you scored a 700+ and managed to score 80th percentile or higher on each section. I would call that a success!

the AW isn't great, but I doubt that it holds you back. I would focus on your applications. You can compensate (the poor AW score) by writing good essays on your applications.

congratulations!

Congrats on the score! It's tempting to wonder what you could have done with 3-5 more minutes on the Quant, but a 49 is tough to beat, so I wouldn't worry about it.

As for the AWA - don't sweat it, a 4.5 = 6.0. Schools barely look at it. Think of it more as a pass/fail, and you passed.

Your score is good enough that it really isn't necessary to explain that you didn't finish. No one will know that was the case, and quite honestly most people would be happy with your Quant score even if they completed the section. It's a pretty good score if you ask me, and should make you a competitive candidate.

As was previously mentioned, don't sweat the 4.5 on AWA, there's a lot of debate over whether scores care about it at all. Make up for it in the other parts of your application and you should be able to intrigue some of the top programs.

Nah there's nothing you can do. Everyone has a reason they didn't do as well on the GMAT as they would have liked. Some are test-center related, some are time related (demanding job). Some are because they were last picked in kickball as a kid. At the end of the day you get what you get. I was in a similar boat because I rocketed up from a 580 to a 700 between attempts 2-3. I wish ppl had told me the test was going to be a lot tougher and told me not to take my sweet time during the start and middle cuz i was rushing at the end when it got hard. There's my excuse for not getting a 730.

Everyone always wishes they had done better, snagged those extra 30 points. But don't forget you definitely had a few things go your way to get the 710 you got, don't take that for granted. Forget about the pens, you're in the 700 club if you wanna reach for 740 good luck, but for now you chalk this thing up as a win.

~Brett