<p>I've gotten numerous comments from English teachers in years past that I'm the best writer in the class, grade, etc; I regularly get solid As in English, excellent grades on essays. I'm not trying to be self-aggrandizing or anything, just letting you know what my situation is. I can write well, and I consider that to be one of my strengths.</p>
<p>However... I took the March SAT and it had easily the stupidest essay topic I've ever seen. I wrote maybe a page and a quarter, but I didn't reference a lot of inane TV shows and I didn't ramble on for 2 pages as you're expected to. Wouldn't expect to get above an 8.</p>
<p>Also, I took the ACT and got 36 on Reading and 34 on Writing, with an 8 on the essay.</p>
<p>I can't write for standardized tests. I'm not good at it. I can't and frankly don't want to debase my writing for some ******** formula; I value well-written sentences, coherent exposition, and tight syntax over made-up facts and meaningless examples.</p>
<p>So how much do colleges care about the essays on these tests?</p>
I would assume that for the ACT, where the Writing score doesn’t actually factor into your composite, you would be fine assuming you have a decent Composite score. But for the SAT, where the Essay score actually does factor into your total, you might be in trouble if you get a poor Essay score.</p>
<p>i think its like 30% of ur writing score, so like 11% of ur overall score. not that much. if you got a 800 on writing mc, than even with an essay grade of 8, you’d still have an 800. unless the curve is wayyy below normal. but even then, you should b fine since you’re such an awesome writer.</p>
No… There was only one recorded time, as far as I know, where an 80 MC and an 8 Essay gave one an 800 on the Writing section: one Essay prompt of the January 2008 SAT. If anything, something like that happening is highly abnormal.</p>
<p>Okay, this is probably an annoying question, but I hope someone will take it seriously. I got a 2400 (woohoo!) but a 10 on the essay. How much do the Ivies care about the essay? Should I take the SAT again in the fall to try to get an 11 or 12 on the essay? I had a hard time coming up with any examples from literature or history on this one (reality entertainment–good or bad?).</p>
<p>@venice707: No, you’re more than fine! People often say to get “double digit” essay scores-your’s falls in this category!</p>
<p>The essay does make a difference. I got 76 MC Subscore and 10 essay…770 overall. However, had I gotten an 11 essay, that would’ve probably been a 790 and a 12 essay would’ve been a 800. I’m very happy with my 770, but I thought I’d show how the essay score makes an impact!</p>
<p>I feel very lucky to have gotten a 2400. Believe me, I’m not complaining. I’m just wondering whether I should try for a better essay score, if a 10 is going to affect my admission chances at all. I think I can write a better essay than the one I wrote. The reality TV thing really threw me, since I’ve never seen those shows and had to completely BS my examples.</p>
<p>You do NOT want colleges to see that you’ve retaken a 2400. Disregarding the fact that some schools request that you send all scores, and also disregarding the fact that some admissions offices operate such that application readers only see a single superscored set of scores, in order to have a better single test date result, you’ll have to manage a 2400 <em>again</em> (how likely is that?) AND get a 12 on your essay (no guarantee of this either, as scoring is by its nature subjective and thus inconsistent).</p>
<p>Relax. If you get rejected/waitlisted at [insert school here], it most certainly will NOT be because you only got a 10 on your essay (which, by the way, is somewhere around the 95th percentile).</p>
<p>Finally, if I still haven’t convinced you that you’re fine, consider the following SAT-style problem (simplified to include only two answer choices):</p>
<p>1. You have just scored an 800/800/800(80/10) on the SAT, a single-sitting score that puts you into at least the top 0.01% of test-takers. You also have $47.00. What should you do with this money?</p>
<p><a href=“A”>b</a>** Give the $47.00 to the College Board, and sign up for the May 2011 or June 2011 SAT in the hopes of scoring an 800/800/800(80/12).</p>
<p><a href=“B”>b</a>** Donate the $47.00 to help feed dozens of starving children in impoverished nations.</p>
<p>@MassMarket
I have the same problem!!! I just got an 8 on my sat essay (brought down my writing to a 770 even though I got all the mc right). I can write a mean memoir though. Will colleges think i’m cheating or something if i send in that writing score, but send in a really good common app essay? can’t colleges view your sat essay online or something?</p>