<p>I have heard multiple explanations.
1. It depends on the college completely
2. Colleges don't look at it even though they report that they do.
3. It is a illegitimate section because the essay section is still quite arbitrary.
4. Colleges will look at it, but weigh it less than the other two sections.</p>
<p>There is a pretty good reason why I ask. I am a very competitive student in a prestigious school in GA. My dream college is Yale (maybe Columbia) and I want to know if I need to take the Reasoning Test again. </p>
<p>While we are at it, why don't we talk about super-scores and how the upper echelon schools deal with it? Anyone want to give it a stab?</p>
<p>Here are my scores from January and June.</p>
<p>January 08
720 Critical Reading
790 Math
680 Writing
2190 Total </p>
<p>As you can see, I am fairly competent in Critical Reading and Math. My combined original SAT super is 1590, but I still feel really bad about writing because it seems as though I can never grasp the mechanics of English. Let us talk about the writing section and if colleges really look at it or not.</p>
<p>You will have a great chance with Ivies such as Columbia, UPenn, Dartmouth, and Cornell with such an exceptional CR/M composite.</p>
<p>The Writing section is illegitimate because of how much the essay section counts, and how it is graded. It is not a proper assessment of writing ability.</p>
<p>The MC section is great, however, and rigorously tests one's understanding of the nuances of English grammar.</p>
<p>No one can say for sure how much a college weighs this section, but it is so easy to conquer that most are beginning to give equal weight to it. Wait, that doesn't make sense, does it... Well, it is so easy to methodically and strategically prepare for and conquer that it should no longer be a concern to future test takers.</p>
<p>it really is a horrible section. the essay part actually isnt too bad, but the MC is just a grammar test with alot of stupid idiomatic questions, not really writing... Yea im bitter...1 more mC right and i woulda got a perfect score.</p>
<p>Hate to tell you, but last week the first research on the new SATS came out and they found the revisions were generally useless--in other words they did not improve the test's predictive value for college success. EXCEPT, that is, for the WRITING SECTION. Eh, yeah, so they may be looking more closely at it, stupid as it is.</p>
<p>yall just hatin cuz yall did bad on writing its my best section)... but u should know that the writing section has been proven to be the best predictor (above grades) of a student's success in college (they compared it to freshman year college gpa). shut. down. lol</p>
<p>Yeah screw you guys haha, but probably true...I got an 800.</p>
<p>Everyone thinks it's illegitimate, which is possible I guess, but the reasoning is flawed in my opinion...people complain that it's not fair because the essay is graded "arbitrarily." Well, life isn't about marking scantron answers and having choices to choose from. It's about convincing others that you know your stuff and getting your point across well. Writing is the only section that you have to consistently show that you're adequate without any chance of guessing or cheating in any way. I'm not saying people get 800s on math or critical reading by cheating, but you have to admit that it can't hurt to have a limited number of choices. More importantly, writing is connected to every other aspect of education. You can be a math whiz but if you can't convey your thoughts or prove your theories, what's the point? You have to know how to display your knowledge to others so that they can understand it. That's what knowledge is all about.</p>
<p>Anyways, I know you guys don't care, and most likely, neither do colleges. Consider it though, and at least try to get better at it. For your own sake if nothing else... remember, your professors will inevitably expect some fantastic essays if you go to a prestigious school, and you don't want to argue your bad grades on them because they're "arbitrary."</p>
<p>Oh and to answer the question... who knows. I wouldn't worry about it, you have great scores regardless. I'd only be worried if I were getting in the 500's with your CR and math scores, really. Work on your essays and put the SAT behind you.</p>
<p>I read the "SAT Scoring Policies from Top Schools | Admission Sync" and I cannot believe it. </p>
<p>Yale places NO WEIGHT on the writing section? (which is a VERY VERY good news for me) It doesn't seem like a thing that ivyleague schools would do. </p>
<p>How credible is this list? Who is it produced by? </p>
<p>(as a side note, is 1490 (CR+M) a competitive score for yale? my friend wants to know...)</p>