<p>At one info session we were told that the school considered the writing score because students do a lot of blue book essay tests during college that require a similar (?) quick response. This seemed nuts to me (parent) as the student taking an essay test would come prepared to write on the topic (not a surprise topic) and would be graded on knowledge about the subject more than the quality of the writing. I wish I could remember which school justified viewing the writing score based on that. </p>
<p>My personal feeling is that the writing score would act as a tie-breaker even if it was not typically viewed equally. It's hard to ignore or unknow information reported and it would be easy to compare these scores across two equally qualified students.</p>
<p>It counts at quite a few schools, not the least of which, the UC's. A cut and paste from the link I posted.</p>
<p>More Weight</p>
<p>Loyola University New Orleans </p>
<p>Equal Weight</p>
<p>Alma College
Barnard College
Boston College
Boston University
Brown University
Carleton College
Colorado College
Concord College
Dartmouth College
Drury University
Duke University
Emerson College
Fisk University
Fordham University
Gordon College
Grinnell College
Guilford College
Hartwick College
Harvard University/Harvard College
John Brown University
Lawrence University
Lycoming College
Manhattan College
Marist College
Merrimack College
Pomona College
Providence College
Regis College
Rhode Island School of Design
Rice University
Russell Sage College
Salisbury State University
Seattle University
Stanford University
Towson University
Tufts University
University of California
University of Hartford
University of Hawaii, Manoa
University of Missouri, Kansas City
University of North Dakota
University of Pennsylvania
University of Richmond
University of the Pacific
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Valparaiso University
Vanderbilt University
Wabash College
Washington University
Webster University
Wellesley College
Westminster College </p>
<p>Lesser Weight</p>
<p>Allegheny College
Augustana College
Beloit College
Bennington College
Brandeis University
Bridgewater State College
Bryant College
Bryn Mawr College
Canisius College
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Centre College
Clarkson University
Colgate University
College of Charleston
College of William and Mary
College of Wooster
Columbia University, Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Cornell College
Dickinson College
Eckerd College
Elizabethtown College
Flagler College
Fresno Pacific University
Hampden-Sydney College
High Point University
Hofstra University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Johnson C. Smith University
Lehigh University
Luther College
Marlboro College
Marquette University
Marymount Manhattan College
Mercer University
Messiah College
Michigan State University
Middlebury College
Millsaps College
Monmouth College
Monmouth University
Muhlenberg College
Nebraska Wesleyan University
New York University
North Carolina State University
Northwestern University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Union College
Point Loma Nazarene University
Purdue University, West Lafayette
Saint Olaf College
Skidmore College
Smith College
Suffolk University
Susquehanna University
Truman State University
Tulane University
Union College
United States Merchant Marine Academy
University of Florida
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
University of Notre Dame
University of Redlands
University of Southern California
University of the South
University of Washington
Ursinus College
Vassar College
Villanova University
Virginia Military Institute
Washington and Jefferson College
Westmont College
Whitman College
William Jewell College
Wofford College
Yeshiva University</p>
<p>At least one school uses it - Pomona College - but not in the way you might think:</p>
<p>"At Pomona, we plan to do a couple of things with the new (writing) test. One will be to download the actual essay so that we may read it with a mind to applying our own standards to the work. Only after that reading will we look at the score assigned by the College Board. If their view is consistent with ours, confidence will be built. If not well, I may write another editorial.</p>
<p>We also will have the chance to lay it side by side with the presumably more polished application essay. We expect there should be a similar voice. Where there is no apparent connection, we may question the ultimate authorship of the application essays."</p>
<p>SarahsDad - I have heard this at many info sessions. This really bothers me as it is often through rereading our writing that we realize the "voice" is or isn't clear, is or isn't ours, reflects or doesn't reflect ourselves. From there we craft and edit. If this is going to be a measure of someone's TRUE voice or a measure of authenticity, that should be made clear to everyone taking the test. I would also like to know the validity of this expectation of similarity or authenticty. Has there been a study that finds a high correlation between the voice of a spontaneous, timed, response to an unknown prompt and the voice of a carefully crafted, considered and edited essay in response to a known prompt. I suspect that correlation does not exist and I am appalled that institutions of higher learning feel they can make that leap. If I am wrong, I would love to read the well controlled research studies that demonstrate this correlation. As it stands, it is purported to be a measure of writing, not a means of authentication.</p>
<p>My other comment on the article noted above (Poch) is that Mr. Poch might be surprised to learn that we sent our son to a private school freshman year and paid a fairly large sum to have over 40 students in each honors class. He did not stay there past freshman year and fortunately did return to smaller classes. However, with the baby boomlet and lack of property tax override votes, class sizes are now up to 35 students for son #2 in our suburban, mid to upper middle class town. Large classes are not just for inner city students today. I am sure there are other contributing factors between inner city and suburban schools that should be considered but not necessarily class size.</p>
<p>What Pomona does seems fairly ridiculous. When one writes their SAT essay, they presumably write the kind of essay that they perceive would be well-received by the essay scorers. When one writes the Pomona essay, they presumably write the kind of essay they believe would be well-received by the Pomona admissions people. No s--t the voice may quite possibly be different - knowing one's audience is a basic tenet of rhetorical writing.</p>
<p>
[quote]
In my school we never handwrite papers, even in class we go to the computer lab. I think thats how all honors classes do it now.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's a no. Some schools - believe it or not - are not rich enough to buy that many computers. </p>
<p>And I find the argument against SAT Writing because it has to be handwritten to be ridiculous. Come on, teenagers ought to be able to write something with their hand.</p>
<p>But I do find the 25 minute limit ridiculous - but then again, you don't have to have a great essay to get a 12.</p>