<p>alright i already sent out my early apps, but just wanted to hear some thoughts on this.</p>
<p>the 1st time i took sat
m: 730 cr: 790 w: 770 (12) ~ 2290</p>
<p>i didn't really like my math score, cause u know i thought each area should be over 750 ;; i did think long and hard about this....but i decided to retake</p>
<p>2nd time.</p>
<p>m: 760 cr: 800 w: 680 (10)!!!!!!! 680!!!!!!! ~ 2240
that's quite a dip from 770.</p>
<p>is this really bad? </p>
<p>i mean everything's said and done, but just curious. thanks!</p>
<p>Anybody trained to grade the essay portion of state-wide or national standardized tests should know that the scores are meaningless with respect to the quality of the writing. I think that the essay portion should not be graded, as the grading methods are somewhat arbitrary, but should be included with each score report as an ungraded writing sample.</p>
<p>My son got into Harvard with a 690 in writing twice. Once with a 7 essay, once with a 9 essay. A 680 is a pretty decent score, and a 770 is a fantastic score. Schools that care about writing know the scoring can be somewhat arbitrary, but you've made it clear you are capable of exemplary work. So stop worrying. If you are applying next year with score choice just send both scores in. This year they'll both go in anyway.</p>
<p>Only a 680 in Writing!! You're a disgrace to CC standards! Geez only a 2330 superscore?! You might as well just give up on your college dreams. No way you'll get in anywhere with that.</p>
<p>Just kidding obviously. You're fine and don't have anything to worry about. A 2330 superscore will get you at the very least consideration at any university in the U.S. I don't think your 680 will be looked down upon by anyone.</p>
<p>Wow, your SAT scores are really impressive. =]</p>
<p>Your "writing dip" won't be a problem:
1.) Looking at your other scores, admissions officers will probably accept it as a fluke.
2.) Most don't take the writing section seriously anyway.</p>
<p>Yeah, it will. The writing section's valuable because it correlates with how well you can learn (it's a subject test!). That's why it has better college GPA predictive value than do the math and CR sections.</p>
<p>^^^I mean at this time that it is still treated with some suspicion by the schools. They probably give more importance to the questions, which as you say is more of a subject test, than to the essay, however some schools might go through the trouble of checking out how much of a discrepancy there is (or isn't) between this spur of the moment essay and the carefully manicured (and many times professionally edited and coached) application essays. There is no ceiling to how crafty AdComs can be. Maybe the word should be "beware if you really tank."</p>
<p>I was, for a brief time, a grader for a competitor company. Besides the aforementioned issues with inter-rater reliability, which are huge, there are also major problems with the rubrics and exemplars. Sometimes really good writing breaks many rules, but the rubrics generally reward pedestrian writing that carefully covers the bases and is very, very obvious. You can actually have an essay with many spelling errors and demonstrably inaccurate assertions or facts end up with a higher score than a more penetrating essay that failed to provide at least three arguments, or that had an unconventional organization. (I guess you can tell why I'm not a grader anymore.)</p>