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I took the GMAT a couple of weeks ago and I was ecstatic with my score of 760 (99%): 48 Q (78%) and 47 V (99%). However, I recently received my official score and was completely disappointed and shocked with my extremely poor score of 3.5 on the AWA. I knew that I hadn't done as well on the essay because I had run out of time, but I still did not expect something that low. This is not at all indicative of my writing skills, as evidenced by my very strong verbal score, my academic performance (3.84 GPA from a top undergrad with good grades in English/writing courses), and my professional career to this point.

Now I have a dilemma on my hands and I am stressing out about it. I know that the AWA score is not heavily emphasized, but the 3.5 score is below the threshold that I've heard top schools are looking to see. Should I retake the GMAT and risk a lower overall score or can I overcome the AWA score by demonstrating my true writing ability on the essays and putting together a strong performance in the rest of the application process?

Thanks!