<p>UG? Well, can depend on the college, but the other qualities do include judgment and the ability to self edit to get an appropriate message across. It’s a college app essay, so no point writing brilliantly about your cat or hiding in the attic. .Or why you don’t do well. </p>
<p>@soze - My point is that writing during a timed essay is judged differently than writing where you have time to edit and think more about what you are saying. Writing spontaneously on a college exam is to see if you have mastered the facts and can write a persuasive argument about their implications on a topic you have been studying for a semester. So in many ways that isn’t a spontaneous piece of writing at all. Very different purposes from a college application piece of writing. And we are not talking law school here either.</p>
<p>“I did notice that ACT scores seem to be viewed with prejudice more so than at peer schools and wonder if this is the case, expecially when I found out that a double legacy, rigorous prep school kid was declined ED with top ACT scores and grades with peers getting in with not so top SAT scores and lower grades at same school. Some schools show NO kids getting in when just ACT scores reported even with top grades which does not show up even at HPY which is concerning to me if Duke claims they do take ACT scores without prejudice and commensurately to SATs.”</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse </p>
<p>My D is a rising junior at Duke. Applied ED submitting only an ACT score, no SAT. Not a URM, legacy, athlete etc…no hooks whatsoever. I know of several of her friends attending with the same scenario. In my opinion Duke does take ACT scores without prejudice. I know I’m responding to an old thread here that just got re-hashed but just thought I’d share our experience.</p>
<p>3 months isn’t that old! Not for some topics anyway.</p>