On January 19th, 2021, College Board announced that they will no longer administer the SAT Subject Tests in the U.S. and that the Essay would be retired. Read our blog post to understand what this means in the near term and what the College Board has in store for students down the road.
Our articles on Subject Tests and the SAT Essay will remain on our site for reference purposes as colleges and students transition to a revised testing landscape.
SAT Essay scores for the new SAT are confusing to interpret, in part, because the College Board has intentionally given them little context. By combining College Board and student data, Compass has produced a way for students to judge essay performance, and we answer many of the common questions about the essay.
Why are there no percentiles for the essay on an SAT score report?
No percentiles or norms are provided in student reports. Even colleges do not receive any summary statistics. Given Compass’ concerns about the inaccuracy of essay scoring and the notable failures of the ACT on that front, the de-emphasis of norms would seem to be a good thing. The problem is that 10% of colleges are sticking with the SAT Essay as an admission requirement. While those colleges will not receive score distribution reports from the College Board, it is not difficult for them to construct their own statistics—officially or unofficially—based on thousands of applicants. Colleges can determine a “good score,” but students cannot. This asymmetry of information is harmful to students, as they are left to speculate how well they have performed and how their scores will be interpreted. Through our analysis, Compass hopes to provide students and parents more context for evaluating SAT Essay scores.
How has scoring changed? Is it still part of a student’s Total Score?
On the old SAT, the essay was a required component of the Writing section and made up approximately one-third of a student’s 200–800 score. The essay score itself was simply the sum (2–12) of two readers’ 1–6 scores. Readers were expected to grade holistically and not to focus on individual components of the writing. The SAT essay came under a great deal of criticism for being too loosely structured. Factual accuracy was not required; it was not that difficult to make pre-fabricated material fit the prompt; many colleges found the 2–12 essay scores of little use; and the conflation of the essay and “Writing” was, in some cases, blocking the use of the SAT Writing score—which included grammar and usage—entirely.
With the 2016 overhaul of the SAT came an attempt to make the essay more academically defensible while also making it optional (as the ACT essay had long been). The essay score is not a part of the 400–1600 score. Instead, a student opting to take the SAT Essay receives 2–8 scores in three dimensions: reading, analysis, and writing. No equating or fancy lookup table is involved. The scores are simply the sum of two readers’ 1–4 ratings in each dimension. There is no official totaling or averaging of scores, although colleges may choose to do so.
Readers avoid extremes
What is almost universally true about grading of standardized test essays is that readers gravitate to the middle of the scale. The default instinct is to nudge a score above or below a perceived cutoff or midpoint rather than to evenly distribute scores. When the only options are 1, 2, 3, or 4, the consequence is predictable—readers give out a lot of 2s and 3s and very few 1s and 4s. In fact, our analysis shows that 80% of all reader scores are 2s or 3s. This, in turn, means that most of the dimension scores (the sum of the two readers) range from 4 to 6. Analysis scores are outliers. A third of readers give essays a 1 in Analysis. Below is the distribution of reader scores across all dimensions.
What is a good SAT Essay score?
By combining multiple data sources—including extensive College Board scoring information—Compass has estimated the mean and mode (most common) essay scores for students at various score levels. We also found that the reading and writing dimensions were similar, while analysis scores lagged by a point across all sub-groups. These figures should not be viewed as cutoffs for “good” scores. The loose correlation of essay score to Total Score and the high standard deviation of essay scores means that students at all levels see wide variation of scores. The average essay-taking student scores a 1,080 on the SAT and receives just under a 5/4/5.
We would advise students to use these results only as broad benchmarks. It would not be at all unusual to score a point below these means. Scores that are consistently 2 or more points below the means may be more of a concern.
College Board recently released essay results for the class of 2017, so score distributions are now available. From these, percentiles can also be calculated. We provide these figures with mixed feelings. On the one hand, percentile scores on such an imperfect measure can be highly misleading. On the other hand, we feel that students should understand the full workings of essay scores.
The role of luck
What is frustrating to many students on the SAT and ACT is that they can score 98th percentile in most areas and then get a “middling” score on the essay. This result is actually quite predictable. Whereas math and verbal scores are the result of dozens of objective questions, the essay is a single question graded subjectively. To replace statistical concepts with a colloquial one—far more “luck” is involved than on the multiple-choice sections. What text is used in the essay stimulus? How well will the student respond to the style and subject matter? Which of the hundreds of readers were assigned to grade the student’s essay? What other essays has the reader recently scored?
Even good writers run into the unpredictability involved and the fact that essay readers give so few high scores. A 5 means that the Readers A and B gave the essay a 2 and a 3, respectively. Which reader was “right?” If the essay had encountered two readers like Reader A, it would have received a 4. If the essay had been given two readers like Reader B, it would have received a 6. That swing makes a large difference if we judge scores exclusively by percentiles, but essay scores are simply too blurry to make such cut-and-dry distinctions. More than 80% of students receive one of three scores—4, 5, or 6 on the reading and writing dimensions and 3, 4, or 5 on analysis.
What do colleges expect?
