College Essay Tips

College Essay Tips If you feel that you would do well or would like to keep all of your options open, then I would encourage you to spend the extra time to take Writing. Either way, it will not hurt your ability to superscore. Son is sophomore who will be taking the September ACT. He is not a great writer, does not like writing, and does not want to take the writing portion. He likely will score in the range and apply to a variety of schools (a couple top [sub-10% acceptance rate] privates and top publics, as well as some less competitive universities and colleges). We will be leaving it up, however, until we get clearer guidance from the school. The did say that a single test with an essay is fine. Also, we know that the 25th-75th percentiles scores at the most competitive colleges are 8-10, so your essay score should not be a concern. 8 falls within the 25th-75th range of enrolled students at even Berkeley and UCLA. More important, the UCs are likely to drop the essay requirement this year. That said, I don’t like to stand in the way of students motivated to retest. In fact, your essay could end up hurting an application for an otherwise strong candidate if it appears hastily written or not well thought-out. Therefore, they can devote more time and resources to each individual application. You might be surprised to learn that essays are that important, but keep in mind that at top schools, there are at least 4 academically-qualified candidates for every open spot. To truly assess an applicant’s fit with the school, admissions officers need the essays. If you really feel that you will do poorly or that the anxiety might negatively impact the rest of your test, you should be OK without it. They are so different that they can’t really be compared. Essays are your one opportunity to share your voice, your unique experiences, and your perspective. At the top 250 schools, your essays generally account for 25% of your overall application. This is only slightly behind the 30% for extracurriculars. Essays are actually ahead of the 20% for grades and coursework, 15% for test scores, and 10% for recommendations and interviews. Your essays are necessarily a reflection of your mind, and the admissions officers want to know that you have the “soft skills” to excel in their program. Having at least one essay score is helpful in case a student decides to apply to a Required college, but it is unlikely to play a role at Optional colleges. We contacted Miami, and they are still maintaining that it is required for placement. Given their testing page, I find it hard to believe that they are rejecting students for not having an essay score. At any point in time during your college education, you’ll probably have one or more papers to write for your classes. Colleges would be irresponsible to offer you a place in their program if you do not have the basic skills needed to succeed. If he has the time and the desire, he could take the ACT again on Feb 8. He shouldn’t count on his Writing score making a difference. I don’t know of any superscoring school that will not superscore across ACT and ACT with Writing. As you may have read, the essay is becoming less important every year â€" even at Duke. That’s a difficult question to answer because of all of the potential factors. Have you had a practice essay scored to know where you stand? Also, don’t expect an essay score to stand out in the same way that your ERW and M scores might. Some colleges feel that removing “recommended” would mean that they are diminishing the importance of writing as a skill. That’s not the same thing as saying that it is important to them in the admission process. Keep in mind that every college is different and individual admission officers may be influenced by different factors. With that said, the Essay is dying a quick death. Most schools fall in the “just don’t care” box at this point.