took my very first test last week and got a satisfactory 730 (Q51, V38). I also got an 8 in the IR section. I was really happy with my results until I received my AWA score today.
A 4. Huh. I wasn’t expecting a 6 but given the fact that I’m a native English speaker I thought I would at least get a 5. I WAS really sleepy on test day so I probably wasn’t doing my best...... but I still think it’s far from being in the 17% percentile. That really damaged my confidence.
I’m really not sure what went wrong? I’m aware that my critique may have not been strong enough, but I really don’t think it’s that bad...... (17%......) Another possible reason may be that my essay was a bit short (4 paragraphs).
What does a 4 indicate? A not-so-strong critique? A not-so-good structure? Some typos & grammar mistakes?
I’ve heard people say that low AWA scores don’t matter unless you’re foreign. Unfortunately I am. I’m an English native speaker but not an “official” one. I grew up in the States, but I 1) am not American, and 2) didn’t attend university in an English speaking country. That makes me a foreigner in the eyes of US bschools. So, am I doomed then? I scored 119/120 in TOEFL three years ago without any preparation & I’m pretty sure I can do that again. Will a good TOEFL score (especially a 30 in writing) perhaps compensate for my bad AWA score?
I’m also wondering whether it’s worth it or not to have my essay regraded. I heard that the best you can get is usually just an extra 0.5 to your score. I don’t think a 4.5 will make much difference to my applications tho.
Any suggestions? Sorry for being a bit miserable : (
Posted from my mobile device
First, congratulations on a strong score.
Regarding AWA, I think that you have provided several plausible explanations. The write-up was short, weakly constructed and perhaps filled with spelling and/or grammatical errors.
Your overall package combined with strong TOEFL scores will make good impression. You can provide a short explanation for the low AWA score.
Regarding rescoring... At best, you can hope for a plus or minus 0.5 change. The computer scoring is very accurate and it is unlikely that the computer score will differ by large amount. The computer is trained by humans, so it likely agrees with the human scorer.
GL w/ applications!