I received a 1560 on the new sat, but only a 16/24 on the essay. Will this significantly hinder my chances of acceptance?
It depends. Some schools don’t even require or consider the essay, and nobody really knows how much weight the other schools will give it. @enzogold
Just don’t worry about it. Standardized testing isn’t everything, and that essay score shouldn’t matter too much. Many of the top schools don’t even look at SAT writing, because they know the essay is subjective, and your rigor in school, from classes like AP Lang, combined with the essays you actually write for the colleges in the common app and supplements, should be enough to appropriately demonstrate your competency in writing.
The new SAT essay is considered very skeptically by some schools. The rubric emphasizes complex multi-clause constructions and unnecessarily lengthy, obscure word choices, giving the authors credit even when those words are used incorrectly.
On the other hand, it can serve as a quick and easy way to weed out applicants whose English skills are not accurately represented by application essays on which they may have received significant assistance.
Therefore, in some schools, very low scores - in the ‘6’ range - are being considered warning flags of a student’s ability to handle college-level English skills. But higher scores are, frankly, being ignored.
Your university may vary.
Similar question here, may test scores are very comparible. Having trouble understanding the writing score and how it compares to other essays. Any idea what how writing scores compare to on the ACT essay?
With the new SAT, no conversions have been released by CollegeBoard or any other authoritative source. With that being said, don’t worry too much about comparing scores. Work on improving your score, or invest your time in other activities.
The question is whether to bother to take the exam again or not. How important is the writing section? Worth peeping & retaking the whole exam for the writing section. Mostly concerned how important the University of California schools vs. their new redesigned essay for example.
@curiositycat333 , the UC does not require the new SAT essay, and frankly does not have much confidence in it as a predictor of student success. The AWPE which will be administered after admission is much more important.
@ProfessorD According to the University of California FAQ on the new SAT, students are required to take the SAT with writing or ACT with writing.
@ShadowDefuse I stand corrected. I was looking at the main admissions page, and I’m not on Admissions this year.
So yes, take the essay. I stand by the assertion that it’s being viewed with heavy skepticism by UC faculty.
Do “UC faculty” have any involvement in admissions? (honest question)
@marvin100 Not whatsoever. (Source: a family member who has been a UC prof for 25+ years).
UC faculty serve their departments. That said, in some depts - mine for instance - committee work includes service advising on (and sometimes helping to create rubrics for) admissions decisions, including graduate school offers. Sych service may fall directly under the Academic Senate adcom, or more indirectly, through the department (particularly for outreach to prospective admits, making offers of aid specific to grad studies, etc.)
Personally, I’ve managed to avoid all but informal consultation on admissions for over four years.
In my understanding it’s much more common for faculty members to participate in grad school admissions decisions than undergrad. Can you confirm, @ProfessorD , that UC faculty participate in undergrad admissions?
In the UC system - at least at my campus, though I believe this is system wide - Academic Senate members, drawn from the faculty, set the standards for Undergraduate admission, in conjunction with the administration. The BOARS is the official organ for this process, but it draws on communications across many faculty members.
In addition many faculty, including Non-senate faculty, serve as applicant file readers. Like teaching summer school, grading the AWPE, proctoring math and language placement exams, and so on, it’s one way we can get a glimpse at the incoming class, help influence the university’s direction, and, incidentally, pick up a little extra cash.
As noted, I haven’t served in any of those formal admissions capacities for half a decade (though I do proctor exams and grade the AWPE). I can deal with students when they’re in. I simply had too hard a time telling people ‘no.’ But I still have colleagues who serve.
Professors at UC have little to do with UC Admissions for undergraduates. If they had I might have already known the answer to my above question.
It is more accurate to say that faculty can choose to avoid involvement with the admissions process. Some choose otherwise, either to fulfill committee work obligations, or for other reasons, as mentioned above. I’m not involved in any way right now, for instance, as I have a child entering the applicant pool (general) in the coming year, a clear conflict of interest.
I have taken the SAT twice. My scores are 1380 with 21/24 and 1540 with 15/24. Should I send both my scores to colleges or just send the 2nd one and not bother with the essay?
When you say a score of “6” for the SAT essay, do you mean the overall essay score, i.e. 6/24, or do you mean a 6 total from the two readers on one of the dimensions scored (reading, analysis, or writing)?