{"id":12719,"date":"2020-01-29T21:30:41","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T21:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/?p=12719"},"modified":"2020-01-29T21:31:38","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T21:31:38","slug":"gre-essays-should-i-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/blog\/gre-essays-should-i-care\/","title":{"rendered":"GRE Essays: Should I Care?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gre<\/p>\n

As a GRE instructor, I\u2019m often asked, \u201cDo the essays matter?\u201d The answer is that it depends.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What are the essays on the GRE?<\/b><\/h3>\n

When you show up to take the GRE, the essays\u2014also known as the Analytical Writing Measure\u2014are the first thing you\u2019ll see. You\u2019ll take your seat at the computer, click \u201cStart,\u201d and be asked to write an essay in response <\/span>to a statement about politics, art, education, etc.<\/span><\/a>\u2014a topic you could write an essay on without specialized background knowledge. You will have 30 minutes to write this first essay, and then you\u2019ll be given a second essay prompt, to which you\u2019ll also have 30 minutes to respond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, for the first hour of the GRE, you\u2019ll be writing. Unlike the rest of the test\u2014the <\/span>Verbal<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Quant <\/span><\/a>sections, of which <\/span>four are scored (two Verbal and two Quant) and one is unscored<\/span><\/a>\u2014which come in any order, the essays always come first.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why don\u2019t people think the essays matter?<\/b><\/h3>\n

There are a couple of reasons why the essays have earned a reputation of \u201cnot mattering.\u201d First, because your essay-writing is not scored on the same 130-170 point scale as the Verbal and Quant sections, it isn\u2019t what people have in mind when they tell you their \u201cGRE score.\u201d For the essays, you receive a separate score. This score is on a scale of 0-6 and given in half-point increments. Most people get between a 3 and a 4.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, the GRE is a test required for a broad range of programs at a broad range of schools. Expectations and requirements when it comes to GRE scores vary tremendously, and it isn\u2019t uncommon for a program not even to mention the essays. (For example, a particular graduate program might report on its website that its median GRE scores are 160 Verbal and 160 Quant, and leave out the essays altogether.) Indeed, this is common enough that a popular perception is that the essays \u201cdon\u2019t matter.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But before you dismiss them, here are a few things to consider:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Some schools\/programs do <\/i>care about the essay score. It is very, very important to check\u2014and check again\u2014the expectations and requirements of any program to which you might apply before simply deciding not to care about the essays. It doesn\u2019t matter that most programs aren\u2019t essay-focused if a program <\/span>you <\/span><\/i>are applying to is\u2014that\u2019s the one that matters to you and your future.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n
  2. Some schools\/programs care that you reach a threshold in two out of three GRE categories.<\/strong> Sometimes a school won\u2019t call out the essays specifically but will state an expectation that you, as an applicant, score over a particular threshold (often a percentile, like 70th percentile) in two out of the three parts of the test: Analytical Writing, Verbal, and Quant. This presents a major opportunity for you if you\u2019re someone who struggles in, say, Quant: You may have a lot of difficulty topping the 70th percentile on the math portion of the test, but topping the 70th percentile on the essays is a more achievable goal for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. The essays still reflect on you as an applicant. <\/b>Just because a school or program doesn\u2019t formally state that the essays \u201cmatter\u201d to your application doesn\u2019t mean that they don\u2019t. The school will see your entire score for a given test date\u2014including your essay score. Deciding that it doesn\u2019t matter at all and that you\u2019re not even going to try, and therefore winding up with a score of, say, a 2, doesn\u2019t look great. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s going to ruin your chances of admission, but it certainly isn\u2019t going to help them.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How to think about the GRE essays<\/b><\/h3>\n

    In sum, don\u2019t assume that the programs to which you\u2019re applying don\u2019t care about the essays. They might. If even a single program does care\u2014or even cares implicitly by stating a threshold requirement in two of the three parts of the test\u2014you will want to take them seriously by preparing for them, rather than going in and winging it, or casually writing an unstructured or excessively brief response to an essay prompt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Second, even if no program to which you\u2019re applying officially \u201ccares\u201d about the essays, remember that you are being represented by your application <\/span>in full<\/span><\/i>, which includes your GRE essay score. A blas<\/span>\u00e9 approach to the essays doesn\u2019t reflect well on you as a conscientious test taker, writer, and student. You certainly shouldn\u2019t prioritize the essays in terms of your study preparation before the test or energy allotment during it\u2014but neither should you assume you can get by simply rattling off a few sentences and calling it an \u201cessay.\u201d In this scenario, I suggest still doing your best while saving your energy for the main event\u2014the Quant and Verbal sections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    NEXT: <\/b>Top 7 GRE Essay Tips<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t forget that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free. We\u2019re not kidding! <\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

    \n

    \"Mary<\/p>\n

    Mary Richter is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Nashville, Tennessee. <\/i><\/b>Mary is one of those weirdos who loves taking standardized tests, and she has been teaching them for 15 years. When she’s not teaching the LSAT or GRE for ManhattanPrep, she’s writing novels under the last name Adkins. You can find them wherever you buy books. <\/span><\/i>Check out Mary\u2019s upcoming GRE prep offerings here!\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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