It’s unlikely that many colleges will release a breakdown of essay scores for admitted students—especially since so few are requiring it. What we know from experience with the ACT, though, is that even at the most competitive schools in the country, the 25th–75th percentile scores of admitted students were 8–10 on the ACT’s old 2–12 score range. We expect that things will play out similarly for the SAT and that most students admitted to highly selective colleges will have domain scores in the 5–7 range (possibly closer to 4–6 for analysis). It’s even less likely for students to average a high score across all three areas than it is to obtain a single high mark. We estimate that only a fraction of a percent of students will average an 8—for example [8/8/8, 7/8/8, 8/7/8, or 8,8,7].
Update as of October 2017. The University of California system has published the 25th–75th percentile ranges for enrolled students. It has chosen to work with total scores. The highest ranges—including those at UCLA and Berkeley—are 17–20. Those scores are inline with our estimates above.
How will colleges use the domain scores?
Colleges have been given no guidance by College Board on how to use essay scores for admission. Will they sum the scores? Will they average them? Will they value certain areas over others? Chances are that if you are worrying too much about those questions, then you are likely losing sight of the bigger picture. We know of no cases where admission committees will make formulaic use of essay scores. The scores are a very small, very error-prone part of a student’s testing portfolio.
How low is too low?
Are 3s and 4s, then, low enough that an otherwise high-scoring student should retest? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. In general, it is a mistake to retest solely to improve an essay score unless a student is confident that the SAT Total Score can be maintained or improved. A student with a 1340 PSAT and 1280 SAT may feel that it is worthwhile to bring up low essay scores because she has previously shown that she can do better on the Evidence-based Reading and Writing and Math, as well. A student with a 1400 PSAT and 1540 SAT should think long and hard before committing to a retest. Admission results from the class of 2017 may give us some added insight into the use of SAT Essay scores.
Will colleges continue to require the SAT Essay?
For the class of 2017, Compass has prepared a list of the SAT Essay and ACT Writing policies for 360 of the top colleges. Several of the largest and most prestigious public university systems—California, Michigan, and Texas, for example, still require the essay, and a number of highly competitive private colleges do the same—for example, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford.
The number of excellent colleges not requiring the SAT Essay, though, is long and getting longer. Compass expects even more colleges to drop the essay requirement for the classes of 2018 and 2019. Policies are typically finalized in late spring or during the summer.
Should I skip the essay entirely?
A common question regarding SAT scores is whether the whole mess can be avoided by skipping the essay. After all, if only about 10% of colleges are requiring the section, is it really that important? Despite serious misgivings about the test and the ways scores are interpreted, Compass still recommends that most students take the essay unless they are certain that they will not be applying to any of the colleges requiring or recommending it. Nationally, about 70% of students choose to take the essay on at least one SAT administration. When looking at higher scoring segments, that quickly rises to 85–90%. Almost all Compass students take the SAT Essay at least once to insure that they do not miss out on educational opportunities.
Should I prepare for the SAT Essay?
Most Compass students decide to do some preparation for the essay, because taking any part of a test “cold” can be an unpleasant experience, and students want to avoid feeling like a retake is necessary. In addition to practicing exercises and tests, most students can perform well enough on the SAT Essay after 1–2 hours of tutoring. Students taking a Compass practice SAT will also receive a scored essay. Students interested in essay writing tips for the SAT can refer to Compass blog posts on the difference between the ACT and SAT tasks and the use of first person on the essays.
Will I be able to see my essay?
Yes. ACT makes it difficult to obtain a copy of your Writing essay, but College Board includes it as part of your online report.
Will colleges have access to my essay? Even if they don’t require it?
Yes, colleges are provided with student essays. We know of very few circumstances where SAT Essay reading is regularly conducted. Colleges that do not require the SAT Essay fall into the “consider” and “do not consider” camps. Schools do not always list this policy on their website or in their application materials, so it is hard to have a comprehensive list. We recommend contacting colleges for more information. In general, the essay will have little to no impact at colleges that do not require or recommend it.
Is the SAT Essay a reason to take the ACT instead?
Almost all colleges that require the SAT Essay require Writing for ACT-takers. The essays are very different on the two tests, but neither can be said to be universally “easier” or “harder.” Compass recommends that the primary sections of the tests determine your planning. Compass’ content experts have also written a piece on how to attack the ACT essay.
Key links in this post:
ACT and SAT essay requirements
ACT Writing scores explained
Comparing ACT and SAT essay tasks
The use of first person in ACT and SAT essays
Understanding the “audience and purpose” of the ACT essay
Compass proctored practice testing for the ACT, SAT, and Subject Tests
I’m trying to understand this, because I thought it was lumped into one overall score with the highest being 24 rather than broken down in this way. I know my daughter received a 22. I believe she said it was an 8 for one part and 7s for the other two. So it appears this would be a very good score??? If the schools she applies to don’t even require the essay, would this even help her?
Thank you for this breakdown.
CWS,
I find that many students talk in terms of a 6-24 score (I catch myself doing it, too); officially, there is no such thing as a summed score. It does make things so much more convenient to summarize. I estimate that her scores would put her in the 99th percentile.
