Should I retake GMAT based on my AWA?

[mua2ali]

I was planning on sticking with my current score of 660 (44v - 97%, 37q - 46%).

I know my quant is very low, but for a variety of reasons i decided to stick with this score. That is, until i got my AWA score:

3.0/6...6th percentile. I only wrote 1 paragraph per essay,..although i felt they were well contructed.

How much will this damage my applications? I'm generally a very good writer so i'm confident my essays will be strong. Will I have to retake based on the awa?

[mbamission]

Hi mua2Ali,

While generally AWA is not a main input in determining admissions, your 3.0 is a bit worrisome. Depending on the competitiveness of the universities you are looking at, it could be a red flag. Anything within the top-30-40 will likely cause you trouble here. While we don't normally suggest retaking solely for AWA, if you are indeed targeting more competitive schools, it may be a good use of your time to do just that. While I am not an expert on the GMAT - typically candidates answer each question with more than just a paragraph, even if it is well-written.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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