<p>i disagree with the poster who indicated that colleges will see math and verbal scores and use writing as something else.</p>
<p>you can expect that elite college admissions will only get more stressful and competetive. why?</p>
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<li><p>schools that compute an AI will use the writing score equally. in fact, a lot of these schools will favor this, as they want a well rounded applicant. students who had high math and low verbal scores will only be weaker in this new pool if they cant express themselves. Most top schools have been changing curriculi to emphasize more critical thought and writing. Similarly, students with high verbal ability will only score well overall if they have the logic and organizational abilities typically associated with a strategic thinker. The new section will challenge a group of students who might sneak through the process without such a test.</p></li>
<li><p>schools will now have a writing score to compare against the quality of an essay. it will be more difficult for college preparation counselors to package a student with an essay that might be beyond their ability, since the true writing ability will be placed on a standardized scale.</p></li>
<li><p>It will now be a larger scale that will more finely distinguish the top students. Instead of having only 20 point totals between 1400 and 1600 there will now be 30 points.</p></li>
<li><p>Comparisons to the SATII writing are a bit futile. While it was somewhat the same type of test, the students who took the SATII were a self selecting group.</p></li>
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<p>As much as the test changes appear cosmetic, they only add wrinkles to admissions process. Mathematically, yes I think the average scores of students will simply go up by another 200-800 point scale. But schools will look at all 3 average means and medians. Some students will be in for a surprise.</p>