Schools that don’t require the essay may still evaluate the essay. I compare it to colleges’ use of Subject Tests. There is a small group that require them, a larger group that recommend them, and a still larger group that has an attitude of “we might as well consider them if you have taken them.” Your daughter’s essay scores probably won’t have a large impact, but the good news is that — given her scores — the essay can only help her.
My daughter is now a junior and she just took the SAT for the first time and she got a 1590/1600, and a 15/24 on the essay. We are wondering if she should retake the SAT due to the not so great essay score, which the break down was 5,5,5. She has obtained a 5 on AP Lang and AP Lit exams. I am wondering if this low SAT essay score will hinder her acceptance chances when applying to Princeton, Harvard, Stanford and UC Berkeley. Or would it be worse if she retakes and gets a slightly higher essay score but her 1590 goes down.
She currently has a 4.0 unweighted GPA, 4.86 weighted, She has taken ten AP’s with scores that are all 5’s except one 4, and will be taking four more AP’s this year. Her school does not rank. She has several extra curricular including being a member of a local city youth advisory council, and she has done community service projects and volunteering, and is now Vice President of her NHS. The only area where she is lacking is not having won in a competition, plus she has not competed in any science competitions, only signing and Mock Trial team competitions. She is leaning towards a major in Science, probably Bio-Engineering.
Kathy,
It really boils down to this: “Or would it be worse if she retakes and gets a slightly higher essay score but her 1590 goes down?” Yes, it would be worse. She might receive a 1570 or 1580, which would be no harm, but it seems like an iffy bet to risk such an incredible SAT score. Her 5’s are not going to be that out of the norm. Some schools superscore, of course, but Stanford and Berkeley are examples of colleges that do not. Stanford is a special case because it does not even recognize Score Choice. They are going to see her 5/5/5 whether she repeats or not. If you were an admission officer, what would you think about a 1590 student who decides to retest? It certainly seems that she has more than enough to show that the Essay score does not define her. I would sit tight on the SAT and concentrate on Subject Tests, grades, and all of the other things she enjoys doing.
I got a 7-8-7 on the essay but didn’t do too hot on the rest of the test. Can I keep my essay score and just retake the reading/math tests?
Jack,
The safest option is to take the essay with each test. If the colleges you are applying to superscore the SAT, then they will likely superscore your essay score. You’ll be fine even with a lower score. If they don’t superscore, then there is a good chance that they want all scores from a single administration or want to consider all your scores. Keep in mind that the essay is not a major factor.
Thank you for these very informative blog posts, Art! They are a real treasure, particularly for data geeks like me 🙂
My question is a lot like Kathy’s, so I assume your answer will be similar – but there are enough differences that I thought it was worth posting. My son is currently a junior; like Kathy’s daughter, he aced the main part of SAT (1530 total; 800 V, 730 M) but underperformed on the essay (4/4/4). This came as a surprise, because he is actually considered to be a very good essay writer by his teachers – perhaps he got too cocky/relaxed during the essay section based on that reputation, particularly as it wasn’t entirely clear what the essay graders were looking for. (Based on the subsequent comparison with several classmates whose essays were scored higher, it is pretty clear that his essay was too short and a bit lacking in detail/substance.) In any event, the question is whether to retake SAT or not? His performance on other SAT sections is on par with his practice test results and his PSAT scores (1480 total, 750 V / 730 M; selection index of 223, which – based on your other posts – is reasonably likely to qualify him as NMSF in California); while it is thus very likely that he would achieve a similar SAT scores again, it is less clear that taking the test again would be of much value. He will apply to 6-8 small liberal arts colleges in Midwest and Northeast, with Grinnell the most competitive of the bunch – so I’m not particularly concerned about his chances of admission, but wonder whether the low SAT essay score might affect the size of merit scholarships he would be awarded. (All the schools he has in mind superscore SAT and neither require nor recommend the essay, so they may not pay any attention to the essay scores; on the other hand, the discrepancy between his high verbal SAT score and his low/middling essay score might raise some questions.) His school does not rank, but his academic record is stellar (unweighted GPA 3.98 / unweighted academic/core GPA 4.0; 4 AP courses completed by the time he applies to colleges and 9 by the time he graduates from high school; several additional classes taken at the local community college). He is also a very accomplished visual artist with local, regional, and national exhibits and awards for his paintings, and has a steady record of volunteering both inside and outside of school.
Taking everything together, it seems there are three options: 1) sit tight on these scores and not worry about the essay portion; 2) retake SAT with essay and try to improve the essay score and possibly the math score; and 3) retake SAT without essay and submit only the new score (unless substantively worse than the current one, in which case he could submit only the current score). What is your recommendation? (He’s traveling during June SAT exam date, so retake would have to take place in August.)
