<p>I retook the SAT in October and got these scores.
Math: 770
WR: 720
CR: 800</p>
<p>I only went down on Math (20 points), so overall I was pretty happy. But I got 79/80 on WR multiple choice and was brought down by a 6/12 essay.</p>
<p>Will colleges look at the subscores on the writing test? If they did, would it help me or hurt me? It would be annoying if I only missed one question on a whole section and all colleges saw was a 720, but it would also be annoying if my essay score hurt my application.</p>
<p>For ivy league-level colleges, would it be worth retaking the SAT to try to get a higher essay and WR score? Thanks for any help.</p>
<p>Retake the test. Search this site for “How to Write a 12 Essay in Just 10 Days”. You should be able to easily improve your essay score. Good luck.</p>
<p>The fact that you got a 800 on the CR should almost negate your 720 on WR. In other words, insofar as you didn’t completely bomb the WR (which obviously you didn’t), most universities, even many Ivies, place much greater weight on your CR score. There are even several Ivies, one of which is MIT, which do not even take your WR score into account! </p>
<p>The only reason for the universities to actually sift through your writing score to look at your SAT essay, which the admissions officers have access to online and in which case they may also come across and browse through your subscores, would be if there was reason at all to suspect that your college application essays were plagiarized or that you had cheated on the entire SAT test itself. And if they were to see that you scored a 6 because of horrendous writing, then perhaps they might have reason to suspect that your other scores were also highly dubious and possibly investigate you for cheating. </p>
<p>I’m assuming the above scenarios are highly unlikely, and to answer your question directly, would the colleges exert themselves to actually look at and analyze the subscores for the writing test as well as the score for your SAT essay? No, I don’t think so! But then again, I do not work at Harvard or Stanford, and I certainly haven’t worked as an admissions officers in the past, so don’t take my complete word for it. </p>
<p>My advice is to just focus on how you will present unique aspects of yourself through your application essays and ask yourself whether other parts of your high school life - grades, activities, awards, and the rigors of your classes - are all well-balanced. Because to most college admissions officers, a college applicant is much more than just a single score (actually, we don’t think that way here in Korea). </p>
<p>But if I were you, I most certainly would take the test again just because my pride would never allow me to stomach the fact that the SAT had enough audacity to give me – a top-notch, high-achieving student (which I assume that is what you think you are) – such a shameful score!</p>
<p>Thanks for the quick replies. I found the 12 essay article and I’ll make sure to check which colleges count the writing section. I’ll probably retake it, but I won’t worry about it too much.</p>