@GettingRekt The essay hardly matters at all. Most colleges won’t even look at it. Remember, just because it gets sent to a school doesn’t mean that the admissions folks will see it. Many schools have their own admissions computer systems and they load your data into it. If they don’t require the SAT Essay (which few do) they just won’t load the data into their system. The admissions staff won’t see it. Sometimes it works the same for superscoring. We talked to an admissions guy at UVA who said he never sees individual test scores because their system automatically superscores and that is all he ever sees. Even the schools that require SAT or ACT essays knows they aren’t very valuable. I assume they are just looking for something that might help identify cheaters. It is hard to cheat on the essay unless you get someone to take the test for you.
haha thanks! I’m mostly concerned about the ivies and THOSE schools you know? My score on the MC section was pretty good, so I just don’t know if I should worry about the essay part
Also, what’s considered “good” for those kind of schools on the essay anyway?
College Board just released an app for iPhone and Android called “SAT Score Converter.” Check it out
I got a 1500 (700 Reading and 800 Math) with 8/8/8 on the essay so I have two questions. Currently I have a 2220 old SAT so is it worth retaking to try at get my score to a 1550 and if I retake should I take it with the essay or not?
@GettingRekt Have you checked the specific schools? Not even all of the Ivies require it. It looks like HPYS do, but Cornell and Columbia don’t. Here’s a good list: http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/act-writing-and-sat-essay-requirements/
Here’s a helpful quote from their post: “Just as important, it’s uncommon for an ACT or SAT essay to be a significant negative factor on an application. So many student scores cluster in the middle score ranges (and don’t get me started on the inadequacies of the new ACT Writing scale) that the essay remains a remarkably weak predictor for colleges.”
Got a 1510 (780 M / 730 CR/W). Was very happy with this score until I saw the concordance table … Will this score be high enough to get past 1st round of admissions for elite schools such as MIT? In other words, would it be worthwhile to spend time to prep and retake or would that time be better spent elsewhere?
@zophie I have not gotten my score back yet either. This has been stressing me out so much.
Can anyone address the rumor that colleges use SAT/ACT essays to assess how much help you received on your college essays?
Did they release percentiles too? I’m just wondering what it would take to get into the 95th percentile.
@dazedaura I’ve never heard of a curve where missing 10 on old sat would be in 2300 range. I missed 9 questions and got a 2210. On a terrible curve, missing 10 could be as low as 2150.
Regardless, you’ve got a great score, def take some pride in it. Also, there’s plenty of time to improve, so take whatever mistakes you made as an opportunity to learn for the future. Good luck!
@candjsdad all right…haha…I was just wondering because I think my top choice schools would probably be around the HYPSM range so…thank you so much though!
Has anyone here used the new Blue Book, aka College Board’s official review book for the new SAT? Has it been helpful?
@rb681000 Some colleges take essays from the score u submit. To clarify, if he re-takes the SAT and gets a 7/7/8, but he got a 1500, he would have to send the essay he took with the score he wants to send. He can’t separately send the essay.
Since the essay is a completely separate score, it would be nice if they let you take the essay alone.
By the way, are there percentiles or a concordance for the essay?
So scored 1540 (750 ERW/790 M), not that satisfied, but did get 8/8/8 on the essay. I also got a 35 on the April ACT (36W/32R/36M/36S + 33E). Few questions:
- I’m definitely going for HYPS so I’m assuming those scores wouldn’t really cut it, especially the one low 32 on the reading for the ACT, am I correct in that conclusion?
- If I retake the SAT, would I be able to retake it without the essay since I already got an 8/8/8, and then just superscore that with whatever new scores I get?
@Cocohorse I only used the practice tests, which were really nice, but I ended up scoring lower on practice than on the real exam, so i think the practice may be a tad harder?
@StuckInThought do you read college confidential at all? A 35 ACT will not block you from top schools and won’t get you in either. Its a threshold, that you have MET! Move on to other parts of your app.
Do not retake the SAT. You can send it or not… But a 35 ACT is all you need. Read the ivy threads and see how perfect scores are not the ticket in.
Hey guys,
So i got a 1490 (760 reading/writing and 730 math). For comparing to the old SAT, according to the concordance tables this is equal to a 2150 but everywhere else online it is equal to a 2240. Personally, I think that the concordance tables are pretty bullshit but I guess that is what colleges are going to use.
I was wondering:
Is this score good enough for top schools (stanford, upenn, ucla, yale, usc, uchicago, etc.) or should i retake and try to get a higher score in math (because i know I can get at least a 750 on math next time, probably higher)
Thanks!
I got a 1150, without any preparation besides the PSAT. (got an 1150 on the PSAT)
1150: 74th% Nationally Representative Sample Percentile
64th% SAT User Percentile-National