I was wondering if the grades for the awa essay scores mean anything when you are sending your score reports to schools? I was told by my tutor to just look at a few samples the day before and I would be fine since they didn't mean anything. Also, what is a good score?
Hi jags2899,
It's true that the importance of your scores on the AWA essays varies from school to school, and it's certainly safe to say that your scores on GMAT quant and verbal are much more improtant.
However, that doesn't mean that the AWA doesn't matter at all--a high score always looks good, and a low score could raise doubts about your ability to perform in b-school. Additionally, admissions officers might check your personal statement against your AWA essay, to be sure that they were authored by the same person.
So, on to your second question: What's considered a "good" score for the AWA? Well, obviously a 6 is the best score you can achieve, so aim for that! For a detailed guide of what each score signifies, check out the GMAC's guide to understanding the AWA Assessment Score (both Analysis of an Issue and Analysis of an Argument are covered). A 6 is considered "outstanding, a 5 is "strong," a 4 is "adequate," 3 is "limited," 2 is "seriously flawed," and a 1 is considered "fundamentally deficient." You'll be golden with a 5 or 6, and can probably get away with a 4. Anything below that might raise a red flag, especially for top business schools, and is probably a sign you should do some extra AWA practice. Looking for tips? Visit the Knewton blog to learn 5 easy steps to getting a 6 on your GMAT essay.
Hope that helps, and good luck!