CA mom,
Your son’s situation has so many intriguing elements. You’ve made a great assessment of the situation — befitting a data geek — and I’m struggling to improve upon it! It’s hard to imagine an admission committee thinking “we love this kid for our school, but there is that 4/4/4 on the SAT Essay. An essay that we don’t even require.” He has too many other things going for him, and it sounds like he is applying to a cross-section of colleges for which he is highly qualified. [As an aside, I always like to congratulate California students for considering small Midwestern colleges such as Grinnell.] While it’s not impossible that a merit award committee would consider the essay score, colleges that don’t care about the essay generally won’t start caring about it because of scholarship awards. It’s true that his 4/4/4 is a bit weak for someone in his overall score range, and there is the temptation — given that all of the colleges on his list superscore — to say “he’s got nothing to lose.” In the end, though, I can’t find it in me to recommend retesting. He has done what he needs to do and deserves to focus on his applications this summer. Would it be wrong to retest? Based on what you’ve described, there is not something I can point to as a reason. [I could make a really weak case of pointing out that scholarships don’t *always* follow admission superscoring policies.] If he felt like he *had* to retest, would I recommend the essay? No. This is another place where your son’s situation goes against my usual line. Despite my misgivings about the essay, I like students to keep their options open. If his college list is set, though, it’s 50 minutes of testing that he doesn’t need. As I warned at the outset, I’m not sure that I’ve improved upon your own assessment.
Thanks for your reply, Art! More than a year has passed since my initial post and the college application process is now behind us, so I thought you may appreciate hearing how things have turned out 🙂
My son took your (and my) advice and did nor re-take SAT. (He did not really want to do it anyway, but his father was concerned about the potential impact of the middling SAT essay score… and your reply helped assuage his concerns.) As planned, he applied to 6 small liberal arts colleges in the Midwest (Grinnell, Kenyon, Macalester, St. Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, Wooster) and one in the Pacific Northwest (Reed), got accepted by all of them, and received good merit scholarships from all the colleges on his list that award them (i.e. all of them but Reed). In the end, he chose Grinnell and will be on the way to Iowa this fall!
(As an aside, Gustavus Adolphus College now gives up to 10 full tuition scholarships to NMSFs, and my son was offered one of them. While he ultimately chose Grinnell, I personally liked Gustavus quite a bit and wanted to spread the word about this less well known opportunity for NMSFs.)
Thanks again for your excellent advice and keep up the good work!
CA Mom,
Thanks for letting me know how things turned out and passing along the information on Gustavus Adolphus! Compass has had many students attend Grinnell, and they’ve loved it. Your son is proof that there is life after a middling Essay score. 😉
Art,
Excellent information and very helpful. I’m curious what you would suggest for our son. He took at SAT a year ago and got a 1510 and an 18/24 on the essay portion. He retook the test in May 2017 and got a 1550 (800 math, 750 W/R), but his essay dropped to 16/24. His heart is set on Stanford Early Action (where his older brother attends and is sophomore in chemical engineering, and a 4.0). He just took two subject tests (math and chemistry) and is highly confident he will get 800s on each of them (or very near 800). His is very pointed (tons of robotics, science and math extra-curriculars to lean on). He will get awesome letters of recommendation, and he is hispanic. Would you recommend he retake the SAT to get his essay score up? Attempt the ACT? Thanks, worried mom and dad
Eric,
I would suggest that your son call his testing career done! With a 1550 in the bank, the ACT is not even a consideration. His 16 and 18 Essay scores are not in the “retake zone.” There will be plenty of students accepted by Stanford with scores in that range — and plenty rejected (it is Stanford, after all). What makes the decision that much easier is the fact that Stanford does not recognize Score Choice. He will need to submit *all* his scores. Boosting his Essay score on his third test would have almost zero impact (and there is the risk that his 1550 goes down). He should be very proud of his scores. I hope he can join his brother.
Is a 6-6-7 essay good or should I try to do better.
Aadesh,
A 6-6-7 is an excellent score, and would be in line with what I’d expect to see as the median at top colleges. There is no advantage to you repeating the SAT in order to improve your essay score.
Hello Art,
Great article! It’s informative and very helpful.
I am a rising senior and took my first SAT this June. I got a 1560 (math: 800, english: 760) on the multiple choice and a 4/4/5 on the essay. I have my sights set on Stanford and UC Berkeley, have gotten 800’s on both my subject tests, have taken 5 AP’s and gotten all 5’s, am going to take 3 more AP’s and multivariable calculus, have a 4.0 unweighted GPA and 4.63 weighted, am president of my school’s debate club and I started another debate club, and I teach tennis for free at the boys and girls club. Do you think I should retake the test in August or October, given my goals? I got a 1500 on my junior year PSAT. Should I also consider taking the ACT? Is it possible the college board made a mistake if I have done well on AP Lang rhetorical analysis essays and got a 5 on the AP test?
Thanks,
Mani
Mani,
My recommendation would be to not re-test and to feel good about all of the positives on your application. As a recovering perfectionist, I understand that my recommendations sometimes don’t win the day. Let’s say you said, “Art, there is no way that I don’t test again. Should I repeat the SAT or switch to the ACT?” You should repeat the SAT. You’ve done a great job on the important part of the exam. There is no reason to risk doing worse on the ACT. There is also no reason to think that you can’t work on the SAT Essay and do better. Again, my primary advice is not worry about the Essay. Also consider that you will need to send all scores to Stanford.
