<p>On both the SAT's that I have taken, my writing score has always been my best score. On my highest SAT, I got a 640 math and CR, and 740 writing. Thus, I have a 2020/2400 and a 1280/1600 to show.</p>
<p>It is the recurring theme that colleges completely disregard the writing score that constantly haunts me. College fair after college fair, I've talked to many admissions officers who ALL say they don't look at the writing score at all. This stinks, because my 1600 score is an 80%, while if you include the writing and do it out of 2400 my score is an 84%! The 2020 is MUCH more prestigious than the 1280, but it seems like people only find it prestigious when the math and CR scores are higher. Do you know what I mean?</p>
<p>So, my question is, what colleges/universities actually look at writing and would be impressed with my 740 on it? Or, would not think less of my decent 2020/2400 score because the majority of points are from writing?</p>
<p>Which university admissions officers says they don’t look at writing score at ALL? Most schools I searched for did look, it just didn’t held the same weight as the math and CR. You do have to realize that the writing score is a relatively new invention, so people are more likely to stick to the old standard, and just use the new score as a reference or bonus. However, it also depends on your major. If you’re a math major, your writing score wouldn’t matter much at all. But if you’re an arts major, it will be looked at more favourably.<br>
Any college who practices a holistic approach to admission would look at all your SAT scores. Generally, I find private colleges have a more holistic approach than public colleges.<br>
Have you tried taking ACT? Your better writing skill will shine there, as it is all combined into a composite score, not a combined score plus math + CR score. I find that the math is easier on ACT than SAT, so if math isn’t your strong point, you may get better in ACT than SAT.</p>
<p>Many schools value strong writing ability and do look at SAT writing scores. Some schools even require students to submit a graded paper for admissions, which can be of great help to a good writer. They do this for a variety of reasons – to get another view of who you are and how you think and also sometimes to compare to your personal statement and. Look at smaller liberal arts colleges. (My daughter also did much better on her writing than the other tests. She’s at Whitman, and I’m convinced her writing test score and graded paper are key reasons she was admitted.)</p>