SAT- Bad Essay, Good Score- Retake?

Test Preparation
1

Hey guys! January SAT scores just came out and here I am with this question…

I received a 1510 and 6|5|6, the latter of which sounds pretty mediocre.

This is my college list (might go through some narrowing down later)
Reach: Stanford, Brown, Yale
Target: Hamilton, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby
Safety: UCSD UCSB, CSU Long Beach

I’ve done some research and my 1510 is at or past the 75% for most of these schools, but I’m about average for the first tier. However, I’m not sure how much essay scores play into the college admissions process. This is my first time taking the test, and I studied about 15 hours (3 for the essay). For my PSAT a few months ago, I didn’t study and received a 1460.

Should I go for a retake, study for my first ACT attempt (got a 29 on during a practice exam :/), or put my heart and soul into strengthening my extracurriculars?

Thanks for your help! C:

2

colleges don’t look at the writing section

3

Don’t bother to retake.

4

As you already know, you have exceeded the 75th percentile SAT score for all but five of your schools of interest:

http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/college-profiles-new-sat/

Regarding your essay, while I do not agree that, universally, colleges will not consider it, I do think you have shown ample superseding academic strength by your strong scores in general, and that your essay scores will not affect you adversely. That said, if you feel you performed significantly below your potential, you could consider retaking the exam (with appropriate preparation) in the fall. The ACT does not seem to be for you.

5

I’m also a junior who took the January SAT.
It’s interesting because I got a 24 (8-8-8) on my essay but only a 1420 for my score.
I also wonder how important the essay portion of the SAT is…
Anyways, congratulations on your score!! 1510 is a stellar score.

6

@AshleyMisAwesome @citivas @merc81 Thank you for your advice and reassurance! I do feel like I could get a few extra points, so I think I’ll be taking my second shot after a bit more study :slight_smile:

7

@aegis400 Ayyy high fives

WOW. Congrats on the perfect score! Just curious, did you study for it, or go through it with some sort of strategy? I’ve always prided myself as a strong writer so to be honest this score kinda weirded me out. I looked at some articles about the format and read some prompts, but other than that I’m not really sure how to prepare.

And hey, 1420’s not bad at all! With that essay score, I’m sure you have a lot of potential (which will come in handy if you want to shoot for something higher) :slight_smile:

Best of luck to both of us!

8

Strong writers may not have a meaningful advantage on tests that measure “writing.” You might improve on the test, though, by closely adhering to the particular structure they seem to be seeking.

9

^I agree. I don’t see any advantage for strong writers when it comes to high scores. My own kid has several state level writing awards and she can produce fantastic essays in no time. She got a 19. I read online an article about how those essays are scored and it made sense. There are two scorers that give a number from 1 to 4. By far when the essay is good the majority will give you a 3. So a score of 3 x 6 =18 is what most probably a very good essay will get as psychologically they will keep the 4 for exceptional work.