<p>i got a 800 writing on the sat, but my essay got a 10. is this good enough for yale? i'm retaking the sat on saturday so i'll try to improve my essay but is it something i should be worried about/actively studying to improve?</p>
<p>I don’t think they even look at your essay score. If you got an 800 in writing, you got an 800 in writing.</p>
<p>Selective colleges get to read several actual things that you have written – the application and supplement essays/short answers. Therefore, I would be surprised if any of them pay attention to the SAT W essay grade. That portion of the SAT has been the subject of withering criticism since it was rolled out, based on the artificiality of writing something under those artificial conditions, and the public dissemination of some examples of truly horrendous writing which, based on the SAT rubric, had been scored highly. I doubt anyone really trusts that the thousands of different readers are being consistent with one another, either. Basically, the SAT essay is a low-quality shortcut for colleges who don’t have the staff to read essays themselves and make their own judgments. I wouldn’t worry about your (fine, actually) essay score for Yale or anywhere like Yale.</p>
<p>An 800 is an 800!! You have a perfect score, congratulations! </p>
<p>Many people are surprised at how much of the writing score is determined by the multiple-choice, not the actual essay. </p>
<p>You can not improve your 800-I’m not sure why you are re-taking the SAT, but if you need to improve your CR or Math, I would focus on those. </p>
<p>If your CR and Math are 750plus, and you are only worried about your essay score, I would recommend you sleep in on Saturday instead!</p>
<p>^^ Yes! Retaking the SAT under those circumstances will make you look obsessive. Colleges don’t give extra points for obsessive.</p>
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<p>My D knows someone who retook the SAT after scoring a 2340 and scoring 36 on the ACT the first time around. The kid scored a 2400 the second time around but still…to me, personally, that would be a red flag when evaluating an applicant.</p>
<p>^Yes, that’s a bit TOO perfectionist. I was encouraged to retake the ACT after scoring a 34 by my lower-scoring friends to see if I could get a 36, though (I didn’t, LOL–not good enough at math to get a 36), so I’m sure there are many high-scoring kids who retake just for the heck of it. It’s silly and a waste of money, but still.</p>
<p>OP, 800 subscore with 10 essay is excellent for Y. Focus on your weaker sections.</p>
<p>thanks, guys! that’s a relief. 
i do have to improve my cr (740) and my math (600), though.</p>
<p>Umm…that 600 on Math might be of a little more concern to Yale than your 800 (with a 10 on the essay) on writing.</p>
<p>Come on!!! You want to go to Yale, you have a 600 on the Math and 1 day before the SAT you are worried about your 800 in Writing??? This is bogus and you know it. Sorry, my BS meter is beeping loudly right about now.</p>
<p>no, no, guys! you misunderstand me! i wasn’t saying that i’m more concerned about the essay!!! no, no way! i’ve been studying math intensely for the past few weeks. i was just asking if i should possibly look over essay tips quickly tonight/be at all worried about it when retaking the sat. that’s all!!</p>
<p>^
Perhaps the OP is looking for commendations from the CC-ers to gain some confidence before the SAT test.</p>
<p>^IDK how much confidence you can gain by online ppl that don’t even know you.</p>
<p>what the? it’s a perfectly legitimate question. i know that schools look at your essay scores sometimes, so i wanted to know if i should worry about it at all. geez…</p>
<p>in fairness, seattle, you posted at the same time as i did so you probably didn’t read my explanation:</p>
<p>“no, no, guys! you misunderstand me! i wasn’t saying that i’m more concerned about the essay!!! no, no way! i’ve been studying math intensely for the past few weeks. i was just asking if i should possibly look over essay tips quickly tonight/be at all worried about it when retaking the sat. that’s all!!”</p>
<p>Sorry if you misinterpreted my comment directed towards you. It was directed towards seattlejy</p>
<p>^
@ fresh101</p>
<p>Actually, you’d quite surprised. I’m in the process of freelancing an article about the benefits/cons of using College Confidential (which is the reason I first joined this site). I’ve managed to track down some previous CC-ers in the class of 2013 who used the various sub-forums such as the “SAT/ACT Prep” and “What Are My Chances” in order to prepare for their college admissions.</p>
<p>One reply that particularly stood out from some of the more accomplished applicants was that they used College Confidential community as (and I quote), “A Confidence Booster.” Now, I understand that this piece of anecdotical evidence is hardly a incontrovertible affirmation of my suggestions. However, I believe it is a worthy thought to at least consider.</p>
<p>I apologize if my post is a tad bit long, and to the Original Poster-- don’t worry about it! Writing is difficult. I believe that College Board is being unreasonable by requiring students to regurgitate their thoughts and analysis in 25 minutes, and I am confident that colleges will consider your subjective essay articles over your objective (although the objectivity of the SATs are questionable) SAT scores. Definitely raise that SAT math, though, and the best of luck to you :)</p>
<p>thanks, seattle! 
sorry if my former post was harsh, but i just wanted to clarify that i was genuinely asking for advice and not trying to get people to say “wow 800 writing!” or anything.</p>
<p>^
Oh no, no problem at all!</p>
<p>I don’t see why retaking the SAT is so bad. I mean, I retook a 2380 for a 2400. What’s another 4 hours to take a test and accomplish a goal that is really important to you?</p>
<p>What’s bad is that raising your SAT score 20 points, or making it look perfect, was “a goal that was really important to you”. Of course, four hours (and some bucks, which don’t always come easily to everyone) is not too much to spend on a really important goal, but expect to be judged on what goals you choose to make important.</p>