I’m applying to schools that do not require or recommend the essay for SAT or ACT. But I took the essay portion on both anyway. Do they see the writing sample itself or just the score?
Some colleges contract with College Board to have the ability to view the actual SAT essay. However, it seems highly unlikely that a college that doesn’t want the SAT essay would bother with that.
College Board provides the score but not the essays from the applicants’ tests in the score reports provided to colleges. A college admission offcial can contact CB and view any applicants essay the offical may want to review. My understanding is that happens rarely even for colleges that require the writing section .