<p>Is there a most important section on the SAT? Does an 800 on math look more impressive to an adcom than an 800 on reading, or vice versa? Is one a better indicator of college success or of intellectual potential? Or is it all just numbers in a numbers game?</p>
<p>I'm personally done with college applications, but I am interested in everyone's take on the matter. I think this is a solid discussion! No need to share scores or personal experiences unless you feel that it aids in your discussion. I am also aware that it depends on the school, the major, etc. but I'm more curious about the sections at a more general scale.</p>
<p>In my opinion, reading section is more important. But the difference is quite small. </p>
<p>Even an engineering major is going to have to read a textbook and write a lab report. An English major has to take one or two math classes at the most (and a lot of times, they don’t have to take any at all because of AP/Dual Enrollment/CLEP/etc). </p>
<p>It seems like the math is a bit easier to master and practice for than the reading as well. I tend to think that the reading is a good indicator of evidential analysis and comprehension while the math is more of a solid critical thinking test. However, the critical reading also seems to be more subjective. I’m conflicted about whether colleges should put a lot of stock in a student’s ability to agree with the college board’s interpretations, as that is a large part of what the passage based reading tests. The math is a much more straightforward indication since there is only one correct answer. Thoughts?</p>
<p>Is it true that colleges do not value the Writing section as much as the Reading and Math sections? I would also like to know how much this applies to very selective colleges like HYPSM.</p>
<p>jencee the short answer is, from what I understand, the writing section does not matter as much in any school. At most its the reason why a person with 800 M 800 CR and 720 W has a 2320 that doesn’t look as good as a 2380 person with an 800 M 800 CR 780 W, if that makes sense. But I want to stress that I believe writing is the most important of the three skills that are tested, so it is still valuable. The reason why it is valued the least is because it is still very new and it is subjective. Colleges don’t know what to do with it because it’s so new that there is very little data to support its existence. I’d like to hear what others have to say about this as well.</p>
<p>Given that there are two reading sections (Critical Reading and Writing) and only one math section, a good foundation in English will give you a higher score overall… However, I’d say the optimum distribution of high scores is in all the sections :P</p>
<p>I would say that being a biochemist doesn’t really affect the order of importance. It’s probably the same as it would be for any other major, and it probably depends more on the school. For example, a tech school for a biochemist may be M>CR>W while a regular school such as Harvard may be M=CR>W. The CR vs M question is my original question so I’m still unsure of which is more important.</p>
<p>I agree that the Writing test is very subjective and therefore unreliable, though I’m not sure to what extent colleges feel the same way. As for Critical Reading and Math, I think an 800 on CR probably looks better, because fewer people get it. Whereas 800s in Math are fairly common, an 800 in CR tends to be more elusive.</p>
<p>But I guess I’m not really one to judge on that, since I got 800 in both CR and Math. I’m just worried about how my 720 in Writing will affect me. :(</p>
<p>Just because a perfect score in CR is less common does not mean it holds more weight. Sure, it might be more impressive, but college adcoms have their own criteria they use to evaluate SAT scores.</p>
<p>My kid also got 2320 (CR 800, M800, W720 with 11 Essay), and that’s like 4 questions from 2400. I doubt that would affect you that much in college admission.</p>