<p>Libby, have a great trip and stay away from this two–inch long ants.</p>
<p>Libby,</p>
<p>Bring back some two-inch long ants to UChicago.</p>
<p>And then sick them on people who ask annoying questions. :D</p>
<p>If SAT scores are not looked at at all, why not go SAT-optional?</p>
<p>oooh U of C man...good thing she went on vacation. That's a killer question.</p>
<p>It's yet another little bit of information to help in making admissions decisions.</p>
<p>^ The claim was, "There is no place for the SAT writing score because it is not a factor in our admissions process" which quite frankly, I just do not buy.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The claim was, "There is no place for the SAT writing score because it is not a factor in our admissions process" which quite frankly, I just do not buy.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Why? They're already getting essays from you. These should be sufficient judge of you writing talent. As I understand it, the admissions people see the writing section as untested. They're not sure what a top score actually means. It seems silly to count the score when you don't even know what the score is counting.</p>
<p>Well I'll be happy when an average score is reported...I've heard it's going to be in the low 500s. It just sucks for us that took the writing portion and did the best on it, and yet it will not even be viewed as a subject test! I mean, most ppl that took the Writing subject test said it was very similar to the one on the new SAT, so why couldn't it even be considered in that aspect?</p>
<p>For one thing, it's not a subject test - it's a part of the reasoning test now (for example, according to CB the scores from the old writing subject test and the new writing section cannot be compared). Besides, if your high writing score truly does reflect your ability to write, surely that ability will become apparent in your essay, as Diocletian said.</p>
<p>let's hope so...</p>
<p>Indeed. It's kind of the point of accepting the results standardized tests that those tests should simply take a sampling of a broader set of abilities. So, there are two possibilities:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The test does NOT measure what CB says it measures, in which case UChicago can't use the scores to make their decision, OR</p></li>
<li><p>The test DOES measure your writing ability, in which case that ability will undoubtedly be apparent in your essay.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Either way, UChicago is justified in ignoring the writing score for the time being.</p>
<p>I personally suggest that you forget about your test results and take a look at some of your own writing. That will help you find out for yourself whether you write well and whether that is your particular talent. Too often I see CCers define themselves and their talents by their test scores, but in actuality test scores are useless unless they <em>reflect upon</em> the individual. In my experience, the SAT reasoning test does a pitiful job of reflecting true interests and talents beyond a margin of at least a hundred points. (Note that that is MY experience.) I'm not saying your writing score isn't worth anything by any means; I am saying that you should not judge yourself by your scores.</p>
<p>I don't agree that the application essay presents an applicant's writing ability as accurately the combination of the two would. An application essay is more of a creative writing sample. It shows a lot of writing skill while capturing the writer's personality, but it does not show that the writer knows how to organize a formal essay and argue a point with supporting evidence, which is often necessary in college writing. The SAT also tests ability to think quickly and work in a timed setting-and there are essay tests in college. Maybe the SAT Writing can be improved, but I think it's better to consider both things.</p>
<p>Because the SAT writing test is so new we simply don't have enough data. You say the test "shows" this and that, but what data is there? Is there actually a correlation between success on the writing test and ability to write a "formal" essay? There is, as I understand it, a correlation between SAT scores and ones sucess their first year of college.</p>
<p>Until we know what the SAT writing test shows or doesn't show it's counterproductive to treat it as authoritative.</p>
<p>You're right, it is new, so it doesn't necessarily show such things. I was just saying that based on the pretty objective points used in grading SAT essays, it focuses on some different writing skills than an essay does.</p>
<p>Ted O'Neill mentioned in an article that they have no idea if there is any predictive value in the score. They will record them and analyze the relation of the scores to later performance of admitted students over a few years to determine if the writing section adds any value.</p>
<p>libby, have a great trip ^________________^ hah</p>
<p>Will you be visiting Portland, Oregon any time soon???</p>
<p>will any Admission officer come to Singapore or China?</p>
<p>To you prospies who are worried about your SAT scores:</p>
<p>My daughter, like you, scored best on her writing - 730. Her CR & math scores were below the 25th percentile for Chicago (about 1200 combined), ACT was 28. She tried to submit only her ACT, but her school put the SATs on her transcript anyway.</p>
<p>She got in. (But she will be attending college elsewhere in the fall. The decision was made, unfortunately, the day the Chicago financial aid award arrived).</p>
<p>My d. had a really good GPA and was within the top 5 students of a graduating class of around 150, but not val or sal; and her academics were strong but lopsided (very weak on math)... and she had done some very interesting things that set her apart from typical students at her school, plus she attended a somewhat unusual high school. So there was plenty in her application to intrigue, but definitely no guarantee whatsoever of acceptance. </p>
<p>So I think that Chicago is being very truthful when they say that test scores are not that important. I do think they look at them, but probably only in context with everything else, and only if the test score provides distinctive information. So for example if they saw a student who has taken very hard courses in a competitive high school that does not rank, and has extremely high test scores and great recs, but a GPA of around 3.2 -- then the test score might help convince them that the grading at that school is really tough. On the other hand, if you've got a 3.9 unweighted GPA and SATs of around 1400 -- the SATs are useless information because they don't tell the ad com anything different than the GPA. They are not going to admit some other kid with the same GPA and a 1500 SAT because of the higher score. </p>
<p>But I think that Chicago is the kind of place where they really do look at the whole student and make an evaluation based on the person and not the numbers.</p>
<p>brand_182, you don't need to get the AA degree. That doesn't matter so much.</p>