The importance of GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) for international students

Although the GMAT writing score is different from the GMAT verbal and quantitative scores of the Business School Admission Board, the importance of the GMAT AWA score increases when the applicant is considered an international student. This is because the Admissions Committee uses the GMAT's Timed Papers section, which scores 0 to 6, to assess the ability of international candidates to communicate effectively in English. A lower GMAT paper score may actually mean that the difference between acceptance and rejection by international students may result in very high scores in the GMAT verbal and math sections.

According to the US MBA program, nearly 30% of full-time students are international students. from

US News and World Report from

 . At some American business schools, international students make up 70% of the total number of students. A large number of international student applicants, coupled with the increasingly competitive admissions process, have made the admissions committee more concerned with international assignments. English Skills. The Admissions Committee is no longer just about ensuring the interest of non-native speakers. English skills are sufficient to meet the academic requirements of the program: they want to ensure that international students are fully engaged in class discussions and other program activities.

Since the GMAT verbal scores only reflect the candidate's ability to understand written English, the admissions committee considers the GMAT AWA score as a more reliable indicator of the candidate's ability to communicate effectively in English. International applicants who see 99% of the GMAT verbal scores are very common in the AWA section, which makes them around the 6th percentile. This difference in scores is very obvious to the admissions committee and raises serious doubts about the candidate's ability to fully integrate himself or herself into the program. In contrast, a candidate with a lower GMAT verbal score [such as the 90th percentile] and an AWA score of 4 would actually be better in the selection process because the same doubts would not materialize. Although 4 points is not a good score, many native speakers scored 4 points on their AWA, which made the focus deviate from the candidate's understanding of English.

How international students improve their AWA scores

In many ways, the AWA portion of the GMAT is the hardest part to prepare, as books and exam preparation courses often dilute the importance of this section and pay little attention. In addition, most books and courses either do not or cannot provide students with what they need to improve most: feedback their own writing so they can understand where their skills are weakest and how to avoid their most common mistakes. Of particular importance to international students is that they practice the paper over and over again, and they receive feedback from native English-speaking teachers who have received writing instruction and training with ESL students.

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