<p>I ask this because I scored very high on the SAT Writing section (above 750) but managed to get an 8 on the essay. Will universities, UC’s and private schools in particular, care at all about this? :-</p>
<p>I remember seeing a thread somewhere about the importance placed on the writing section compared to math and reading. It had a really long list of schools separated into the categories from "equal weight to “no weight”. It was probably over in the SAT/ACT forum, although I’m not sure. I’ll look around and see if I find it.</p>
<p>(Edit) I mean to say that if your college of choice places less or no weight on the writing section as a whole, then it probably won’t affect you. Besides, an 8 out of 12 isn’t bad. It means (probably) that the two scorers each gave you a 4, and if you look at the essay scoring guide on collegeboard.com, it says “An essay in this category demonstrates adequate mastery, although it will have lapses in quality.” ([How</a> the Essay is Scored](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Understanding SAT Scores – SAT Suite | College Board))</p>
<p>I’m in about the same boat as you although I got only a 720 on writing with the 8 on the essay.</p>
<p>I hope they consider essay scores. I got an 11 but did average on the multiple choice.</p>
<p>Found it! The list is on the 6th post down. It is from 2005, but maybe it’ll help give you a general idea.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/418263-do-colleges-still-put-less-weight-writing-section-sat.html?highlight=weight[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/418263-do-colleges-still-put-less-weight-writing-section-sat.html?highlight=weight</a></p>
<p>Most probably use it to compare your app essays with writing ability. For example, if you write a once-in-a-lifetime essay but only get a 7 on the writing portion, they might question whether you actually wrote it. But overall I’m sure they keep it in perspective.</p>
<p>The essay score is already taken into count when your Writing score is scaled (30% essay, 70% MC) – so there is no use for colleges to give it double weight. Unless, that is, they recalculate your scaled score to 50/50 or something, but that’s probably rare.</p>
<p>For whatever it’s worth: didn’t miss any questions, got 9 in the essay=800w</p>
<p>IMO (of course I’m biased), while not scoring in the W as well as CR and M might not hurt you, scoring very well will definitely be a plus.</p>
<p>OP, all colleges view the writing section differently. I suggest you consult this list for how specific colleges weight it:</p>
<p>[KAPLAN</a> EXCLUSIVE: New SAT Scoring Policies from 374 Top Schools](<a href=“http://www.kaptest.com/Kaplan/Article/College/SAT/Learn-About-the-SAT/CO_sat_surveyresults.html;jsessionid=FCEWCVZ44TXKBLA3AQJXBM3MDUCBE2HC]KAPLAN”>http://www.kaptest.com/Kaplan/Article/College/SAT/Learn-About-the-SAT/CO_sat_surveyresults.html;jsessionid=FCEWCVZ44TXKBLA3AQJXBM3MDUCBE2HC)</p>
<p>dt, i doubt it will matter that much.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I got a lowly 7 on the SAT essay. I laughed it off and got into virtually all the schools I applied to. </p>
<p>It definitely wasn’t a reflection of my writing ability, so quite frankly, I don’t think the essay score is good for much.</p>
<p>Colleges say that they look at the whole writing portion of the SAT on a statistical basis, meaning that it’s still in its experimental stages.</p>
<p>I think that a terrible score on the essay (1,2,3) could hurt you, but colleges know that the writing portion is still being tweaked.</p>
<p>i got a 12 on the essay but missed like 8 or 9 on the MC so. my friend is a college admissions officer and she said that she uses the SAT essay score to verify if you’re an amazing writer… so if you suck at writing on the SAT then happen to produce this remarkable essay… there may be some skepticism, but they can just call college board and read your essay and see if its true or not </p>
<p>and also there are so many other factors that its not an end all judgement</p>
<p>I just had a difficult time writing the essay the second time I took the SAT and got an 8. I got a 10 the first time I took it and an 11 on the ACT essay. Do you think they’ll take this into account?</p>
<p>blindkite, no. most colleges superscore.</p>
<p>my s. got a 11 and 700 on the writing, all we have heard is that most schools as of this year are finally giving it near equal weight to reading and math, although schools still differ in their policies. He was also told by his advisor that if there are questions about the main essay perhaps being too polished they may use the essay to refer to the caliber writer he/she is, however even that is done loosely because anyone given 25 min. to write a great essay could succumb to stress and writers block, working under pressure, I think its the overall picture.</p>
<p>If anyone finds a link to this year’s list of policies, please post it! thanks</p>
<p>Thanks folks. I got a 770 on writing overall (none missed on MC, I’m very good at grammar) but the essay, being an 8, brought me down a bit. My app essays are much better but obviously they aren’t being written under the stressful testing environment. I hope this won’t be of concern to the admissions counselors…? :</p>
<p>I personally don’t understand college board’s 30% essay 70% MC grading. J’adoube says he/she got a 9 essay and none wrong on the multiple choice and got an 800. Shouldn’t his score be more like a 750?</p>
<p>I don’t understand it either. dt_ got an 8 and that was worth a loss of 30 points. I think they add the points of both graders (1-6) and a 9 means that at least one grader gave you a 5. I’ll take the 800, no argument.</p>
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<p>i dont see why you would think this should be a 750. you dont have to answer every single question correctly to get an 800.</p>