(Posted this in SAT Prep forum but just realized that that might not be the right place, so reposting here)
Hey guys, I just got my January SAT scores back and it turns out I bombed the essay (6 5 6), which was concerning and pretty surprising considering that I always get A’s in AP Lang and view myself as a good writer. This was my first time taking the test. I’m worried that the score will make colleges doubt the validity of my supplements and that it might lower my strength as an applicant. I want to go into engineering at Columbia, Princeton, Penn, Michigan, or Berkeley. Should I retake/is it worth my time? Do you have any tips for improvement? Thanks.
17 essay is a very low score for the Ivies requiring the essay for admission process. Shoot for 21 or better for the highly competitive schools. Most concerning is that “5” in the analysis subscore, this is very weak for Ivies… JMHO
@BigflowerSusie Yeah, I realize that the 5 is a big problem. I feel like this whole situation is really strange because in AP Lang, I always receive 7s-9s (out of 9) and my teacher says my analytical skills are strong. I asked some friends (also in AP Lang) to read the essay/give input, and they gave it much higher scores than 17. They mentioned that the handwriting could have been why I got the low grade, since it was apparently a bit hard to read for them and since most SAT essay graders just skim. Is it possible to ask for a rescore because of bad handwriting?
I wouldn’t worry about the essay. Many schools don’t consider it and those that do know that the grading is subjective. The grading conforms to a specific rubric so if you do decide to take, familiarize yourself with that rubric and practice your essays accordingly.
1580 is a fabulous score. Remember, highly competitive schools will want to see your entire testing history - you may not do as well on your second try. Just a thought.
SAT/ACT Writing section scores make absolutely no sense. Thats why most colleges don’t look at them. I’m sure it would be easy enough to game with a formatting the SAT will like if the schools that your looking at would really care.
Out of the schools you listed it appears the only one that looks at the essay score is Princeton.
Side Note: Is a 17 really that bad? I’ve never been able to find any percentiles for the essay section scoring.
@mamaedefamilia Do you know if it’s possible to superscore the SAT with the essay? I was considering focusing on the essay if I retook and not caring too much about the other sections. If it’s not, I think you’re right - I felt like I got pretty lucky with some of my answers on R&W, and I almost got a few on math wrong; wouldn’t want to risk making those mistakes next time.
@IN4655 I’ve heard that 18 (6/6/6) is like the bare minimum/“ok”/decent score for ivies. Don’t know how different a 6/5/6 is from that, though. As for percentiles, I think the estimate is 95%/89%/95%. Judging from that 89%, the 5 seems pretty bad. But idk if I want to retake just for that /one/ point… the rest of my application/profile is really quite strong and I don’t know if it would make a big difference.
@juliag18 Again, Princeton is the only school that you listed that looks at the Essays. Penn and Columbia do not care. Princeton cares a lot less about essay than the other section. I just did another look and found this source that had the estimated percentile informations: http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/sat-essay-scores-explained/
So a 17 is probably 93th-96th percentile in the Essay, not that bad. 95th percentile in other sections may be unacceptable within ivy leagues, but for the essay I think you will be fine. The SAT Essay scoring is so imperfect I wouldn’t be too worried about scoring top 5 percentile on that section instead of top 1 percentile.