As for your last question… Do College Board readers sometimes apply inconsistent marks? Yes. Do they consider this a mistake? No. There is essentially no recourse short of discovering that they swapped your essay with that of another student.
Hi Art,
I just earned a 1570 on the SAT with an essay score of 6/5/6 (17/24). I’m pretty sure you’ll say “it’s not worth taking the test again,” which is how I feel, but my mom and her friend/college consultant/expert want me to take it again so that “nothing limits me.” What’s funny is that most of the schools to which I’ll be applying do not require nor recommend the essay, but obviously since I took it, I’ll need to send it. So, I’d like to ask a hypothetical question: if I did have the choice to either send the 1570 WITH or WITHOUT my essay score to schools like WashU/Vanderbilt/Tufts, etc. (all of which don’t want it), would you say “send it because it’s a decent score and demonstrates your relatively proficient writing ability,” or “don’t because it will only hurt you (even a little)”? I know this might be a bit confusing, but that’s my mom for you lol.
Thanks so much,
Michael
Michael,
I’m not sure whether I am doing a good job getting my message across or becoming too predictable. 😉 Either way, you guessed my recommendation. Your 6/5/6 will be the most common score for admitted students at top colleges. The Essay is simply not a task that allows even excellent writers to get consistent results. Imagine a half-time shooting competition where fans heave the ball from mid-court. NBA players — those not named Steph Curry — are going to miss that shot a lot, and the fan from the stands will sometimes make it. No one is considering basing a player trade on those results. The same holds true for the Essay. Your 6/5/6 actually shows that you know how to shoot a basketball, and it’s your 1570 that is the Pts Per Game stat that colleges care about.
Nice formulation for a hypothetical! The answer is that it’s as close to a toss-up as you’re going to get. I would probably send the one with the essay score. You took the whole test and did well on every part (yes, even the Essay).
Hi Art!
Thank you so much for such an insightful article!
I took the SAT in December of last year and received a 1530 as well as a 20/24 on the essay. Unsatisfied, I retook the SAT in June of this year and received a 1560 but a 16/24 (6, 4, 6) on the essay. As a quick side note, I have also taken the PSAT and have received a 1500. Knowing this information as well as that I would like to attend a top-tier university (University of Chicago, Harvard, Princeton, Swarthmore, etc.), I have a couple of questions…
1. Would you recommend retaking the SAT?
2. For schools that allow ScoreChoice, would you recommend sending only the June score (and have them not see the 20/24) or would you recommend sending both (and have them see the 1530)?
Once again, thank you so much!
– Bethany
Bethany,
Congratulations on excellent scores.
1). I would not recommend retaking the SAT. Let’s ignore the the Essay for a moment. Would it make sense to try to raise a 1560? Probably not. I can imagine almost no admission decisions that would hinge on 1570-1600 scores. Nor would I normally recommend a retake for a student based on a 6/4/6 essay. The most common score at the colleges you mention will be a 6/5/6. The difference between that score and yours is not significant. And that’s before considering that 2 of those colleges are essay-optional.
2) Schools that allow for Score Choice generally do so because they have a policy of looking at scores in a supportive manner — often through an explicit superscoring policy. While I don’t think it will make much of a difference either way, I’d recommend sending both scores. Your 1530 will not reflect poorly on you, and submitting it gives you the opportunity to show your better essay performance.
Hi Art,
I just earned a 4/4/5 score on the essay, and I believe that it’s necessary to retake the SAT with an essay. However, I was wondering if by bringing up my essay score would it increase my chances to getting into schools like UCLA and UCSB?
Thank you so much for all the information!
Heidi,
Your essay score alone is unlikely to make much of a difference, but you are correct that you’ll want to include the essay each time you retake the SAT. UCLA and UCSB will not mix-and-match essay and non-essay test dates. I would let your overall scores drive your retake decisions, as your EBRW and Math scores will have much more of an impact.
Hi Art,
My son took SAT in Oct (Junior) with 1510(800M+710) with 5/4/6, in Aug (Senior) he got 1520(790M+730) with 6/3/7(absolutely no preparation). He did well for PSAT (740+740). I encouraged him to apply U of Chicago He felt he is not good enough. He has two subs M2 and Chem with 800s. Is his essay score OK?
Thanks,
Mimi
Mimi,
His scores are in line with what UChicago typically sees. The university superscores, so his SAT would be viewed as 800M + 730EBRW = 1530. Chicago hasn’t reported class of 2021 data yet, but I’d expect that to be right around the median of its enrolled class. Combined with his Subject Test scores, he has a nice testing portfolio. He shouldn’t stress about his essay scores. As I’ve written, I expect the median scores at top colleges to be 6/5/6, and his scores are not really that far off. UChicago does not even require the essay, so it is hard to imagine that they will give it much weight in your son’s case.
