<p>Could be. To be honest, I didn’t spend much time studying/preparing for either the verbal or the AW, as I was overly arrogant and confident in my ability. Instead, I spent what time I had studying for the math. And, thankfully, it paid off, as I got an unusually high quant score for someone who hasn’t taken a math course in 3 years, and whose highest level of math ed. was pre-calc. Still, I wish I had hunkered down a bit more and prepared more holistically for the GRE.</p>
<p>Hey Mom, this is the second time I’ve seen you tell someone that their score “should be around the 90th percentile” when it is well above that (the first time was re: a 690V, which is 97th percentile). This might cause people some anxiety, because a 90th per. score is acceptable but not “impressive” for most humanities programs. Check the most recent score chart; the OP’s 700V is 97th percentile this year. It’s an excellent score, not just a good one. And I also agree with others that the AWA score is not important, but especially not important for a scientific field. And I agree that the AWA score doesn’t measure your ability to write good essays! I got a 5.5, but that’s only because I studied the essays in the PR book, and remembered to write at least five full paragraphs with boring, stock transitional phrases on testing day. I think I might have gotten a 5.5 instead of a 6 because my argument essay just wasn’t long enough. While people who write poorly will undoubtedly get a low score, sometimes people who write well get poor scores, and that illustrates to me that the system (which actually “checks” the original grade via a computer program) is flawed and a reason why most programs don’t take it seriously.</p>
<p>Poetaster, I was referring to Counterhit121 in post #26 who got a 620 V. That score is in the ballpark of the 90th percentile, although I have no idea where that falls this year. The last time you objected, it was because misread my post slightly. The person was said he/she got a “bad” score of 650+ (maybe it was the 690 V), and I replied that it was “not bad.” I meant it as a direct counter to his use of “bad,” not as something to mean “so-so.” I then said, “It’s over the 90th percentile.” The 90th percentile tends to be the point where programs (at least those that don’t use the GRE as an important part of the application) as the “look-away” point, where the scores are solid enough to warrant to close look at the rest of the application. I had no idea of the exact percentile for that score in question, except that it had to be over 90th percentile.</p>
<p>The percentiles will change from year to year, and even within the same year as more students take the exam, although they stay in the same ballpark. You could get your results in June saying that your 610 in verbal is in the 90th percentile, but by the time you send your scores in the ball, you’re in the 88th percentile. Or it could go the other way. It all depends on how your peers fair that year.</p>
<p>In my experience talking with faculty about graduate admissions is the AW score is most useful for foreign students. They can get people to help them write their essays, they can study their butts off for the verbal section, but the AW section can give them a clearer understanding of their ability to write in English (a 4 would be fine, but if you see a 2 with a brilliantly written essay I’m sure some bells would go off).</p>
<p>And writing is actually pretty important in the sciences. A large way in which your success is judged is the quality of your papers, and if you’re barely fluent in English it’s pretty difficult to write a well-received paper.</p>
<p>CH, diagnosis was just thinking about what could have caused the score.</p>
<p>MWFN, heh. “five paragraph” was proxy for a standard organization instead of “getting cute.” Having just read an NSF graduate fellowship proposal by the same writer, I would blink at anything lower than a 5.5. Biggest problems were occasional outbreaks of comma splices and the presence of long embedded parentheticals which, while grammatically correct, required careful parsing. In the latter instance, one sentence was eventually broken down into four.</p>
<p>Well, the good news for anyone is that programs largely ignore the score. If someone tests REALLY low, then they might pay attention long enough to consider the rest of the submitted written materials. </p>
<p>Academic writing does not encourage “getting cute” or being creative in delivery.</p>
<p>Alas, the “getting cute”…using an unorthodox structure…wasn’t an examined choice, just something that occurred in the spur of the moment. In retrospect their came the “oops.” </p>
<p>Fortunately, I think the list of public papers she has co-authored since graduation might be viewed as a compensating factor. And if the her NSF application is any gauge, her written apps will be persuasive. Very tight, good narrative flow, some personality, but no cute. And final drafts submitted with almost 2 hours to spare!
<cough!></cough!></p>
<p>I just got my AW score back and was a little surprised to find out that it was just a 5. I’m applying to competitive schools in comparative literature programs (Berkeley, Northwestern, Cornell), and I’m guessing that a 5 is considered sufficient but will not help my application any. With my verbal at a 740, this AW score is something of a buzzkill.</p>
<p>Some may argue that the AW doesn’t just test your writing skills but your analytical skills as well. I took the GRE way back when there was an analytical portion and scored a 720, so in a standardized world, I think my analytical skills aren’t too shabby.</p>
<p>I thought my essays were fine and felt they met the criteria I’d read about in my prep books. I have also taught rhetoric and composition at the university level, have always done very well in writing classes, and have published several of my academic essays.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a good friend of mine who has stellar analytical and writing skills got a 6 [counterargument]. </p>
<p>In a nutshell, I think the AW is bogus, and I’m not alone. Several faculty members I’ve spoken to at one school I’m applying to told me that they could care less about GRE scores unless they are <em>alarmingly</em> low (wait 'til they see my math score!). One prof even said he made it a policy to not look at them. This is just one school, though. But let’s give it up for professors, who are generally sophisticated enough to not give too much credence to standardized testing and who may not have done exceptionally well on them themselves. </p>
<p>Standardized testing is just one flaming hoop that we have to jump through in this circus we call the application process.</p>
<p>No, buzzkill. Read the thread. Programs barely glance at the AW score. And do you know how many people on this thread would have loved a 5?</p>
<p>TD, I didn’t read the NSF grant proposal on this end, mostly because my D is already in grad school and working with an advisor. But I do know that it was submitted at 2 am. :)</p>
<p>
Which is almost verbatim what several of us have said.</p>
<p>This website had taken the entire pool of GRE Analytical Writing topics, removed all duplicate topics, and sorted them by how likely they are to appear on your test. Check it out. It’s pretty helpful. </p>
<p>simplygre.■■■■■■■■■■</p>
<p>This website had taken the entire pool of GRE Analytical Writing topics, removed all duplicate topics, and sorted them by how likely they are to appear on your test. Check it out. It’s pretty helpful. </p>
<p>simplygre.■■■■■■■■■■</p>