750(50,41) --- AWA 4.0 .. Should I retake ?

Question

I want to thank everyone on gmatclub for their support. After close to 2.5 months of prep .. I had my test at 5:15PM yesterday. I would have liked if the score was closer to 800, but as everyone knows the gmat score doesnt add inches to ur d***

Abt the test.. Quant was ok... but I think I screwed it up somewhere. I normally get 51 in quant. Verbal was low but I don’t complain. I was totally clueless through out the exam ... but that’s not something new, it happens to me all the time. My answers are based totally on my instincts (I don’t even know the parts of speech) The only ironic thing is that I got the exact same score when I took a Manhattan practice test to kick start my GmatPrep (I am trying to analyze WTF I did over the last 2 months  ). I took 5 Manhattan tests and the 2 Gmatprep tests. My Practice test scores were in the range of 730-780. Anyway I would like to thank everyone once again for helping me .. esp. in the verbal. *************** Got my AWA today .. I was expecting a 6.0 .. but I was in for a surprise. I was reviewing my 2nd essay when i ran out of time. I dont know if this was the reason. But now it looks like i have to retake the test to improve my AWA. Any advice would be helpful and greatly appreciated.

TimeSquareDesi · Answer

congrats - that is an amazing score.

mind sharing how you prepared for the quant? what materials? did you use the gmatclub challenges?

thanks!

gpulluri · Answer

I did the official guide for quants.
Also I got 6 free tests from manhattan when I bought the SC book.
The math questions in Manhattan tests are quite challenging, if you are able to finish off the test in the allowed time and score in excess of 50, you are all set for a 51 in the actual test.

lanter1 · Answer

great score. where are you applying?

gpulluri · Answer

Guys plz advice ... 
I am confused right now .. 
What are my options ??
Should I retake ??

yellowjacket · Answer

Why do you want to retake? 750 is a great score. You are above the average for every school.

gpulluri · Answer

The retake is for the AWA .. its 4.0

asharc · Answer

I would not recommend you taking the gmat again just to improve your 4 in awa. A 4 is good enough and most schools don't really base a decision of that score unless it is a horrible score. My feeling is that you got a great gmat score and you should just make sure your essays are stellar and you wont have to worry about the awa.

gpulluri · Answer

I am targeting Yale, Tuck, Uchicago, MIT Sloan, wharton, Harvard ... would these schools accept an applicant with a 4.0 ?? I am worried that it might affect my chances .. like if the essays are stellar will the adcoms think that the essays are not written by me since I only have a 4.0 in my AWA. Maybe the adcoms will assume im a retard

Dunno ... I am confused coz i know i can do better than a 4

gpulluri · Answer

I sent the below mail to the GMAT guys

... webmaster@gmac.com, GMATCandidateServicesAmericas@pearson.com date Apr 9, 2008 9:10 PM subject Regarding my AWA score mailed-by gmail.com I have a few questions regarding my AWA score. I took the gmat exam on March 31. I wrote the essays pretty well, but I am surprised to see a low AWA score of 4.0. I was unable to click next on my second essay as I timed out while reviewing it. I don't know if this was the reason or your system and human reviewer did a pathetic job. Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the scores for my two essays ? I would have no option but to retake the test with this horrible AWA score even though I have a 750 in the remaining two sections. Please let me know if there is anything that could be done about this. Thanks Goutham

kidderek · Answer

hahaha

Congrats on a great score. As for the awa, 4.0 is the minimum that you need before schools question your writing abilities. They won't even look at your essays.

Tarmac · Answer

The answer is a resounding NO

gpulluri · Answer

Thanks for the advice guys ... much appreciated. I got the below response from pearson .. Thank you for contacting Pearson VUE. For this information, refer to the following link: https://www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT/TheE ... ervice.htm If you have any further questions or inquiries, please contact us again. Thank you, Pearson VUE GMAT Customer Support I am planning to apply for the rescoring. From what they say on their website the score can either decrease or increase. I dont think there is any scope for a decrease, so I am planning to go for it. Its $45 for the rescoring.

f00kie · Answer

I stumbled upon this thread, but...

Wow, did you even expect any help from anyone at GMAC when you call their staff pathetic? Truly, I think you should be thankful they didn't just accidentally misplace your score in the system after that email.

sm332 · Answer

yeah that was a pretty tactless email you sent ... well done on the GMAT

navy01 · Answer

I don't think you need to retake with a 750 and a 4.0 AWA. Instead, I'd use my time getting my ECs/leadership up.

I will just put this out there to play devil's advocate. With a 4.0 AWA, if you are a foreign candidate, one may question your English writing and conversational ability. Sure you could make up for it in your essays, but I also think AdCom are aware of unethical MBA Consultants who write essays for students - to generalize, especially amoung Indian applicants. AdComs could address this issue through an interview so I'd make sure my English conversational skills were top notch. I've heard the rumor that 4.5 is the break mark for AWA but that's internet hearsay.

Congratulations with your score!!!

jtuk2000 · Answer

I'd have to say that based on the e-mail you wrote to them you should be happy with your 4.0 in the AWA. I'm not sure you're capable of better.

99 verbal, 6.0 AWA, 72 math, 740 overall

ncp · Answer

That remark is uncalled for. If you dont have anything positive to say, then please dont say it.

navy01 · Answer

Veritas said that the AWA section is scored by a computer and a real person. If the scores differ by more than 0.5 then a 3rd person reviews it. I ran out of time on my 2nd essay and I still got a 5.5 so not pressing "next" didn't hurt you.

Did you follow one of the AWA templates? How many paragraphs did you write? This probably makes a difference since organization and arguement are pretty crucial.

gmatnub · Answer

I have to agree with jtuk's opinion, I think that is as honest as it gets, although I would not have said it first. The email that was sent to GMAC was pretty nsulting, which is surprising consider that the author had an excellent verbal score. One would think that he would had done a better job with the written communication.

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750(50,41) --- AWA 4.0 .. Should I retake ?

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