<p>Hi, I'm too late to retake any of my tests and was wondering which of these two sets of scores I should send to my colleges. I'm mainly focusing on schools like NYU, Hopkins, and Rice.</p>
<p>I've taken the ACT once and got a 35 composite with 34s and 35s in subscores, which was fantastic news! The problem is that my essay earned a whopping 6/12, bringing my combined English/Writing down to a 29.</p>
<p>I've taken the SAT twice and my highest scores are CR 760, M 740, and W 750. They're not bad, but I feel they wouldn't stand out very well at the schools of my choice.</p>
<p>My problem mainly lies with my horrendous ACT writing score. Will sending the ACT alone look bad with that attached? Am I allowed to submit SAT scores as a sort of supplement, a 'hey I don't totally suck at the English language' sort of thing? What would you recommend in this situation? Thank you!</p>
<p>If you’ve done well in your English classes (especially if they are AP/IB level) then I think you’re fine. Those grades and your essays are what colleges will look at to gauge your writing ability.</p>
<p>If you are still nervous about it and have the extra money, I’d just send both. I don’t think most schools pay much attention to the ACT writing (I got a 35 and 7W myself) but it couldn’t hurt to send your SAT scores too. A 2250 is great and certainly wouldn’t hurt your application in any way.</p>
<p>I decided to send in both of my ACT scores (my first was a 34 and 9W) just so I wouldn’t ever have that “what if” feeling.</p>
<p>I’m no expert on how admissions thinks, but keep in mind that the writing section of the ACT/SAT is the only subjective part of the exam. That’s why the score often doesn’t make sense when the objective English subscores are considered. Take your situation for example, how much sense does it make to score a 35 composite with a 34/35 in the English subsection and a 34/35 in the Reading subsection and then score a 6 on the essay/writing? Really? This kind of a ridiculous result is why I honestly believe that most colleges do not seriously consider the essay score. My son was in a similar situation with a 34 composite, 33 English, 35 Reading and then an 8 on the essay. I think he scored an 8 mainly because he has bad handwriting. It’s simply too subjective. My son was just accepted at Penn State and NC State, so the fact that his 8 pulled his combined English writing score down to a 30 is not hurting at least so far. He still has many applications out there waiting for decisions.</p>
<p>But consider this also, I don’t think most admission offices read the essays at all because they aren’t sent with your score. What’s sent is the printed score report and a LINK to the essay. They have to login and seek out your essay to read it. I don’t think they have the time to do that when they’re reviewing hundreds of applications. Maybe some offices actually take the time to find them and print them out and put them in each applicant’s file but I highly doubt it.</p>
<p>So my point is, don’t stress over a low essay score. And don’t let it keep you from sending in an otherwise stellar ACT score. I personally think that when admissions get scores like yours it simply proves to them for the millionth time that the essay scoring is subjective and unreliable. Concentrate more on writing the best application essays you can. That matters more.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your replies! I talked it over with my counselor, and she believes the writing score definitely won’t be held to the same standard as the composite/subscores, so I should be alright. I might still also send my SATs to my reaches, though, haha</p>