Ask the Test Maker

Hi Rebecca . I am retaking my 3rd GMAT in May and he soonest available appointment was the 16th whereas the deadline for my target school to receive official scores is 31st.Is there any means to obtain an "accelerated" score report even at higher fees? I checked the website but found no clue .

Second : a score 4 in AWA is adequate , and 5 is strong , 4.5 is ...... ??????

Thanks in advance for your valued response

Hello, Nona! Unfortunately there is no way to receive an accelerated score report. However, you may want to contact the business program you plan to apply to. Many programs will review your application pending your GMAT score, provided you have already taken the exam.

As for your second question, you can see the percentile ranking chart for AWA, and all other GMAT test sections here: https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/gmat-scores ... means.aspx

Good luck!

@the nona, we'll chime in here to say that the bschools look at the AWA in combination with other factors (for example, the actual essays themselves). In general, EssaySnark feels a candidate should be comfortable with any AWA score at 5.0 or above. A 4.5 score is a little lower than we'd like, but it's not out of range. If it's at 4.0 or lower then we start to get concerned, but still, the schools look at everything together, and we rarely see the AWA take on prime importance in the overall evaluation. It matters, but it's not the most important element.

In terms of your score report question: Many schools allow candidates to use their unofficial (test day) scores when they first submit an app, and then send in the official report as soon as it's received - even sometimes after the school's deadline. Some other schools don't even require the official scores until you've been admitted.

If you want to share which school you're applying to, we can possibly offer more guidance, or as Rebecca suggested, contact them directly - these are always good questions to go straight to the admissions office on.

No matter what, good luck on your GMAT!
EssaySnark

essaysnark wrote:@the nona, we'll chime in here to say that the bschools look at the AWA in combination with other factors (for example, the actual essays themselves). In general, EssaySnark feels a candidate should be comfortable with any AWA score at 5.0 or above. A 4.5 score is a little lower than we'd like, but it's not out of range. If it's at 4.0 or lower then we start to get concerned, but still, the schools look at everything together, and we rarely see the AWA take on prime importance in the overall evaluation. It matters, but it's not the most important element.

In terms of your score report question: Many schools allow candidates to use their unofficial (test day) scores when they first submit an app, and then send in the official report as soon as it's received - even sometimes after the school's deadline. Some other schools don't even require the official scores until you've been admitted.

If you want to share which school you're applying to, we can possibly offer more guidance, or as Rebecca suggested, contact them directly - these are always good questions to go straight to the admissions office on.

No matter what, good luck on your GMAT!
EssaySnark

Thanks for the kind care

My target school is Desautels , McGill.In fact , I took the GMAT twice once scoring a 540 (36 Q 28 V) and a 5 AWA , a second scoring 550 (39 Q 27 V) AWA 4.5 since I ran out of time could not proof-read. I had my both scores sent already to Desautels , whose deadline is actually the 1st of May but they have till the end of May to receive official score , as the replied to my inquiry. Consequently , I applied with my second score (550) and plan to update them with a scanned copy of my unofficial score on May the 16th immediately after the test .

Do you believe this works? Any further advice?

Thank you in advance

Hi again! It sounds like you have notified them of your upcoming test date in May. Sometimes schools can informally put a candidate's app "on hold" within their processing system while they await a component of the app to arrive. It's harder at this time of year since they need to be wrapping up the class, but we would guess that they might be able to incorporate the new score into their evaluation (obviously we're not on the McGill adcom so this is just a guess). If they're impressed by the rest of your app and your unofficial score received on the 16th is high enough then maybe they can be flexible if the final score isn't received by the 31st (they know that that part is out of your control).

The one suggestion we have is, when you send in your unofficial score on the 16th, you might want to give a (very brief!) explanation around the sequence of events - something like: "On April __, I scheduled my GMAT test, and the first available appointment was on May 16th. The official score may not arrive until June ___." And be sure to include a very polite request that they please consider this score even though it's late.

Finally, on your AWA question: Remember that the schools get the entire score report. Even though the score you applied with has a 4.5 AWA, they will still see the original 5.0 AWA you got the first time. Sometimes this helps with the candidate's overall assessment. You also improved dramatically in quant between the first two tests. They will notice these things. The scores you've been getting are low for McGill, but all the schools look at the entire application together. They should appreciate that you're trying again on the test.

Hopefully it works out for you!!!
EssaySnark

essaysnark wrote:Hi again! It sounds like you have notified them of your upcoming test date in May. Sometimes schools can informally put a candidate's app "on hold" within their processing system while they await a component of the app to arrive. It's harder at this time of year since they need to be wrapping up the class, but we would guess that they might be able to incorporate the new score into their evaluation (obviously we're not on the McGill adcom so this is just a guess). If they're impressed by the rest of your app and your unofficial score received on the 16th is high enough then maybe they can be flexible if the final score isn't received by the 31st (they know that that part is out of your control).

The one suggestion we have is, when you send in your unofficial score on the 16th, you might want to give a (very brief!) explanation around the sequence of events - something like: "On April __, I scheduled my GMAT test, and the first available appointment was on May 16th. The official score may not arrive until June ___." And be sure to include a very polite request that they please consider this score even though it's late.

Finally, on your AWA question: Remember that the schools get the entire score report. Even though the score you applied with has a 4.5 AWA, they will still see the original 5.0 AWA you got the first time. Sometimes this helps with the candidate's overall assessment. You also improved dramatically in quant between the first two tests. They will notice these things. The scores you've been getting are low for McGill, but all the schools look at the entire application together. They should appreciate that you're trying again on the test.

Hopefully it works out for you!!!
EssaySnark

Great advice ! Thanks a million ! actually what encouraged me to take the risk of applying with a 550 is that they have on their website a GMAT range for their students from 560-780 although they responded to my inquiry that they required a minimum of 600.

essaysnark wrote:Hi again! It sounds like you have notified them of your upcoming test date in May. Sometimes schools can informally put a candidate's app "on hold" within their processing system while they await a component of the app to arrive. It's harder at this time of year since they need to be wrapping up the class, but we would guess that they might be able to incorporate the new score into their evaluation (obviously we're not on the McGill adcom so this is just a guess). If they're impressed by the rest of your app and your unofficial score received on the 16th is high enough then maybe they can be flexible if the final score isn't received by the 31st (they know that that part is out of your control).
EssaySnark

In the personal history pdf form I have to fill as a part of the application ,they have a space to indicate my test date in case I applied before taking the test . Do you advise me to indicate that I will retake the test , or this can result in an informal "on hold" status ? Knowing that my online application has the GMAT score ticked "submitted" .I am worried about being "on hold" and also worried that in case I update them with a good score they might think " if she had reserved early and respected the deadline , she would have mentioned this in the application "

What do you advise me to do ?

Hi, Nona. You may want to re-post this question to one of the main forum threads so other students and test prep coaches can help you. Good luck!