<p>My cynical response would be that colleges will start taking the SAT Writing seriously when US News starts using the middle 50% (CR + M + W) as the basis for comparing student body strengths, instead of (CR + M) as they do now. That’s how powerful the US News ranking has become, and in my view this is a serious problem because it handcuffs individual schools and seriously distorts the admissions process. In the meantime, as long as US News rankings are influenced by middle 50% (CR + M) scores, an applicant with a higher (CR + M) but lower (CR + M + W) [due to a lower W] is likely to be favored over the applicant with a lower (CR + M) but higher (CR + W + M) [due to a higher W]. As between applicants with similar (CR + M) scores, however, the one with the stronger W may be favored.</p>