<p>I am thinking of applying to better public or good private colleges like the UC group, NYU, maybe Ivy league etc and I was wondering if the SAT writing section is now more important than before for these middle/high end colleges. I read that a few years ago, the admissions people tend to ignore the W section.</p>
<p>The problem with me is that the writing section seems to be my best section. I got better in math in my real SAT, but in the practice tests since then, I always have gotten significantly higher in W than CR/M. It is the only section that I might possibly get an 800 in according to the SAT Blue Book ranges and I am afraid my best subject area will be rendered useless.</p>
<p>It’s definitely not useless, and colleges want to see how effectively you can write, as you’ll be doing lots of that in college! That said, it’s definitely the least important of the 3 sections, and some colleges don’t even look at it (if you see SAT ranges in a college book that are only out of 1600, that’s why).</p>
<p>Although it is indeed the least important section, most, if not all top schools will look at it.
Some statistics taken from silverturtle’s guide:</p>
<p> At Stanford, applicants with 800 on the Writing section are 58% more likely to be admitted than those with 700-790.
At Dartmouth, applicants with 800 on the Writing section of the SAT are 118% more likely to be admitted than applicants with 700-790
At Brown, applicants with 800 on the Writing section of the SAT are 46% more likely to be admitted than applicants with 750-790.</p>
<p>So it’s definitely considered, and 800 on that section (or in any other one) can actually help you a lot!</p>
<p>^^ those ranges above are self-selective, meaning that those who score 800 on the W are more likely than others to also score 1600 on CR and M</p>
<p>Yeah, those statistics are a little misleading because someone who scores an 800 on W is more likely to have higher M + CR scores, higher grades, etc. and therefore has a better chance of getting in.</p>