Does anyone know how the SAT essay impacts your admission chances? i.e. is it just used to evaluate kids who are on the fringe of getting in? Will it count against you if you don’t take it? I already took the SAT without essay. I’m happy with my score (1430), and have a 93 unweighted average so far through my junior year. I think I have a good chance of getting into Binghamton when I apply in the fall. I would rather not take the entire SAT again just to take the essay if I don’t have to - but you can’t take just the essay portion. The admissions site at Binghamton says that the essay is optional but highly recommended.
So, my options are:
- Send my SAT score without an essay and hope it doesn’t count against me.
- Re-take the SAT with essay…if I do worse on one or both sections the second time, I can send both SAT scores to super score. This is the safest option, I think…
- Take the ACT with essay…this seems dumb since if I decide I need the ACT or SAT essay, I will now HAVE to submit my ACT score and I run the risk of doing worse on the ACT than the SAT…but, if I retake the SAT with essay, I know my “final” SAT score can’t be any lower than the 1430 I have now
Thanks for any thoughts or advice!
If anyone was accepted without taking an SAT or ACT essay, can you let me know please? I’m curious how many people do/don’t take the SAT essay. Thank you!