<p>Does anyone know how Caltech is going to view the new SAT writing scores? I performed well on Math and Critical Reading with a composite of 1600, but I only received a 710 in writing (a result of 5 grammar mistakes). The curve seems to be especially harsh compared to the old SAT II Writing, so I am just curious as to how Caltech would consider the new SAT Writing.</p>
<p>Well, our current plan is to be somewhat tentative about taking that score into account the first year, and admit students more or less like we did this year. We will get a feel, in this way, for how the score correlates with the usual factors we've used. Once we know that, we can give it more weight. So I think you should be okay.</p>
<p>: )</p>
<p>Thanks Ben! So the new SAT writing will have a minimal effect on admission chances, if at all for the class of '06? I mean, as long as it falls within a certain range and isn't way lower than math or critical reading?</p>
<p>Yep. That's correct, ramsfan, as far as I know (which should be pretty close to reality, considering I was on the committee that instituted the policy.)</p>
<p>Thanks for clearing that up. Hope I can be a part of the class of '10! :)</p>
<p>Hey Ben, how come they're doing it like that instead of just considering the writing subscore basically as they would've considered the SAT II: Writing before? (Since they're virtually the same test.) Doesn't make much sense to me.</p>
<p>Well, the difference between the two does not lie in subject matter. It is just that the SAT II Writing had an extremely generous curve while the new SAT Writing has a very harsh one to roughly fit a national bell curve. 5 mistakes on the SAT II Writing and a 10 on the essay might still put you around 770ish-790 range while 5 mistakes on the new SAT writing with a 10 on the essay barely gets you above 700. Also national percentiles for the test are unknown since it has just been administered, so it is really hard to measure a student's writing ability with this score, which can move up and down 20 or 30 points per question on the basis of either a careless error or lucky guess. Of course, I can't speak for any college, but I think these are the reasons why most colleges are going to put little (if any) weight on new SAT writing scores for the class of '06. There are exceptions to this rule of thumb, and I just wanted to know Caltech's stand on the matter since its one of my favorite schools and I'm planning on applying for '10.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think ramsfan did a very good job of summarizing our thinking on this issue -- if we start marking people down (as we would for low writing scores) and then realize it was unfair because standards for the same scores changed, we'd feel dumb.</p>
<p>In this case, I have to ask the obvious - will you mark people "up" for having a good writing score? I got an 800, so obviously I'm hoping to maximize the effect of this score on my application.</p>
<p>Maybe, though you can see how that might seem a little "unfair" -- since, on the flip side, we're not sure how impressive an 800 on that section is. (For the writing SATII, the answer was "quite, but not amazing.") But since in committee discussions anything is fair game, as well as in swaying people's subtle perceptions, the 800 will certainly play in your favor to some extent. To <em>what</em> extent is the question, and I can't really say that for sure before we start reading next year.</p>
<p>Question - what if a person does REALLY REALLY bad? will it affect the person greatly??</p>
<p>i got a......460 on writing ( recent immigrant )
will improve, ofcourse, but just wondering :|</p>
<p>We view recent immigrants in the context of their situation. Someone who has only recently learned English will not be judged by the same standards as a native speaker. We have been known to admit internationals/immigrants with Writing in the 4-500 range, but the rest of the application is ususally pretty amazing.</p>
<p>lovely, by the way, is it a good sign that Cal-Tech sends me an E-Mail about the poster and stuff?? ( even though i know that it is impossible for me to be admitted )</p>
<p>Hehe, no, it's not any sort of special good sign :-)</p>
<p>Will the old SAT with no writing (SAT I or II) be acceptable for students applying for 2006 admission?</p>
<p>Yes. Our policy for 2006 will be to accept either the new or the old SAT or the ACT with or without the writing section along with the Math 2C and one of the following science exams; Biology (Ecological), Biology (Molecular), Chemistry, or Physics.</p>
<p>Ben, while you are checking, please would you check if the ACT w/writing would be OK instead of the new SAT I? Thanks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. 1000 questions here... My son is sitting for his SAT IIs on Sat and has designated that the scores be sent to Caltech. He, of course, has not yet sent an application. Will you save them and match them to his application next fall or will he need to resend the SAT scores after he submits his app?</p>
<p>We will save them and attach them to the app once it comes in. It might help to notify the office in advance just to make sure they know it's not a mistake, but it should be fine in either case.</p>
<p>Oh, and sorry about the correction/turnabout on the last answer. I thought I remembered the policy we voted on correctly but had to go back and check the document. Turns out I had been wrong. But all is well now.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the information and for matching up the scores after the applications are received. We appreciate your saving us the expense of sending the scores again.</p>