Hi Art, My daughter just got a 1420 on the SAT (which she might be able to bring up) but got a straight 8 across the board on her essay. Does she have to include the essay when she re-takes the SAT in June?
I’d love to hear your take on this.
Anne,
I wish colleges would get together and decide on a universal policy. They haven’t yet done that. The only colleges that I know will give the boot to a test without an essay are the UCs. I recommend that she follow-up with her top schools (and since she need only worry about the ones that require the essay, the list can’t be all that long). I usually recommend that students spend the extra time to re-take the essay. I dislike the SAT Essay, but not as much as I dislike scores that students can’t use.
Hi
My son took the SAT twice. The first time he got 770 on the math, 710 in the reading section and 8 7 8 on the essay. The second time he got 700 on the reading, 800 on the math and a strange essay score 8 2 8. He wants to apply to very selective colleges. Any thoughts on what to do and how can he receive a 2 in analysis and 8 in the other essay sections?
Thank you
Karen,
I’ve seen a LOT of essay scores, and that’s a first. I might be concerned if that were his only test, but his writing abilities are clearly top-notch — double 8s are not easy to get once, let alone twice. Both sets of EBRW/M scores are strong, and I would submit both tests. I can almost guarantee that an admission office is not going to be fazed by his 2. I would tell you to download the essay and read it for yourself, but College Board provides no real recourse in terms of rescoring. Your son is in great shape with the 8/7/8 already in the bank.
Hi Art,
Very useful article. I am in 11th grade and took Aug.2017 SAT w/Essay as a baseline test – scores: 1540(770 M, 770 EBRW), Essay 7/6/7. I also took M2 Subject test in June 2017 and scored 760. I am planning on applying next year to top tier colleges eg. MIT, Harvard. Should I retake SAT w/Essay and M2 subject test to get a more competitive score?.
Thanks for your help.
Pan,
On the old SAT, I would have never told a student to retake with a 1540 (or, lets call it a 2310). The scaling on the new test has inflated scores in such a way as to push together the top scorers applying to schools such as MIT and Harvard, so blanket statements are more difficult to make. I don’t see enough upside with an SAT retake, especially given the intensity and endurance needed. Knocking out another Subject Test attempt is usually less stressful, so I could see shooting even higher. Not many colleges have released essay data, yet, but I do see that UC Berkeley and UCLA are reporting 25th-75th ranges at 16-20, which is about where we expected (they really aren’t supposed to add them that way). In other words, your essay score is also really solid.
Hello Art,
Thank you for the excellent analysis about the SAT essay sections.
My daughter received a 1430 (730 EBRW, 700 Math) and 5/4/6 essay scores on the August SAT. She is planning to apply to schools such as Skidmore and Holy Cross along with a couple of reach schools (Vassar and Amherst). She is already signed up to take the SAT with essay again in a couple of weeks. Her 1430 score was a decent jump from her PSAT scores, so I don’t know that taking the test again would result in a higher score (especially since she has so little time to study/prepare). Given that information and her essay scores, I was wondering what your opinion is on whether she should go ahead and take the October test as scheduled, or cancel her registration.
Thanks in advance.
LT,
Purely from a score perspective, I think she is in good shape at all of her schools except Amherst, but you already knew that was a reach. Her essay score is just a bit below median for her top choices. A critical factor is that both Vassar and Amherst superscore, so her best section scores will be used. I’d be inclined to accept the short-term pain and stick with the Oct test.
Hello Art,
My daughter ended up doing a bit worse on the SAT Math/EBRW (1360 vs. 1430) and on the essay (4 4 4 vs. 5 4 6) compared to her first test date back in August. My question (last one, I promise) is should she use score choice with the SAT and send just her higher scores from her first test date? She is applying to Amherst, Boston College, Holy Cross, Skidmore, Vassar, and Connecticut College. Given that all of the schools superscore (I believe), perhaps it doesn’t matter. I just wasn’t sure if she would be at a disadvantage if she sends both sets of scores, as the admission counselors wouldn’t be able to “unsee” the lower scores.
Thanks again.
LT,
In many cases, superscoring schools don’t even show all of the scores to the admissions officers — the highest scores are recorded in the file. There should be no disadvantage to sending both, although the lower score means that any superscoring gain would be minimal (I’m guessing, because I don’t have the splits). Unless there is a solid gain, I’d be inclined to simply submit her first test.
Sorry–I don’t know if my other post went through. Both sections were 680 for the October test date, and the splits were 700 Math and 730 EBRW for the August date. So, she went down a little from the first to second test date, and her best scores were on one test date (so, no help from superscoring).
Then I would only submit the first date unless the college requires all scores. Thanks for the clarification.
Hi Art,
I’m a junior and I recently scored a 1570 on the SAT (770 EBRW, 800 Math) and a 7/8/8 on my essay. I have a 4.29 cumulative GPA (including freshman and sophomore year). My ECs aren’t too great (2nd degree black belt, Eagle Scout, CSF member). I want to apply to top tier colleges like Stanford and Harvard. Do you have any recommendations for me to improve my chances for getting into such colleges? Also, should I retake the SAT so I can superscore the EBRW section and hopefully get a 1600 superscored?
