<p>Do they? Just wondering</p>
<p>There have now been I believe at least five comprehensive studies, including one by ETS, showing that the Writing SAT test is the best predictor of how students will do in college after the GPA. After that, while this is not as well studied, are SAT IIs. The Critical Reading test actually I believe offers little information beyond what can be determined through the Writing test. I read an article where Harvard now weights Writing and SAT IIs to a greater extent than CR and Math. The difficulty is USNWR rankings still use CR and M to a greater extent, so currently there is a lag, but my guess is it will change within a few years. I believe Princeton, like Harvard, will probably be ahead of the curve on this.</p>
<p>Princeton's 2008 Common Data Set indicates they use the SAT/ACT Writing test for admission purposes, and use the essay as a "validity check on the application essay."
(page 9)</p>
<p>@ mcmom : what does the link signify?</p>
<p>When we did our campus tour November 2007, the admissions officer told us the same thing mcmom is stating. At the same time, the Colubima adcom said the Ivies were involved in a study trying to figure out just how to use the writing scores,so , maybe this year high writing scores will help out....that would be good for my S!!!!</p>
<p>Vandit - the 2008 Common Data Set asks the following question with regard to applicants for Fall 2010:</p>
<p>Please indicate how your institution will use the SAT or ACT writing component; check all that apply. The checked categories for SAT and ACT Essay are: Admission, Placement, Advising, and as A validity check on the application essay.</p>
<p>The 2007 Common Data Set form asks the question a little differently for the applicants for Fall 2009;
<a href="http://registrar.princeton.edu/university_enrollment_sta/common_cds2007.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://registrar.princeton.edu/university_enrollment_sta/common_cds2007.pdf</a></p>
<p>Please indicate how your institution will use the SAT or ACT essay component; check all that apply. The checked categories are Admission, Advising, and as A validity check on the application essay.</p>
<p>What I believe all that means is that they are using the writing portion along with Math and CR for admission decisions, and are also reading the SAT/ACT essays to see if they are at least in the same ballpark as the application essay. I'm not sure how they mean to use it for "placement" because everyone has to take a writing course, and the classes don't really vary by difficulty, only by topic.</p>
<p>mcmom, some schools (like Dartmouth) exempt you from taking a writing seminar if you score high enough on W, so I guess that's how some schools could use it for placement. But you're right, we can't get out of it... and all those pesky writing seminars are indeed the same class rebadged a few dozen times.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Vandit - the 2008 Common Data Set asks the following question with regard to applicants for Fall 2010:</p>
<p>Please indicate how your institution will use the SAT or ACT writing component; check all that apply. The checked categories for SAT and ACT Essay are: Admission, Placement, Advising, and as A validity check on the application essay.</p>
<p>The 2007 Common Data Set form asks the question a little differently for the applicants for Fall 2009;
<a href="http://registrar.princeton.edu/unive...on_cds2007.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://registrar.princeton.edu/unive...on_cds2007.pdf</a></p>
<p>Please indicate how your institution will use the SAT or ACT essay component; check all that apply. The checked categories are Admission, Advising, and as A validity check on the application essay.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Does this mean that they will only begin using the Writing score for admission purposes from next year onwards, and for this year they'll use just the essay score?</p>
<p>Dartmouth actually uses the Critical Reading section for placement. If you score a 780 or above on CR (1/3 of students), then you don't have to take the intro writing course, but you still have a first year writing seminar.</p>
<p>I don't think so screwitlah, but that's just my gut feeling and the wording on the CDS does seem unecessarily ambiguous. They started compiling the SAT and ACT writing test data on the Common Data Set for the class entering fall 2007, so IMO that means they've probably been using that data for admission purposes for the last two admission cycles, and will continue to do so. The weird thing is that they include the ACT essay score 25%-75%, but not the SAT essay (only the overall SAT writing score). Since the published 25%-75% Writing scores are comparable to the Math and CR scores, it seems to me they're using them for admission purposes.</p>
<p>@ mcmom : thanks..perhaps an 11 on my sat essay will help then..</p>
<p>College adcoms use everything. Even the things they say they don't use.</p>
<p>This is a corollary to the fact that there is no such thing as an optional essay. Even if they say it's optional. It's not.</p>
<p>It's optional. Truly.</p>
<p>^ is that some UPenn humor?</p>
<p>I do believe that Princeton takes the writing into consideration. If they dont then whats to be said for pretty much 99% of the other universities that fall below them. That would essentially mean no one uses it. Also Princeton says that they are a very writing heavy school in many of their materials so im pretty sure in saying that yea they take it inot account.</p>