Importance of the ACT Writing Score?

Test Preparation
1

<p>Hi, I just checked my ACT scores online and am really disappointed with my writing score. I got a 34 composite and a 35 in English, but only a 6 in writing.</p>

<p>The graders' comment on my essay was: "Your essay responded to the prompt by taking a clear position on the issue. Your essay used some specific details, reasons, and examples, but it needed more of them."</p>

<p>I honestly don't know how I could have written much more. I took 5 minutes to plan the structure of my essay and then wrote as fast as I could for the remaining 25 minutes. I ended up with only one and a half pages. I know my score doesn't reflect my true ability to write because I got an A in a College Writing course, and my professor recommended me to work at the college's tutoring center (even though I'm only a Junior in high school).</p>

<p>Anyways, I have 4.0 GPA and am ranked first in my class of 600. I am a member of NHS, the varsity tennis team, and the math team. I also have a part time job. I'm going to major in Computer Science after high school. </p>

<p>Do you think my ACT writing score will hurt my chances of being accepted into an Ivy League school or receiving scholarships to state colleges?</p>

<p>I'd like to avoid taking the ACT again if colleges only really care about the composite score because I have tennis tournaments on both of the remaining test dates for this year. But if you do think I should retake it, do you have any advice on how to score better on the essay or write faster?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance,</p>

<ul>
<li>Matt</li>
</ul>

2

<p>Don’t worry. Something similar happened to me and I was told not to worry about it. </p>

<p>I had a 33 Composite with a 35 on English as well and got an 8 on the essay. </p>

<p>They will see your English/Writing score, but your Composite redeems it so don’t worry. It is not worth retaking the entire ACT for just the essay. </p>

<p>And Congrats. A 34 is impressive.</p>

3

<p>UCs count the writing score on the ACT as they would on the SAT; your conversion will be lower.</p>

<p>Usually a 34 is around a 2250, but based on the UC’s current method, they would convert my 34 composite/31 writing (8 essay) as a 2200.</p>

4

<p>He had a 35 English and 6 Essay. I had an 8 on the essay.
Just letting you know because this is his post.</p>

<p>So 34 is about a 2250 so with a 6 on the essay and a 35 English, the E/W would be a 29? So then UC schools would see it as a 2130?</p>

5

<p>35(6) = 30, which converts to a 670 for schools that use this conversion</p>

<p>1510(34) + 670(30) = 2180.</p>

<p>I don’t know of other schools who use the writing though…</p>

6

<p>Well, thanks for the help.</p>

<p>My parents and I went to see a college financial advisor today, and he pretty much convinced my parents to make me retake the ACT. He said my Writing score was low and that even though my composite was high, I could definitely improve my scores. He said that with practice and study, I could definitely get a 35 or 36.</p>

<p>While my parents were convinced, I’m not sure whether the advisor was truly being honest with me or if he was just trying to sell his ACT preparation program.</p>

<p>Since I’m about 95% sure I’d be accepted into Ivy League schools, my decision on this is going to come down to my eligibility for scholarships. So does anyone know if any scholarships use the Writing subscore? If not, is my composite high enough to get good scholarships? If I don’t go to an Ivy League school, I’m hoping for a full ride to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, so with good essays do you think it is possible/feasible?</p>

<p>Thanks again,</p>

<ul>
<li>Matt</li>
</ul>

7

<p>Did you see the other current thread on this exact topic?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1097480-essays-scores-dont-match-up-test-scores.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1097480-essays-scores-dont-match-up-test-scores.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I am surprised to see that there are quite a few top ACT scorers, including several ACT 36ers, with writing scores in the 6-to-8 range. Before I read these threads, I thought my son was the rare exception. If these top scorers can get sandbagged by the writing section, there seems to be a real lack of validity in what the test is suppose to measure – especially since quite a few students getting these poor scores aced their English classes and may have even won awards on papers they had written.</p>

<p>I believe the writing portions are still being evaluated by top schools and that the grading methods currently used will eventually be discredited (length is the primary grading criteria which rewards random and often repetitive wordiness over concise argumentation).</p>

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<p>I agree – the advisor is using parental fear to sell his product and I wouldn’t buy it. However, if you got a 34 the first time, you could well get a 36 on a second attempt. That opportunity in ADDITION to the chance to improve your writing grade could well warrant another try. But self-study, you don’t need an expert to help you – you might even be hurt by it if it changes your thinking process.</p>

8

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<p>My son got a $15,000 a year merit scholarship at UIUC (Urbana) plus another award for $7,000 over 4 years. He got a writing score similar to what you got, but a 36 ACT composite. There were also a couple of other 36’s and 35’s that got the same scholarship. One 34 also got it, but he’s Hispanic, so that might have given him a slight edge – no one with less than a 34 has received it, as far as we know from CC.</p>

<p>Thus, a 34 probably puts you on the borderline for merit scholarship money (if you’re white or Asian) and an extra point would make the outcome more certain. These awards, by the way, are almost purely stats-driven, so you could well get admitted to an Ivy for your tennis skills and yet not qualify for a merit scholarship at state.</p>