How come this choice matter?Additional Considerations/Bottom Line

It’s important to have this decision right, because in the event that you don’t just take the SAT/ACT essay now then again later choose to connect with universities that want it, you simply cannot simply take the SAT/ACT essay section by itself—you would have to retake the whole test. Also, some universities will elect never to consist of non-essay SAT/ACT administrations within their “super rating” calculation of one’s tests.

Making your choice, the bottom line is

Make the essay if some of the after are true:

1. There clearly was a reasonable possibility that you will definitely choose to connect with universities that want the SAT/ACT essay, OR

2. There clearly was a possibility that is reasonable you will definitely connect with “reach” or “match” colleges that suggest the essay, OR

Just like numerous choices within the testing/college admissions procedure, choosing whether or not to simply take the SAT/ACT essay depends on your own university list.

-Check out this post for basic assistance with beginning your college list.

-When you are prepared to talk more about your college list, subscribe to North to My Future, your free college admissions session that is strategy.

-Finally, as you prepare for expert help with finalizing your university list, check always out our premium university admissions consulting programs.

3. You have got currently done fairly well (scores of 14+ out of 24 regarding the SAT or 7+ out of 12 from the ACT) 1 for a training SAT/ACT essay. How come 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, there is the choice to include 1 hour of essay instruction), and essay prep needs a time investment that is minimal. As an example, inside our ACT Prep Class, we invest about 1.5 hours of course time since the essay, and over the past one year, pupils who took the essay enhanced their essay score the average of 1.8 points (regarding the 2-12 scale).

Because enhancing your essay rating is fairly simple if you’re already experienced in writing, you could also fleetingly get ready for and then use the essay to display your abilities for universities that fall into the “essay recommend” camp.

Need certainly to check always your essay abilities? Our practice that is free SAT ACT tests include an essay rating and rubric.

Give consideration to skipping the essay if most of the after are real:

1. You understand 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 regarding the SAT or under 7 away from 12 in the ACT) for a training SAT/ACT essay, showing maybe it’s more challenging to boost your rating into a competitive range. (Note: if you should be using the SAT/ACT Prep Class, where essay prep is roofed within the course, we recommend doing essay prep anyhow to see where your rating falls by Practice Test 2.)

Extra Factors

Great things about Taking the Essay

-The essay is a way to show proficiency on paper. It is a good way to offer your admissions profile a lift (albeit a little one), particularly when you’re currently great at writing, or you wish to showcase your skills written down to simply help make up for reduced grades in English classes.

-Compared to your remaining portion of the SAT/ACT, easy argumentative paper topics get yourself ready for the essay usually calls for just a time that is small to reach significant improvement (see just what we composed 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.

Drawbacks of Taking the Essay

-Taking the essay will need an extra 40-50 moments of your energy on test time, 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.

-It’s theoretically feasible you could perform very badly regarding the essay on test day. But, presuming you prepare in advance, this result is unlikely—generally, you need to expect to rating in the exact same range as your most recent training test suggests. Furthermore, it was recognized that the essay has questionable validity that is predictive therefore scoring somewhat below your target rating in the essay is not likely to be materially harmful for admissions purposes. Eventually, you have got more to achieve than you need to lose by finding your way through 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 on and go on it. Similar to items that want to do with university admissions, this 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 individuals have loads of resources to assist you in your journey. Below is a directory of the resources we now have talked about on this page to truly get you started. As constantly, please please feel free to call us with questions regarding your own personal situation.

Additional Resources

North to My Future (free university admissions method session)

The Frontier 49 (GPA and SAT/ACT norms for admitted candidates at 49 popular universities)

Colleges That Want the SAT/ACT Essay

Record current at the time of September 6, 2018; verify all universities in your list before generally making your final decision

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 current at the time of September 6, 2018; verify all universities on your own list before you make your final decision

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. Although it is perhaps not simple to ascertain essay that is median for admitted pupils (in comparison 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 calculating a defined target rating for the essay it self; the greater significant choice is whether or not to go, and if you should be taking it, then planning sufficiently to reach a decent rating.