Good GMAT score, but low AWA score.

Question

Hi,

I appeared for GMAT recently. I did good on the Verbal and Quants front, but I did not do that great on the AWA section.

QR- 51
VR- 42
IR - 7
AWA- 3.5

Although my overall score was 770, my AWA score was not good at all, and I am quite worried about it. Would be great if someone can guide me here if there's a reason for me to worry about. I was targeting the top 20 business schools.

Thanks

Admissionado · Answer

electrozoa :

This question comes up quite often in this thread. In general, you should be fine as long as you put together really impressive, well-written essays.

An AWA of 3.5 is not reason enough to retake the exam. It's really third on the GMAT evaluation list with the overall score and the individual scores coming ahead. It's unlikely the reason you are not accepted to a top 20 program.

You could retake the exam if you have the time, do not mind incurring the exam cost, and feel you can duplicate your solid score from the first try. You have little to nothing to lose by doing so. Then you can reassess your overall score and your new AWA relative to this past exam date.

Hope that helps,
Admissionado

huongguyen · Answer

Such an impressive score! Quant and Verbal scores are good enough to impress the schools so I think you don't need to re-take the test. 
Goodluck ^^

homersimpsons · Answer

A well written essay and a decent verbal score will probably more than make up for it.

Good GMAT score, but low AWA score.

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia