Yatesey8 wrote:I just got my official score report and I would love to hear some thoughts. I'm ecstatic with my overall score (Q-49 V-47 for a 760). I wasn't thrilled with an IR of 6 since I scored 8s on both of my practice tests, but I do not think that this is enough to be a red flag. What I'm worried about is my 4.5 on AWA. I froze when I got into the test center and spent the first 15 minutes trying to remember how English worked (it's my first language so this is not good). I'm applying to a pretty standard list of top schools, but my favorite is Tuck. On my practice tests I got a 750 and 760, so I am confident that I could get a similar score, but I have absolutely no desire to take the test again. I would really love to hear some thoughts on how my IR and AWA will affect my chances at a top school.

Congratulations on acing the test! Schools don't emphasize the AWA. (Ever notice a published average for the AWA of an incoming class to a particular school? There's a reason for this.) And 6 on the IR is well above the mean score. Enjoy your victory and celebrate.

One tiny tiny consideration: I have heard that some top consulting forms care about the IR score. So while I wouldn't worry about this now, if your dream is to work for say, McKinsey, it's not impossible that this could be a consideration in the future. But this is not something to concern yourself with for school applications.

Thanks for the reply and the extra thought about the possibility of consulting in the future. That's very helpful. So while I know that top schools don't emphasize the AWA, you don't think that a 4.5 would even be any sort of red flag?

I think you can't apply for an AWA review.

Yatesey8 wrote:Thanks for the reply and the extra thought about the possibility of consulting in the future. That's very helpful. So while I know that top schools don't emphasize the AWA, you don't think that a 4.5 would even be any sort of red flag?

I don't. I've been doing this for a long time, and I've seen my share of bizarre admissions stories, but I've never heard of an instance of someone getting rejected because of a subpar AWA score, let alone a 4.5, which is perfectly adequate. (Of course, it's possible it's happened and the candidate in question never learned of it, but I doubt it. Schools want to know that you can handle the rigor of their curriculum and that you're not a drain on the average GMAT score they're reporting for rankings purposes. You're in outstanding shape on both counts.)

If you want to be extra safe, shoot a message to the admissions folks on this site: https://www.beatthegmat.com/ask-an-mba-a ... t-f40.html

They tend to err on the side of "take it again to be safe." If they say you're fine (and I'm confident they will) you know you've got nothing to worry about.

Not to make you nervous at all, but a 4.5 AWA and a 47V are strange bedfellows. I can't remember hearing of a student with a pair like that, and I've had a few thousand students over the years, hundreds of whom have told me their full score.

That said, the computerized essay grading seems like an imperfect science (at best) at this point in time, so I wouldn't be surprised if schools see a few score combos like this and chalk it up to the algorithm, or maybe your nerves over the first 30 minutes of the exam. (They see way more score reports than I do, and nobody gets to lie to them!) But to be in the 99th percentile in verbal and the 40th(ish?) on the essay is an odd duck. If English weren't your native language, I'd be a little worried that a school or the GMAC would suspect you of foul play, but my guess is that you'll be AOK.