I took the Febuary ACT and got a 35 composite, but I only got a 23 on the essay. Will this hurt my application when applying to the elite colleges, and does it mean I should retake the whole test?
35 Composite is top notch. You do not need to retake it. Congratulations! My daughter got accepted to Ivy with 34, so 35 is great. It will not be a limiting factor for you. Your essays in your applications will tell admissions whatever they need to know about your writing skills, along with your grades in English courses.
Apparently writing means virtually nothing to colleges so I wouldn’t worry. Especially with a 35 composite. Even the ivies (for the most part) are not requiring the writing section for the new sat so I doubt they care about ACT writing.
^ to be accurate, four of the 8 Ivies (Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth) WILL continue to require the essay sections of ACT/newSAT for applicants for admission in the Fall of 2017.