<p>Does MIT use the SAT writing? or at least condsider it</p>
<p>MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: "Testing requirements FAQ"</p>
<p>"Q. How will the new SAT writing section be considered?</p>
<p>A. The SAT writing section is required [but] will not be used for admissions formulas this year."</p>
<p>That blog entry is from 2 years ago. However, the current stance hasn't changed much.</p>
<p>Many</a> Four-Year Institutions Ignore SAT Essay Scores - The Tech</p>
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[quote]
MIT excludes writing from the mix when it plots students’ SAT test results on a chart to see how the average applicant did, said Stuart Schmill ’86, interim director of admissions. Although the test is a few years old, the first MIT freshmen to have taken it only just finished their first year at the college, Schmill noted. Like other colleges, MIT wants to compare students’ SAT writing scores to their performance on other writing measures the university administers.
[/quote]
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<p>WHAT!!!....MIT tells me this now...I retook it a third time to get my writing marks up.....</p>
<p>so u don't necessarily have to score 600+ ?
Hw about CR? any ideas?</p>
<p>errrr... I think if you're not scoring 600+ on a part of SAT, there should be a reallllly good reason for that (are you international or did you immigrate here? or were you really sick that day? a good writer but not a good test-taker?). I mean, even though they don't care about the writing score that much, a 500 doesn't necessarily look good.</p>
<p>I am not sure about MIT, but I know at a Caltech admissions info session the head of admissions said that since critical reading has been shown to correlate with GPA in first year of college, they do look at that score too. granted Caltech seems MUCH more score-oriented than MIT... anyway, MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: "MIT Admissions Statistics 2007" this shows score breakdown for each section. I think a general rule of thumb is that if you're above the first quartile you're fine, and if you're not, you could be fine, but make sure the rest of your application really stands out. notice that all of the sections have first quartiles > 600...</p>
<p>Hm...in one of their info secessions they said that this would be he first year they look at the SAT Writing score...Then again mine was below 600 and i got in. (They probably used my ACT score)</p>
<p>I am taking the SAT in Jan for the first time. So i just wanted to set my target. I think i can manage to fall inside the range (670-770). Thanks guys for ur replies.</p>
<p>Let me give you a bit of advice- read A LOT between now and then. If you're not a big reader, become one. I got an 800 on my writing score, but it's because I pick out little grammar errors in other peoples' writing and have been reading good literature since forever. For the essay- think of a few solid references you can use (APUSH facts and To Kill a Mockingbird seem to fit everything) and try to relate the topic to them. Also, just keep writing. As much as it makes me cringe to even say it, the longer the better. Try to fill up at least two pages. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>(I would definitely focus more on CR, though, if you're having any troubles with that. Personally, CR was the bane of my existence in terms of the SAT. Relatively speaking.)</p>
<p>I just did my first diagnostic today...(i know pretty late SAT prep) and i just realised how STOOPID my earlier question is. I got a 670 on the writing without ever having reached the improving paras questions and a just complete esssay.
And CR gave me a headache. Literally. The experimental was CR too.
And i got an awful 550. bah! 780 on the math wasn't bad. </p>
<p>btw ducktape... thanks for tips. But i wonder wat APUSH facts and 'To kill a Mocking bird' are. I generally use examples from shortstories i have read like from Saki, h.h.munro...etc. becoz i find that they have some moral intertwined in the story that i can describe aboutor relate to. that Okkk??</p>
<p>If you can get a 670 on writing with what you're doing now, you don't have too much to worry about. I think more essay readers have read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and know enough about US History to be able to follow what you're writing better, but I think you'll be fine with your short stories.</p>
<p>For CR, reading a lot between now and the January test date won't help a lot... you need to develop your reading skills gradually. For example, on the 10th grade PSAT, I got 55, in 11th grade, I got 64, on my first SAT (June 07) I got 680, and my second/last SAT (Nov 07) I got 790. Reading is a huge part of that, but one month isn't enough time to go from 550 to ~700ish (It is possible to do that for math & writing, though). Look at the SAT Preperation forum for good tips and resources you can use to improve.</p>
<p>Oh, sorry advance07, I realize those are pretty American references. APUSH stands for Advanced Placement United States History, and "To Kill a Mockingbird" is one of the great American classic works of literature (it's by Harper Lee). I'm sure your references would be fine.</p>
<p>And I agree with tapedDuck that reading a lot won't help your CR score between now and January, but just reading something like the New York Times every day from now until the test should help your W score.</p>
<p>As far as CR goes, I found a few things helpful. 1) Practice - went from 6 wrong on PSAT to 800 on SAT just by a bit of practice and getting used to what sorts of questions were asked, 2) underlining key "vocab" words and taking notes on main idea of paragraphs in the margins - made it easier to keep track of where everything was so that when a question asked about something I could look it up in the passage, and 3) I always read through a list of SAT vocab the night before/morning of the test. (I know people say cramming isn't good, but for me, it was less of cramming/stress, and more of getting myself into test mode, getting the words into my head, etc.)</p>
<p>Also, sleep REALLLLLLLLY helps on SAT, especially sections like CR. I think it is impossible to stress that enough.</p>
<p>But honestly, my diagnostics were always much worse than my actual score - I think I never broke 2200 on diagnostics/practices but got 2370 on the real thing. So DON'T stress, practice, and I would say, do not try to memorize all the words. Rather, get used to how words are used, functions of certain types of statements in paragraphs (learn to read passages for what the author is trying to accomplish rather than what the author is trying to SAY), and other than that, don't stress and SLEEP the night before. Lol. Good luck; hope that helps.....</p>
<p>That helps a lot. First i know there is scope for improvement. Second those were some CR steps that i ignored earlier. THANK YOU.</p>