<p>So, I received a 34 on the ACT but a 7 for the essay. But my application essays are very good and I am a decent writer. The timed conditions just seem to freak me out when writing. I did get an 8 on another test. Is a 7 going to hinder my chances of getting into very selective schools?</p>
<p>I don’t think so! Most colleges don’t consider timed essays.
The important thing is your app essay, if it is good then no problem at all.</p>
<p>it won’t have the same impact as a lower score on the multiple choice sections of the ACT, but if you have the time you should work on improving your writing. it will help you not only on the test but in college where you will have to write many essays.</p>
<p>The only time that an ACT essay can significantly hurt your application is if they suspect that you didn’t write your college application essays. Then, they will use the ACT essay to evaluate whether you actually wrote your colleges essays, and it could hurt if they see a mismatch. This circumstance, however, is incredibly rare, so don’t worry. Your 34 should make you competitive enough for most schools.</p>
<p>Not at all. If you look at the link I posted below, it shows the percentile ranking of all the writing scores. Only the top 1% of people who take the test get a 10, 11, or 12, so I would assume colleges are accustomed to seeing essays with scores of 7-8. Plus a lot of times colleges don’t even consider the timed writing portion of the test. So don’t worry</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.actstudent.org/scores/writingnorms.html”>ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT;