750 In GMAT (44 Verb 48 Quant) 4.5 in AWA 0 in IR (Skipped)

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Hi, With the above score I got, will Schools turn a blind eye to the fact that I skipped the IR? I am hoping to apply to 5-10 schools in the US.

Is the AWA really low?

I am trying to make a decision if I should re-take the GMAT.

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by ceilidh.erickson » Thu Dec 21, 2017 9:36 am
p2tom wrote:Hi, With the above score I got, will Schools turn a blind eye to the fact that I skipped the IR? I am hoping to apply to 5-10 schools in the US.

Is the AWA really low?

I am trying to make a decision if I should re-take the GMAT.
With an overall score as high as 750, you might not be rejected from top programs with an IR of 0. If there are enough other favorable things in your application in addition to the 750, they might overlook it. It could be interpreted as a sign of laziness or arrogance, though - it could seem like you thought you were above doing work that others had to do.

It's likely that if you got called in for an interview, they would ask about it. If that's the case, my recommendation would be to say something to the effect of "I was just taking this first exam for practice to see how I did, so I only wanted to see the results of my quant and verbal. Since I did so well overall, though, I decided not to retake it."

I can't really tell you whether you should retake the exam (and it may be moot at this point). The best thing you can do is to call the admissions departments at the schools you're applying to, and ask them directly. If you get the sense that they would frown upon an IR 0, then retake.

For other test takers: never skip the IR or essay! Even if you don't care much about those scores, it's better to have a mediocre score than none at all.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education