<p>Should I retake the whole test just to try to do better on the essay? This was the first time I took it. I've also taken the SAT once, and only scored an 8 on that essay. What do you think, retake or no?</p>
<p>No. Colleges know that the writing portion is subjective. If you got a 5 or 6, that’d be different. An A in AP lang/lit will show that you have some writing abilities.</p>
<p>a 7/12?? Oh wow you must have gotten really high in everything else! If that’s the case I don’t see why you shouldn’t give it another try-you got nothing to lose except for somesocial life haha.</p>
<p>Uh… I’d say a definite no. Most colleges don’t even care about the essay and a 34 is good. I wish I had that as a score…</p>
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<p>This is very true also, I got a 5 on AP lang test so I think I’m all good.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the college you are looking at. If you are shooting for the ivies or something, I would try to retake and improve the 7.</p>
<p>Don’t retake unless you’re confident you can get a 35 or 36.</p>
<p>The essay score doesn’t matter unless you get below a 7, in which case adcoms will question your writing skills and look at your essays (and recs if possible) to see if the trend of poor writing continues.</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>Really, I’m quite frankly starting to believe that retaking a 34 in ANY situation is hurtful, as it will make colleges find you test obsessive.</p>
<p>I would retake, but that is just me. You have nothing to lose. You can BS the whole test, and then just ace the essay.</p>
<p>^^im in similar situation…34 with an 8 on the essay.</p>
<p>i’m not retaking though…i don’t want to spend the money or time</p>
<p>“You have nothing to lose.”</p>
<p>You DEFINITELY have something to lose.</p>
<p>Here is a possible situation (paraphrased from another thread)</p>
<p>Ivy League Admissions Person 1: Good ECs, good grades…
Ivy League Admissions Person 2: What did he get on his SAT?
Ivy League Admissions Person 1: 36.
Ivy League Admissions Person 2: Wow, that’s very good.
Ivy League Admissions Person 1: Unfortunately, he had a 34 before he took the test and decided to retake it instead of doing something like volunteer. This person is test obsessive; someone who will just sit in our library studying all day for perfection. Not the type of person we want at <em>insert college name here</em></p>
<p>AND THEN YOUR APPLICATION IS JUST TRASHED.</p>
<p>All that hard work, for nothing. The moral of the story is…do NOT retake a 34. :)</p>
<p>^hehe I meant to say ACT, sorry</p>
<p>^Okay, first of all, you CHOOSE to submit which ACT you want colleges to see. You don’t submit all of them. So if you got a 34, then studied harder to get a 36, and sent colleges the 36, they WOULD NOT see the 34. Now your argument is invalid. Anyways, he and I were talking about ESSAY, not composite. You should read my post again before jumping at me. :P</p>
<p>agreed nuclearpakistan</p>
<p>ACT has always allowed you to send ONE (usually your top score) score to colleges; however, retaking a 34 merely to increase the essay grade of 7 seems to be a bit silly</p>
<p>Some colleges (THE BEST ONES LIKE IVY LEAGUE) require you to send ALL of your scores.</p>
<p>Look on their website, they WILL NOT TAKE score choice.</p>
<p>^That only goes for SAT scores because Collegeboard is changing its policy this year. You could always choose which scores to send for the ACT.</p>
<p>Ah, don’t you love when you post an up arrow pointing at nowhere. :D</p>
<p>Anyway, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WRONG.</p>
<p>Even though Collegeboard changed its policy, you are not allowed to use it at top universities.</p>
<p>Ugh I got into Cornell and Northwestern by only sending my highest ACT score (I took the test 3 times). I know other people that have gotten into Penn, WashU, Duke, etc with their highest ACT score only as well. </p>
<p>It’s not only impractical but also expensive to send all of your scores if you took the test multiple times. Maybe colleges changed their policies this year but of all the schools I applied to last year, none said anything about having to send all of my ACT scores.</p>
<p>Egbert Souse- I never met anyone else who had such a hard time admitting he/she was wrong. Lighten up lol. Everyone is wrong sometimes. Me, you, and everyone else. You’re wrong, just forget it.</p>
<p>The ACT rule changed when collegeboard’s policy changed.</p>
<p>and btw, I am not for sure about places like cornell, but yale and stanford both require all scores</p>