How much does AWA matter?

[stai0331]

Hi, my name is Sonny and this is my first time posting here. I'm a Marine Officer and a 2009 alumnus from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign.

After scoring anywhere from 710-770 on the various MGMAT, GMATPrep, and 800score.com CATs over the past 2-3 weeks (I started out scoring in the 610-640 range on Petersons CATs), I've moved on to preparing my AWA skills.

I've historically considered myself a fairly strong writer with a decent depth of vocabulary. I downloaded the GMAtWrite program from MBA.com today and decided to wing it. On both essays, I struggled to finish in time and I scored a two 5's (5/5/5/6, and 5/4/5/5 respectively).

Seeing as how a 5 is a relatively weak score (77th percentile? The "4" in one category is especially embarrassing, especially for a proud Illinois alum), my question is - how much does your AWA score matter to MBA admissions officers? I'm not flipping out yet, as I have two weeks to make improvements, but if I end up scoring 5's again, how much will that damage my prospects of admission to an elite business school, given an otherwise strong GMAT score?

I'd like to believe I'm a pretty strong writer, but 30 minutes is a hell of a time crunch.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Very Respectfully,

Sonny

[StaceyKoprince]

A 5 is perfectly fine. They don't care about the percentiles. The GMAT essays are mostly really there to make sure you're the one who wrote your application essays. They know it's you in the test center, and they can check the writing sample and make sure you really can write. Generally, 4.5+ is considered fine; below that, they make check your essays and / or ask some questions if your application essays are stellar but your impromptu GMAT essays show serious deficiencies.

Also, check out this article for help with the essays:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... no-thanks/