<p>I got a 36 composite, but only a 9 on writing. I'm looking for admission to Penn or Columbia, but I'm afraid my writing score diminishes the composite. I think I might be able to do better if I retook it, but would it be worth it?</p>
<p>edit: retake.. lol</p>
<p>Do NOT take it again. You will be a fine, a 9 is perfectly fine (think about it, one of your scores was a 5/6 - that means the grader knows you can write; and even the other score, a 4/6, shows you have significant mastery over composing an essay in a short amount of time). To be honest, you really don’t need more than an 8 on the writing because it just doesn’t matter that much for the ACT</p>
<p>I got a 35 with an 8 on the writing, and college admissions went fine for me, if that makes you feel better.</p>
<p>Absolutely not. Your score is great as it is, and a 9 is in no way bad. The colleges you are looking at will be able to assess your writing ability based on your admissions essay, so I suggest you focus on that instead of retaking the ACT.</p>
<p>absolutely not. it is way more important to do well on english ap tests and college essays. a 9 shows you know how to write. everyone knows the act/sat essays are a crapshoot</p>
<p>I have heard two things from guidance counselors: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Of all the standardized testing sections, the writing portion is the least reliable measure of the ability that it purports to assess. Some schools (e.g., UChicago) don’t even look at it because they consider that the kind of writing that you’ll be doing in college (and, indeed, in much of life) is very different from the kind of writing required on the test. </p></li>
<li><p>Still, most colleges do give this section some consideration; otherwise the testing services wouldn’t bother to administer it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’d add that your score on the writing portion is not the only data point that the adcoms will have on your writing skills. If you produce good essays, if you come highly recommended by your English teacher, and if you performed well on the English Lit AP, I wouldn’t worry about the 9… which isn’t a terrible score anyway.</p>
<p>^well you’re certainly wrong in #1. The writing portion is indicative of top grades at harvard. </p>
<p>“The writing tests of the SAT and ACT have predictive power similar to the subject tests”</p>
<p>[Guidance</a> Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Part 2 - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 2 - The New York Times”>Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 2 - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Written by Harvard dean of admissions</p>
<p>^That doesn’t mean they are more important than the other sections on the test. The writing section is simply not as important as everything else; that’s that.</p>
<p>He never said that it was more important, he simply said that you were incorrect in stating that:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Fresh, let me state (for the second time) that in my prior post I was merely reporting what I have heard two experienced guidance counselors say. In other words, I can’t “certainly be wrong,” unless you’re suggesting that I’m lying and didn’t hear them say it. You may disagree with them, and the Harvard admissions office may disagree with them (and have good data to support their contention), but I assure you that it is indeed what they said.</p>
<p>The irony about the bit with Harvard is that I have a good friend who teaches undergraduates there, and she bemoans the poor quality of student writing in recent years! It’s neither here nor there, but I thought that it was funny that the example given here had to do precisely with Harvard.</p>
<p>By the way, it seems that the University of Chicago has a different experience and opinion (and data set?) regarding the writing portion, because they don’t even consider it when making admissions decisions. I, for one, have a much better impression of Chicago than of Harvard as an undergraduate institution, so my bet is on the U of C…</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the advice! i wasn’t looking forward to losing another saturday anyway ahaha.</p>
<p>Fresh, let me state (for the second time) that in my prior post I was merely reporting what I have heard two experienced guidance counselors say. In other words, I can’t “certainly be wrong,” unless you’re suggesting that I’m lying and didn’t hear them say it. You may disagree with them, and the Harvard admissions office may disagree with them (and have good data to support their contention), but I assure you that it is indeed what they said.</p>
<p>That’s what i meant. That the “guidance counselors” were wrong. </p>
<p>And for your other response, beatitudo, what your friend told you is not representative of the writing quality of the student body at Harvard. Remember: not everyone at Harvard is a genius in the intellectual sense. There are people that are athletic prodigies, rich preppy kids whose daddies made donations, etc. They should taken into account.</p>