bc most people would not distinguish “most” as only the top 50 schools in the country and then suggest that “nearly all the best” as some sub-category within the top 50.
Yes, you are right about that, and that’s why I clarified my statement. CC does not give you the option to go back and edit your posts after 15 minutes–otherwise I would have.
I missed some of the context on the discussion of required essay vs not, but perhaps the easiest is to just list the colleges that officially require the essay (there are about the same number that recommend):
Anderson College (IN)
Cal Tech
Central Connecticut
Central Florida
Claremont McKenna
College of Charleston
College of Southern Nevada
Dartmouth
Emory
FAU
Florida A&M
Florida Gulf Coast
Florida State (this might be outdated)
Harvard
Heritage Chrisitan
Howard
Marlboro College
Michigan
New College (FL)
Penn College of Tech
Prince George Community College
Princeton
Rowan
South Florida
Stanford
Texas A&M
Trinity (TX)
U San Diego
U Texas
UC (ALL)
Valencia
Vandercook college of music
Yale
Selected that recommend the essay (ones that I see discussed on CC):
Auburn
Occidental
Pomona
Colorado College
U Deleware
Georgia Tech
UIUC
Purdue
Amherst
College of New Jersey
Rutgers
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Stony Brook
Wilamette
Oregon State
Susquehanna
Austin College
Baylor
UT Dallas
U Washington
To turn the discussion back to the original issue, the OP should invest in a good SAT/ACT Grammar workbook. Also, if the OP took the PSAT last fall, the customized link to Khan Academy’s online tutor might be helpful too.
Boy, did this thread get jacked.
I agree this is a tangent, but I think the question of how the optional essay will be used is also interesting.
I think the short answer is that none of us really know.
Here’s my opinion. The new optional essay is a replacement for the old writing section. The new optional essay is the most worthless part of the old writing section - which many colleges found rather worthless as a whole. The technical-oriented schools my daughter is going to apply to (e.g. MIT, Olin, RPI, RIT) don’t want the essay, and I seriously doubt they care about it at all. The colleges already have lots of writing samples (your essays), which they grade according to their rubric.
I would also guess that they will count the W portion fully of the R+W on the new SAT.
But these are just my opinions / guesses.
So when can I expect colleges to update their info for standardized testing? Also, I took the SAT with essay in March but now I am taking it without essay in June. Every school I am even considering doesn’t even recommend the essay. However, if something happens and I need the essay, can I just send March scores to so there is an essay score along with my June score which is hopefully higher overall?
I read on another thread that they would be updating their info sometimes in August and
yes you could send your March scores, but you won’t need an essay unless you are applying to schools like HYPS so don’t worry about it.