How important is GRE Analytical Writing these days?

[xyzpsych]

Looks like it's been a while since the last person posted on this topic. Things may (or may not) have changed.

So what's everyone's impression about the importance of the GRE writing score to counseling/clinical psych admission? What's a minimum score for most programs to consider you "qualified"? What'd be a safe score? And, does getting high scores make you more competitive?

This questions probably has less relavance on this forum: do anyone know of any counseling/clinical psych programs that give more volume to the writing scores than others?

Many thanks!

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[irish80122]

I can only speak for myself but I really value the writing score. In fact, I look at it above the other GRE scores. I like to see scores of 4.5 or higher, and I don't read much into differences between scores of 5 and 6. That said, I have accepted students below these scores, so it is not a deal breaker, especially if the student has good experience such as having conducted an honors thesis.

 

[xyzpsych]

I can only speak for myself but I really value the writing score. In fact, I look at it above the other GRE scores. I like to see scores of 4.5 or higher, and I don't read much into differences between scores of 5 and 6. That said, I have accepted students below these scores, so it is not a deal breaker, especially if the student has good experience such as having conducted an honors thesis.

I don't know if you would come back and see this. So what was it about the student that offset the "relatively" low writing score? Did you specifically look into other tecords of his/her writing?

And, if you don't mind me asking, are you in counseling or clinical?

 

[ImSkyKid]

I was very disappointed with my writing score (3.5) and was afraid it would hurt my chances, but I received offers from three schools. I had good research experience and recommendations plus unique life experiences that I was able to tie in to my research interests... that stuff probably helped make up for my low score. They also had my personal statement as a writing sample.

 

[irish80122]

I don't know if you would come back and see this. So what was it about the student that offset the "relatively" low writing score? Did you specifically look into other tecords of his/her writing?

And, if you don't mind me asking, are you in counseling or clinical?

I am in Clinical. I should mention that my program is a master's program but many of our students are funded. Because of this our incoming class is, in my opinion, comparable to lower-tier PhD programs (i.e. GREs in the mid 1200s for incoming students, GPA avg around 3.7). We are also moving toward becoming a Clinical PhD program.

Now that the disclosure out of the way, a few things stood out about the student. First, he had a very good verbal score, which helped me feel a bit better. Second, he had done an honors thesis and sent me a writing sample. Lastly, and I would say most importantly, he had a strong letter from the professor that supervised his thesis. These three factors far outweighed the writing score for me, despite it being a bit low. I hope that helps!

 

[PsySeeker]

Everything I've heard and my personal experience indicates it's not very important. I got into my program of choice with a 3.5, though my verbal was very high.

 

[xyzpsych]

Everything I've heard and my personal experience indicates it's not very important. I got into my program of choice with a 3.5, though my verbal was very high.

Thanks for replying! Do you think anything else offset the writing score or probably they didn't even really look at it?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

It's likely going to vary from program to program, but of the various GRE scores, writing seems to be the least important by a good bit. I'd imagine part of the reasoning is that professors may question whether the score truly reflects your writing ability. If you score below, say, a 3, then it could raise an eyebrow. However, I'd imagine if you're above that, if your verbal score is decent, and if your SOP is well-written, then odds are the writing score shouldn't hurt you too badly. Nonetheless, if there are two applicants who are very similar except for their writing score, it could end up being a tie-breaker of sorts.

It's seemingly somewhat odd, in that writing ability is hugely important in psych grad school. However, I think it just speaks to the idea, again, that profs may not feel like the analytical writing test accurately measures the type of writing in which they're interested.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

You need to convince POI's that you are a strong writer. No one wants to mess around teaching you something you should have perfected as an UG. I had one prof that in worked with that wouldn't read the apps of students with verbal scores that she thought were "too low" (prior to the writing section). She would also quickly stop reading if she thought the statement of purpose didn't show strong writing ability.

I would not lull yourself into thinking it is unimportant (honestly, you seem to be trying to convince yourself of that). Do your best and retake if necessary. Different POI's will put different amounts of emphasis on this test, but ALL will want to know you are a strong writer because you should have learned to write in UG.

If you got a weak score, there is plenty of time for a retake.

Good luck!
Dr. E

 

[CharlizeRai]

I have a similar question in a reverse situation. I have mediocre scores on my general GRE, 73 verbal, 71 quantitative, and 96 analytical. Will the 96 shine a more positive light on my other 'meh' scores?