<p>My daughter took her first ACT this past December. She did pretty well for her first try. Math-30, English-29, Science-27 Reading- 26.</p>
<p>However, I don’t know WHAT HAPPENED on the writing and she got a 5!</p>
<p>She writes reasonably well. I am thinking that maybe she took this part of the test less seriously than she should have or perhaps it was a bad day. I just don’t know.</p>
<p>She will be taking it again. My feeling is that it should increase. She was so worried about science that the vast majority of her time was spent on prepping for it, along with the other main portions.</p>
<p>My question is- how much is this portion of the test considered by Bama?</p>
<p>I agree with Beth’s mom. My son will be in the class of 2018. He has a 34 over all on the ACT (Very math and science base thinker) He has taken the Act every year since 7th grade the highest he was able to get on the writing was a 6. He just freezes when it comes to writing his thoughts out. He has already been sent notification on the presidents scholarship, engineering scholarship. He will be in the honors college and also MBA stem path.</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses. Makes me feel a bit better. D will take the test AT LEAST one more time, lol. I really want her to try to get a 30 and to raise this writing score a bit. I did see on the Bama website where it says that they will honor the highest of your composite scores regardless. So, I am thinking that if she improves on the writing test, but for some reason the composite decreases (heaven forbid) it will be ok.</p>
<p>The University of Alabama does not “superscore” which means it does not take the highest component from individual sections of multiple tests.</p>
<p>I am copying a question/reply that was posted on The University of Alabama’s undergraduate admissions page:
(question)Does UA superscore the ACT? If not, do you take the highest composite or the most recent composite?
(UA’s response)We do not superscore the ACT. We evaluate your application based on the highest composite test score submitted from any one test date. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>The FAQS page does say if you do not take the writing, and then take it later, they will still take your higher composite if it occurred during the first sitting when you did not do the writing. It doesn’t address a crappy writing score attached to a higher composite and then one asking them to just look at another writing score attached to a lower composite. </p>
<p>This situation hasn’t happened but I am anticipating the worst, lol. </p>
<p>The common data set would indicate that the writing is required and considered for admissions, but the most weight is placed on the other parts of the ACT.</p>
<p>In the end, I truly believe that my D’s writing score will increase. She is a good writer- I just think she placed all of her energy on the other parts of the test. Her test prep reflected this approach so that will change now.</p>
<p>Robotbldmom- they do not superscore, but they honor the highest composite score. So- does that mean they will take my highest composite score and give a scholarship even if the writing score stinks? I think so- my daughter, even at this point, would qualify for one of their small scholarships…</p>
<p>I would double check with admissions but the way I understand the FAQS page is that as long as you have taken the writing portion and your ACT scores are in the scholarship range for the desired scholarship level, then you should be fine. Again, I always believe in checking with the “source” itself, in this case UA admissions and scholarships. I always ask for the answer in writing. Remember that we do not know if there will be any scholarship changes coming in the future.</p>
<p>According to my recruiter, UA barely looks at ACT essay scores. She said that they plan to analyze and compare ACT essay scores to student success/grades and possibly come up with a required minimum essay score in the future. So basically, taking the writing part of the ACT is like being a guinea pig experiment for UA.</p>
<p>I checked with the scholarship office a couple years ago when my D’s highest composite was w/o writing, but she had taken the writing section previously, and they told me the writing section was an Admissions Dept. requirement, not a Scholarship requirement.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your input. I’m saying prayers- and she will take the next ACT and hopefully score a higher composite and improve her writing score to boot. She is taking a practice test as we speak/write. :)</p>
<p>Since the writing score doesn’t matter, have you considered having her take it without writing? That is what we did for D the third thine and she got her 32.</p>
<p>I see what you mean. Not having to do the writing may result in a higher composite. It takes the pressure of having to do any writing off. Good idea- because she can always do another attempt and try to do better on the writing later on…</p>
<p>FDNgFrnzy for my D it wasn’t that it affected her Composite, she did well, it was just the extra stress of an additional section when it doesn’t matter.</p>