<p>IMHO, essays should count. The student is going to have to write tons of term papers. That’s a huge part of college. Shouldn’t the college have some assurance that prospective students can write correctly and coherently? If a student has writing issues, that will affect his/her ability to do college-level work…and lead, in turn, to problems and challenges for the college. (That’s why many colleges have writing labs.) Why not prevent those problems and challenges by making sure, up front, that the applicant can write?</p>