I took the ACT on April 9 and got a 36 composite score (35 english, 36 math, 36 reading, 35 science) which is good, but the writing scores were released and I have a 23, more than 10 points lower than my other scores. Is it unreasonable to retake to boost my writing score at the risk of doing worse on other sections? Though, to be fair, I didn’t study for the ACT and I think I could get a 36 again (or at least a 34+) if I studied the second time around.
Why would you? Most schools don’t even use the writing portion. And a 23 is still top 20%. I would see no reason to retest. Sleep in.
This is happening to people all over the country. The writing section on the ACT is a joke, and the colleges apparently view it as the joke that it is.
Take your single sitting 36 and stop testing. You can only make things worse by taking it again.
ThankYouforHelp it’s good to hear that the colleges are considering the ACT writing section to be a joke. I’m very concerned about my daughter’s low writing score, she’s actually a great writer, and did well on her composite. Where can I go to read more about colleges not taking the essay score seriously? I’d like to show my daughter. Thanks.
My D just saw her essay score yesterday and we were worried after she was a 24. She had a composite score of 35. After reading this thread and the article linked below we feel somewhat relieved.
Colleges don’t view the writing score seriously due to the egregious mistakes made and the crazy new scale. If you wish you can send $50 to get it rescored - if your score changes they’ll refund it to you.
Hi! Thanks for this advice! I’m worried because I got a 35 composite, 27 writing. I know most colleges don’t care about writing, but do you know if Wellesley, Brown or Pomona take the writing portion seriously? These are my top three schools. Also, I’m planning to major in cognitive science/linguistics. Would the bad writing section be especially detrimental because I’m planning to major in the humanities? Thanks!
@Gracethecat22 your score is 95%ile. http://blog.prepscholar.com/new-act-writing-score-low-wrong-late Don’t bother.
Next time start your own thread instead of hijacking.