It’s important to have this decision right, because in the event that you don’t use the SAT/ACT essay now then again later choose to connect with universities that want it, you simply cannot make the SAT/ACT essay area by itself—you will have to retake the complete test. Additionally, some universities will elect to not add non-essay SAT/ACT administrations within their score that is“super of one’s tests.
Making your decision, the bottom line is
Make the essay if some of the after are real:
1. There was a reasonable possibility that you will definitely opt to connect with universities that want the SAT/ACT essay, OR
2. There is certainly a possibility that is reasonable you can expect to apply to “reach” or “match” colleges that suggest the essay, OR
Much like countless choices within the testing/college admissions procedure, selecting whether or not to just take the essay that is SAT/ACT in your university list.
-Check out this post for fundamental assistance with beginning your university list.
-When you are willing to talk more info on your university list, subscribe to North to My Future, your free college admissions method session.
-Finally, when you’re ready for expert help with finalizing your university list, check always our premium college admissions out consulting programs.
3. You’ve got currently done fairly well (scores of 14+ out of 24 from the SAT or 7+ out of 12 in the ACT) 1 on a training SAT/ACT essay. How come we state this? If you’re currently fairly proficient (or better) in the SAT/ACT essay, it’s going to be reasonably simple to boost your rating throughout the SAT/ACT prep you are already likely to do. Our SAT/ACT Prep Class include essay prep at no extra fee (for SAT/ACT Individual Prep programs, there is the choice to include 60 minutes of essay instruction), and essay prep requires a minimal time investment. For instance, within our ACT Prep Class, we invest about 1.5 hours of class time within the essay, and over the past one year, pupils who took the essay enhanced their essay score the average of 1.8 points (in the 2-12 scale).
Because enhancing your essay rating is reasonably straightforward if you should be already experienced in writing, you might too shortly get ready for then make the essay to showcase your abilities for universities that fall into the “essay recommend” camp.
Have to check always your essay abilities? Our free practice SAT and ACT tests include an essay rating and rubric.
Start thinking about skipping the essay if most of the after are real:
1. You understand with reasonable certainty you will not be signing up to a universities that need the essay that is SAT/ACT AND
2. You scored substandard (under 14 away from 24 regarding the SAT or under 7 away from 12 from the ACT) for a training SAT/ACT essay, showing maybe it’s more challenging to boost your rating as a competitive range. (Note: we recommend completing essay prep anyway to see where your score falls by Practice Test if you are taking the SAT/ACT Prep Class, where essay prep is included in the class 2.)
Extra Factors
Advantages of Taking the Essay
-The essay is a doing homework way to show proficiency written down. It is a good way to offer your admissions profile a good start (albeit a little one), particularly when you’re currently great at writing, or you wish to display your skills on paper to greatly help make up for reduced grades in English classes.
-Compared into the other countries in the SAT/ACT, get yourself ready for the essay usually calls for just a little time investment to attain meaningful enhancement (see just what we published above).
-If you are taking the essay and achieve a reasonable score, you will not need to worry about the essay requirement/recommendation as you finalize your university list.
Downsides of Taking the Essay
-Taking the essay will need one more 40-50 mins of your energy on test time, plus, in the event that you prep with Frontier Tutoring, a couple of hours of specialized preparation time. Registering for the official SAT/ACT essay additionally costs a supplementary $14 – $17.
Day-It’s theoretically possible that you could perform very poorly on the essay on test. Nevertheless, presuming you prepare beforehand, this outcome is unlikely—generally, you ought to expect to rating in the exact same range as your latest training test suggests. Furthermore, it was recognized that the essay has questionable validity that is predictive therefore 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.
Main Point Here
If there’s a reasonable chance you’ll be applying to universities that require 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 point that is starting this choice is developing an initial college list—it’s as easy so that as complicated as that. The good thing is that people have a lot of resources that will help you on the journey. Below is a listing of the resources we now have talked about on this page to help you get started. As constantly, please go ahead and e mail us with questions regarding your own situation.
Additional Resources
North to My Future (free university admissions session that is strategy
The Frontier 49 (GPA and SAT/ACT norms for admitted candidates at 49 popular universities)
Colleges That Want the SAT/ACT Essay
Record present at the time of 6, 2018; verify all colleges on your list before making your decision september
Soka University of America
U.S. Military Academy (West Point)
University of California (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, north park, 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 average that is national for the SAT/ACT essay parts. Supply: CollegeBoard and ACT, Inc. 2017 National Reports. Whilst it is perhaps not simple to ascertain essay that is median for admitted pupils (as opposed to determining median overall SAT/ACT scores for admitted pupils), specific schools (for instance the University of Ca system) do get this to information public. We do not suggest spending significant amount of time in determining a defined target rating for the essay it self; the greater amount of significant choice is whether or perhaps not or otherwise not to take it, and if you should be using it, then preparing adequately to accomplish a decent rating.