<p>I got a 33 composite score but I don't think a 9 is the best essay score. Should I retake it considering that I am a rising senior? Individually I got: English - 35, math - 29, reading - 34, science - 32. My top two universities are William and Mary (oos) and Tufts. Thanks!</p>
<p>A 33 is great! It is fine for those schools, no need to retake. The 9 on the essay is fine, I don’t think schools will care. I got a 35 composite but a 32 on writing cause I got a 9 on the essay and was admitted to equally and more selective schools.</p>
<p>Absolutely not. A 33 is an excellent score. You wouldn’t gain much by increasing your composite score, and the essay score is completely irrelevant.</p>
<p>The ACT essay has absolutely nothing to do with academic writing and is an awful measure of your ability to succeed in college-level courses and perform college-level writing tasks. If it’s anything like the SAT essay, the length of the essay is the single biggest predictor of the grade. The prompts are more akin to 5th-grade prompts than academic writing.</p>
<p>Most schools place little or no value on the score in the admissions process. Many are still collecting data as to whether it’s a useful measure (which is why they require it when you apply). I doubt they will conclude it’s useful.</p>
<p>I was accepted to Rice, Northwestern, Emory, Colgate, UMich, and MSU with a 36 ACT and an 8 on the essay. I have yet to receive a poor grade on a writing assignment.</p>