It’s important to obtain this decision right, because in the event that you don’t use the SAT/ACT essay now however later opt to connect with universities that need it, you simply can’t use the SAT/ACT essay area by itself—you would have to retake the complete test. Moreover, some universities will elect to not ever add non-essay SAT/ACT administrations inside their “super rating” calculation of one’s tests.
Making your choice, in summary
Just take the essay if some of the after are real:
1. There was a possibility that is reasonable you will definitely choose to affect colleges that need the SAT/ACT essay, OR
2. There is certainly a possibility that is reasonable you are going to connect with “reach” or “match” colleges that recommend the essay, OR
Much like a lot of choices within the testing/college admissions procedure, selecting whether or not to use the essay that is SAT/ACT on the university list.
-Check out this post for fundamental assistance with beginning your university list.
-When you are prepared to talk more about your university list, subscribe to North to My Future, your free college admissions method session.
-Finally, as you prepare for expert assistance with finalizing your university list, always check our premium college admissions out consulting programs.
3. You’ve got currently done fairly well (scores of 14+ out of 24 regarding the SAT or 7+ out of 12 paper writing service in the ACT) 1 on a training SAT/ACT essay. Why do we state this? It will be relatively straightforward to improve your score during the SAT/ACT prep you’re already planning to do if you’re already reasonably proficient (or better) on the SAT/ACT essay. Our SAT/ACT Prep Class include essay prep at no extra cost (for SAT/ACT Individual Prep programs, you’ve got the choice to add 1 hour of essay instruction), and essay prep calls for a minimal time investment. As an example, inside our ACT Prep Class, we invest about 1.5 hours of course time within the essay, and during the last one year, pupils whom took the essay improved their essay score the average of 1.8 points (from the 2-12 scale).
Because enhancing your essay rating is reasonably simple if you should be already experienced in writing, you could too quickly get ready for then make the essay to display your abilities for colleges that fall within the “essay recommend” camp.
Need certainly to look at your essay skills? Our practice that is free SAT ACT tests include an essay rating and rubric.
Give consideration to skipping the essay if every one of the after are real:
1. You realize with reasonable certainty that you’ll never be deciding on a universities that want the essay that is SAT/ACT AND
2. You scored unhealthy (under 14 away from 24 in the SAT or under 7 away from 12 from the ACT) for a training SAT/ACT essay, showing maybe it’s more difficult to enhance your rating into a competitive range. (Note: if you’re using the SAT/ACT Prep Class, where essay prep is roofed within the course, we advice doing essay prep anyway to see where your rating falls by Practice Test 2.)
Extra Considerations
Advantages of Taking the Essay
-The essay is a chance to show proficiency on paper. It is a simple way to offer your admissions profile a lift (albeit a little one), particularly when you want to showcase your skills in writing to help compensate for lower grades in English classes if you’re already good at writing, or.
-Compared into the remaining portion of the SAT/ACT, finding your way through the essay frequently calls for merely a tiny time investment to accomplish significant enhancement (see just what we had written above).
-If you are taking the essay and attain a score that is reasonable you’ll not need to worry about the essay requirement/recommendation as you finalize your university list.
Disadvantages of Taking the Essay
-Taking the essay will demand one more 40-50 mins of your time on test day, plus, in the event that you prep with Frontier Tutoring, a couple of hours of devoted preparation time. Registering for the official SAT/ACT essay additionally costs an additional $14 – $17.
Day-It’s theoretically possible that you could perform very poorly on the essay on test. Nevertheless, presuming you prepare in advance, this result is unlikely—generally, you really need to expect to rating in the exact same range as your newest training test suggests. Also, it is often recognized that the essay has questionable predictive legitimacy, so scoring somewhat below your target rating regarding the essay is not likely to be materially harmful for admissions purposes. Finally, you’ve got more to get than you need to lose by get yourself ready for and using the essay.
Important Thing
If there’s a chance that is reasonable be applying to universities that want or suggest the SAT/ACT essay, go right ahead and go on it. Like the majority of items that need to do with university admissions, which means the starting place for this choice is developing an initial college list—it’s as easy and also as complicated as that. The good thing is that individuals have an abundance of resources that will help you in your journey. Below is a directory of the resources we’ve discussed on this page to help you get started. As constantly, please feel free to e mail us with questions regarding your own situation.
Additional Resources
North to My Future (free college admissions strategy session)
The Frontier 49 (GPA and SAT/ACT norms for admitted candidates at 49 colleges that are popular
Colleges That Need the SAT/ACT Essay
Record present at the time of September 6, 2018; verify all universities in your list before generally making your choice
Soka University of America
U.S. Military Academy (West Point)
University of California (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, l . a ., Merced, Riverside, Hillcrest, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz)
University of Delaware
University of Miami
Colleges That Suggest the SAT/ACT Essay
Record present at the time of 6, 2018; verify all colleges on your list before making your decision september
Abilene Christian University
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
SUNY Stony Brook
1 they are the approximate nationwide average ratings when it comes to SAT/ACT essay parts. Supply: CollegeBoard and ACT, Inc. 2017 National Reports. Even though it is perhaps not simple to ascertain median essay ratings for admitted pupils (as opposed to determining median overall SAT/ACT scores for admitted pupils), particular schools (including the University of Ca system) do get this to information public. We do not suggest spending significant amount of time in determining a precise target rating for the essay it self; the more significant decision is whether or perhaps not or not to go, and if you should be using it, then planning adequately to accomplish a decent rating.
