<p>Hi, I'm new here and I recently took my ACT and my SAT. On my ACT, I received a 36 on all sections but I only received a 7 on the writing, which brought my composite English down to a 31, even though my composite score is not affected. On my SAT, I received a 2360, with an 8 on my writing, 79 on my raw writing MC, and 800 on the other two sections. Which score is more valuable, and how badly will my writing score affect it?</p>
<p>It depends on which colleges you are applying to. Most state universities and lower level colleges only care about the SAT CR+M, discounting the writing, which would meet any SAT requirement there is for scholarship money at those schools. ACT, not sure (I only did the SAT.) Is the ACT essay graded out of 12? Is the essay an optional part? Congrats on your great scores! </p>
<p>(I got an 8 on the SAT essay too … I hate that essay.)</p>
<p>Actually many competitive schools also only look at SAT Maths and CR score also, for example Georgetown. Search on internet and you will find many. I don’t know how much affect your low Essay score would have but my guess is very little (no expert opinion). Do take care of your GPA but try to improve on your essay writing, not just for the tests, it will help you in college.</p>
<p>@sanwal </p>
<p>An essay score of 7 or 8 doesn’t mean you are a terrible writer in real life. Besides, with an MC score of 79, @Thadenvy clearly understands good grammar. Someone on here said that their daughter who had won multiple essay contests over the years could only get a 7 on the essay. 25 minutes is simply not enough time. In college I doubt seriously that you could have to write a stellar essay in 25 minutes. Perhaps in a class period, but that is longer and probably the topic would be something you had read about, not some random philosophical question. </p>
<p>The essay is much less significant than the four section scores on the ACT</p>
@albert69 a lower essay score on both and SAT and ACT means you might have some issues with writing. Similarly a lower score in SAT and ACT both on any section might indicate, you might have some issue in that section (Might). When you are doing different college tests, sometimes you do have to answer short paragraphs, not everything is MCQ and you don’t have to write 5 page essays for everything, so it does play a role .
And yes some people are not good test takers and that is why colleges have a holistic admission process. A higher grade in English classes (which definitely requires essays) can offset a low score.
I hope to get into HYP or some top-tier college around that level. Also, my GPA is good with A’s in everything except English, which has an 87 this year only and 90+ both sophomore and freshman year. I’m improving in English class but should I retake the ACT or live with the essay score I have now? Or, should I send in my SAT score instead and not worry?
On a side note, this was my second SAT and I got a 10 on the essay on my first one with an overall score of 2310, 800 Math, 750 Reading, 760 Writing, and I can’t remember the MCQ breakdown of writing.