<p>I have heard some colleges don’t even consider the SAT writing section for admissions, which is sobering considering my scores were writing:800, critical reading:720, math:680 and I am dying to get into Brown early decision. Anyone know Brown’s stance?</p>
<p>Won't matter. Your scores are very good either way, 1400/1600 vs 2200/2400? You are above the median range, regardless of how the scores are weighted. Relax, only one more month to wait.</p>
<p>I'M IN THE SAME BOAT. I was 800 writing, 780 CR, 730 Math. Which I know isn't bad or anything, but it is a little frustrating that my best score means nothing! meh</p>
<p>I know how you feel. I worked hard for my writing score!</p>
<p>haha, i'm in the same boat also</p>
<p>(2200) W: 790, CR: 710, M: 700 </p>
<p>yeah i hope they consider writing lol</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat as you guys (800 both times). I'm sure that if the writing score is low they will take it with a grain of salt (writing a cogent essay in what, 25 minutes is pretty difficult), but if it is high (and consisently so) it will definitely reflect upon your writing abilities, as far as the SAT Writing section can judge, even if it doesn't carry as much weight as the other two sections.</p>
<p>what about the essay? my writing was relatively weak (730 both times) but I got 11 and 12.</p>
<p>i mean i guess its only a reflection of a 25 minute window of thought but still.. every small positive consideration would be great.. :P</p>
<p>i hope they don't weight it too much.</p>
<p>I know at the info session they were vague-ish when I asked, but did assert that it (the writing section) was considered. As opposed to jhu, ie, which just said point blank we don't care about it. I asked b/c i had gotten an 8 on the essay and a perfect score on the mc part. They were a bit avoidant (haha is that a word?) of the question but did seem firm on the fact that they would "like" to see strength in that section. a bit like if you ask them if you have to be in the top 10% of your class...they squirm and afterwards away from the crowd they say that they would "really recommend" it. so a high writing score certainly isn't useless, at the very least! You can go to their OIR, then click on their common data set, and they have to report how they use the writing section. they don't use it to find out if you're cheating on your app essays i.e., which is a relief for me b/c the SAT essay isn't reflective of how i operate.
and geez i wrote a lot.
but i hope it was helpful!</p>
<p>From my experiences, writings scores are not weighted as much as CR and M scores at Brown. But, don't be discouraged though, I sure your scores on the other sections are excellent anyway. It's a bit unwise to relying on 800 for any of the 3 sections alone to give you an advantage. Even for their most cynical uses, only the 75th and the 25th percentiles are evaluated.</p>
<p>"It's a bit unwise to relying on 800 for any of the 3 sections alone to give you an advantage. Even for their most cynical uses, only the 75th and the 25th percentiles are evaluated."</p>
<p>Would you mind further explaining this?</p>
<p>I just meant to say that your scores are fine with or without your writing score. While I'm sure you studied hard for that 800, one 800 is not going to give you a significant boost. SAT scores won't give your an edge in admissions, unless your scores are at the very top - say over 780 in every section. That's not to say you will be penalized for your scores, since your scores are over the median range for Brown. I was referring to school rankings with the 25th and 75th percentile.</p>
<p>I would love to believe you, but I am skeptical. How can you be sure that the difference between a math score of 760 (top of middle 50%) and one of 680 (bottom of middle 50%) won't be as significant as the difference between a 760 and a 780 (above 75th percentile) or a 680 and a 660 (below 25th percentile)? I have never heard of median ranges used like this before. I would be ecstatic if you are right, though, since I have been assuming my 680 math will put me at a great disadvantage to those with scores in the medium 700's (all else being equal, of course). </p>
<p><em>crosses fingers for a reasonable answer</em></p>
<p>i love how you guys are arguing over a few meager points on SAT math....do you realize that the difference between a 700 and a 750 is 2 questions? or that the difference between a 680 and a 700 is 1 question? because i think adcoms realize that and i think this is why many people with 2300+ get rejected...because the difference between them and 2100s-2200s is not that big, just a few questions on a lucky day</p>
<p>Yeah, the admissions process makes me obsessive compulsive. But given the choice between two people equal in every way except that one answered a few more questions on the SAT correctly, colleges will accept the higher scorer in order to raise their middle 50% and their status. Because there are bound to be people in the applicant pool whose essays, recommendations, and transcripts equal mine, I don't feel petty arguing about a few meager points on the SAT. The value Brown will give to my essays is hard to determine objectively, the value of my transcript depends upon the information Brown has about my school, and I have no idea what my recommendations say. The value that will be placed upon SAT scores, though, is easiest to determine because the SAT is the most universal factor in admissions.</p>
<p>Admittedly, there's nothing I can do about my chances now, so I should probably drop the subject and channel all the nervous energy into my homework. =)</p>
<p>^ Call me obsessive compulsive. I'm deciding whether I should re-send a score just because I went from 750 W to 770 W. Probably not, but it would inch me up to above the 75% percentile. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>Brown has now had two to three admissions cycles of data to determine how to use the SAT writing score. The first couple years, the writing score was not considered as heavily as the other two; my guess is that now the score is considered the same as the others. I'll try to find out a more official response.</p>
<p>Your SAT scores are considered in context. Did your parents go to college? Do you attend a poor inner city school or a top-notch private school? Do you live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan or a tiny little town in Kansas? Are you a recruited athlete? </p>
<p>As to the OP: Your SAT scores will never be the deciding factor in admissions. Be proud of your 800, Brown will be impressed with it, but if the rest of your application is weak or not impressive, that 800 won't mean a thing.</p>
<p>this must be a pretty big boat....</p>