I am looking at applying to MIT, Caltech, Princeton, Olin, UPenn, Harvard, among others, will this be a significant problem?
This was my second SAT, on my first I scored a 1510/21, and received a 5 on the AP English Composition exam.
You may not get into those schools because they don’t have enough space for all qualified students, not because of your essay score.
excellent, that’s a relief
If you’re an English major it may be a significant problem for the most selective schools. Otherwise, as long as you have A’s in your English classes and a strong recommendation letter from an English teacher, it probably won’t matter much. 17 isn’t so bad.
Upenn does NOT require the essay. I called them myself on behalf of a student who got 1590 with only a 19 on the essay. She got in. You can simply call the other colleges (ask to speak to an admissions officer) to see if they require the essay. Good luck!
Engineering/C.S/Applied Math major, A’s in all but one semester of English classes(I had medical issues), done with Linear Algebra and Differential Equations after junior year, code lead on a top FRC robotics team, lacrosse and soccer, so I don’t feel it we’ll be too large an issue, as it isn’t particularly relevant, I trust myself to write at least a somewhat compelling essay.