Can a 4.0 AWA get me into a top ranked school

[haratsnon]

Hi, I just took the GMAT. These are my scores: V38 Q49 Tot720 IR8 AWA4.0

I am wondering if the 4.0 can hurt my chances of getting into a top school.
Does the fact I am not a a native English speaker (it's my second language) make any difference?

Thank you,

BTW, is it still possible to get a 4.5 now that there's only one AW assignment? I always thought 4.5 means 4 on one of the assignments and 5 on the other one...

[Jon@Admissionado]

Out of the whole GMAT, the AWA is probably the least important of all the scores. If everything else is good you can get into the best schools with a 4.0 AWA.

[99Colleges: MBA Admission]

Agree.

You have a decent verbal score as well in GMAT. I am not sure about the medium of instruction in your undergraduate institution. If it was English, it will only help you further.

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

While the AWA is not the most critical component, a 4.0 can be a red flag, and may hurt you if you are close to other candidates. I would certainly be careful that if you use an admissions consultant, that you not over edit/polish your essays to the point of a native speaker, given this awa score. I have aheard dcom folks talk of this disparity. Make sure you write the essays with your own level of English.

Alex