First off, I initally spent a lot of time preping for the AWA, but now I understand it is not part of my composite score? Do you have any insight on why ETS would do this? Also, what would you predict a composite score to be if I just skip that part entirely. I'm not avoiding it... I'm actually stronger at writing, but I want to conserve my energy for the math. Math being my weakness I feel that if I skip the AWA part, I'll have more energy to focus on it. Also, I hear that the AWA score is only released when your school requests it, is that true?

Schools often use the essay to "cross check" your MBA personal statement, particularly if you're an international student whose first language is not English. If your personal statement is fantastic but you scored a 1 or 2 on the GMAT essays, then the admissions committee might suspect some sort of academic dishonesty.

I would definitely not advise skipping the essays entirely, even though the essay score doesn't factor into your "real" 200-800 score (e.g., you could get a zero on the essays and score an 800 on the actual GMAT). Remember: you're applying to some highly competitive MBA programs. Do you want them to see a big fat zero on anything? The essays aren't that bad if you've practiced and have a template ready to go - that takes a lot of the real mental labor out of it.

As for the scores being released, as far as I know, schools get the essay score automatically and do not have to request it separately from the 200-800 score.