I did well on the other parts (1560) but I’m somewhat disappointed with my essay score, especially since I’ve heard of so many people getting 8/8/7s, etc. (I’m aiming for top LACs and HYP and have a low-ish GPA compared to others, so I was really relying on this test to help me). Should I retake? How much will colleges look at the essay?
No. The essay score is fine and is not weighted nearly as heavily as the M+CRW sections. Many schools don’t consider it at all. You will have other opportunities to show your writing skills, in your essays, for example.
Congratulations on your excellent score! You should be very happy with the result!
No. A lot of schools say they don’t look at the essay score-- we just heard that at an information session at Johns Hopkins, for example. The admissions officer said they’re much more interested in your application essay.
It’s not used by US News and other rankings, removing an incentive for giving it any weight in the admissions process.
No, those are high enough to validate that your outstanding essays were actually written by you.