Thanks,
KJ
KJ,
My expertise is in testing rather than admissions generally. I’d consider your SAT career done. There won’t be any added benefit to the 30 more EBRW points. Your junior grades are the most important thing you can work on. You’ll also want to have solid Subject Test scores in place. Sounds like you are on the right track.
Hi Art,
My son got 1560 in sat, and 17 on sat essay writing. His GPA as a senior is 4.3 so far. Is he in good fit colleges like MIT, Upenn, or he need to retake the test? His psat score 1480. Is it beneficial to take the test again? In SAT his Reading/writing is 760 and Math is 800. What should be good idea to get a good score for those colleges?
Nadia,
Pure stats never tell the story of a student — that’s what admission officers are for — but his numbers are in line with what MIT, Penn, etc. will normally see. His SAT scores are high enough, and I would not recommend repeating.
Art,
If colleges require either ACT or SAT with essay, and you thought that you’d do best in both and sent all scores directly to those colleges-how would that work if you scored higher on the SAT, but not quite on the ACT? Trying to contact each colleges to find out if they now require all ACT and SAT scores, is quite confusing as some are not quite upfront, there is no clarity, but rather ‘we’d like to see all if you can send” even though they accept either one of the two.
Thank you!
Sia
Sia,
I agree that it is confusing and that colleges should improve how they word their policies. The most prominent colleges that require BOTH your SAT and ACT scores are Georgetown and Stanford. A number of other colleges do not recognize Score Choice and expect to see all SAT scores if you choose to submit any SAT scores or all ACT scores if you choose to submit ACT scores. In general, I recommend that students not take advantage of the included score reports when registering for an exam. It’s usually best to see scores first. An exception is when any delay could jeopardize making a deadline or when the added expense imposes a burden. I wouldn’t worry too much about scoring higher on one test versus the other. Most colleges will consider your application based on your best scores. There is no mixing and matching, unfortunately, so a great SAT score and poor essay cannot be combined with a poor ACT score and a great essay.
Thanks Art for great article! It is really helpful.
My daughter is 12 grader now. She took SAT last November as junior, and got 1480 (essay 8/8/8). She took SAT again on 9/16 (because of delay for Hurricane Harvey), and just got 1580 (essay 7/6/7). You can see she improved in total score from 1480 to 1580, but her essay dropped significantly from 8/8/8 to 7/6/7. Her SAT major scores are 800 in both math and physics. She will apply for Stanford (early action), Princeton, and Rice. She is worried because of the new essay score. We know her admission is not decided by just SAT scores, but if she sent both scores to the three colleges, will the 1480 hurt her chance? Will the 7/6/7 hurt her chance? Or we would just send one score?
We will appreciate your advice.
Michael
Michael,
If forced to choose, there is no doubt that I would recommend sending the 1580. Although your daughter may feel like her 7/6/7 was disappointing versus her 8/8/8, that’s still an essay score that would put her in the top quartile at top colleges. And, frankly, essay scores just aren’t all that important.
She may not be forced to choose, though, in some cases. Stanford and Rice happen to be in the group of colleges that require a student to submit all SAT scores. They also superscore (yes, the policies do seem in contradiction). Princeton recommends sending all scores, since it, too, superscores. “Princeton will consider the highest individual section results across all sittings of the SAT with Writing and the highest composite score for the ACT with Writing, as well as the two highest SAT Subject Test scores.” So there is no reason not to send both scores to the colleges that you mention. You can find a thumbnail sketch of superscoring and score choice policies on our website, but I recommend consulting the college pages to find the nuance.
Thanks Art for very detailed and helpful advice! We really appreciate your quick response!
Michael
Hi Art,
I just came up with some thoughts about “superscore”. I saw the example in the link “superscoring and score choice policies” in your reply. The example says “For instance, if you scored a 650 EBRW and 670 Math (Total 1320) in March and a 700 EBRW and 650 Math (Total 1350) in May, your superscore would be 700 + 670 = 1370.”
The three scores in the example are very close (1320, 1350, 1370), thus the impact of superscore may not be that big? My child’s scores have a much larger difference (1480 last year vs 1580 this year). If Stanford superscored my child’s scores as 1580, would Stanford just ignore the lower score (1480)? You can see I am still worrying about that 1480, which has to be sent to Stanford.
Thanks again.
Michael
Michael,
It looks like my reply never went out. Stanford does not ignore the 1480, per se, but it is not going to be concerned about it either. Your daughter took the SAT as a fall junior and did very well. She took the test again as a fall senior and did exceptionally well. Most students improve over that period. I could easily argue that Stanford would be more concerned if she didn’t go up! Her SAT score is excellent and Stanford will see it as such.
Thanks for the great article Art.
I’ve taken the SAT once without the essay because I didn’t think I would need it. Now that I have gotten a good score and am considering schools that require the essay, I am planning to take the SAT essay. Can I take the SAT with the essay on the test day by sitting out of the actual SAT test and only taking the essay?
CJ,
That would be great but, alas, is not allowed. Good luck!
Hi Art,
Thanks for the great article and responses! My daughter took the SATs in January of her Junior year and received a 1390 (Math 680 and EBRW 710); her essay received an 8/7/7. She took the SATs again this past August and received a 1520 (Math 790 and EBRW 730). This time she scored a 5/6/6 on the essay. She is applying mostly to small liberal arts schools like Denison, and hoping to qualify for a merit scholarship. Should she submit only the August scores, or should she submit both scores so that the schools see her better essay scores from the January testing (but then they’ll also see her 1390)? Should she only submit both in cases where the essay is required? Do schools that do not require the essay (NRNR schools) still see the essay scores?
Most of the schools she is applying to (according to the College Board) “strongly encourage you to submit your scores each time you take the SAT. Sending your scores each time you take the SAT can benefit you by allowing them to consider you for all available enrollment related opportunities.” What exactly does this mean? Recommended, but not required? Does this mean she should send the scores for both test dates no matter what, regardless of her essay scores and whether essay scores are required or not?
Thank you!
ABJ
ABJ,
Even colleges that neither require nor recommend the essay will receive essay scores — whether they choose to look at them is another matter. Generally a school is NRNR because they put little stock in the essay.
For colleges where Score Choice is allowed and that do not have a clear superscoring policy, I might recommend staying with her 1520. The language you quote is one of the categories College Board use to try to standardize the way colleges self-identify policies. In this case, it’s what I would consider Superscoring + Pinky Swear. The idea is that the college is only going to use a student’s highest section score and is always going to keep a student’s file up-to-date, so there is no reason not to send scores (there is the matter of paying for each report, though). It may sound odd, but the reason some colleges opted for no Score Choice policies was because students would sometimes sending the wrong scores (i.e. not maximizing superscores) or would miss deadlines. By recommending autopilot and promising to use superscoring, the idea is that both the student and the college are better off.
The College Board information is not always up-to-date and its categories may not fully address a school’s policy, so I always recommend checking on each college’s website or contacting the admission office.
Hey Art! I’m a senior who gave the SAT in october and my scores were really bad, I got a 1040 out 1600, 520 in both sections and my essays were 4,4,5. I am going to take the last SAT next month and i was hoping to increase it upto 1200. Will I be able to get into Rutgers New brunswick campus in New jersey with a 1040-1100? I will hopefully increase my score the second time because i’m putting in more effort. Thanks!
AQ,
You may have already seen the latest Rutgers New Brunswick figures for the class of 2017 that includes 25th-75th scores. Unfortunately, 1040-1100 would fall well outside of their ranges. It’s not impossible; it’s just far more difficult. Good luck on your next pass!
I am wondering if I should retake the SAT. I got a 1480 (680 – Verbal, 800 – Maths) . I got an SAT score of 7/7/8. Should I retake the test if I am looking at the prospect of joining a college like Penn, Columbia, Harvard, or Cornell?
Prasshanth,
It’s impossible to gauge the impact of a score improvement on the chances of acceptance at such competitive schools because so many factors come into play. A 1480 would be at the low end of those colleges’ mid-range of scores. Your Essay score is great and should not be a factor in your decision.
Hello Art, I have a few questions on the SAT Writing portion. I was wondering how the reading and writing is scored. My friend, he got a 1580, told me that for every writing question that I get wrong, I lose 10 points from the 800 max for both reading and writing sections. My math is very solid, I got a 790 on my most recent one, but I struggle a lot with reading and writing, especially reading. I was hoping you could show me how the scores are determined, that would help me to pinpoint which areas I need to focus on to increase my score to a proficient level. My reading and writing score was a mere 600, I got 20 questions wrong on the reading and 11 wrong on the writing. Thank you.
Noel,
Your friend’s rule of thumb is roughly accurate. Missing a reading or writing question will lower your ERW score by about 10 points at the top of the scale, but it doesn’t work that way throughout the entire range (as you saw, 31 missed points only dropped your score by 200 points rather than 310). Every test is a little different in its scaling because no two tests can be completely identical. I recommend looking at how the SAT is scored here. If you look at test 6 or 7, it will be a little different. The PDF (or the online scoring at Khan Academy) will also help you classify your wrong answers to better understand where your weakness are. I would recommend taking as many of the official practice tests as possible and looking at the answer explanations for everything you got wrong. When doing practice tests, it can also help to flag (with a checkmark or similar) questions where you felt that you were really guessing. Look at those answer explanations, as well.
Hi Art,
I’m a junior who just took the SAT with essay for the first time in early October. I received a 1380 (690 reading/writing, 690 math) and 6-5-6 for the essay. I am going to retake the SAT to attempt to improve my score, but I am fairly satisfied with my essay results. Would it be a bad idea to retake the SAT without the essay or should I just do it again as well?
Thanks,
AA
AA,
In most cases you are fine combining w/Essay and a w/o Essay SATs. However, I usually recommend that students put up with the extra 50 minutes of pain so as not to run into any possibility that the scores will not be accepted. If you are thinking of applying to any of the University of California schools, you *must* take the Essay.