The ACT and SAT Essays: Who Needs Them?
Developments in the testing landscape over recent years have resulted in optional essay components on both the ACT and SAT. This leaves students with the question of whether to pursue these “options.” The word “optional” should not be construed to mean that students can choose whether they want to highlight their writing prowess. On the contrary, colleges set their own expectations for writing score submission as part of a standardized test portfolio.
The best and simplest advice is this: if you’re not sure, take the writing portion of the test. Let’s dig into the details.
The number of colleges that require the essay is now quite small. The University of California (UC) system requires the essay for both tests (and was in fact a driving force behind the creation of the original SAT Essay in 2005). Other that that, the only schools that currently require the essay are the following: Martin Luther College, Soka University of America, the U.S. Military Academies, University of Montana Western, and University of North Texas*. This makes it sound like most students not applying to a UC school or military academy could skip the essay. Unfortunately, the issue is a bit more complex.
A somewhat larger set of schools “recommends” the writing portion of the ACT and SAT. Those schools are listed in the table below*.
Abilene Christian University
Amherst College
Austin College
Berry College
Chapman University
Colby College
Concordia College – Moorhead
Duke University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Manhattan College
Michigan State University
Morehouse College
Occidental College
Oregon State University
Simmons College
Stanford University
SUNY – Binghamton
SUNY – Buffalo
SUNY – Binghamton
Taylor University
US Coast Guard Academy
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
To make matters more complicated, “recommended” can mean different things for different schools. For example, though Stanford University no longer requires the essay portion of either the ACT or SAT, it seems that they do still generally expect to receive it, meaning students who choose not to submit a score for this portion of the test are likely putting themselves at a disadvantage.
Finally, there are a few hundred colleges who have stated an “optional” policy for ACT and SAT essay scores. These policies too can vary from one school to another, ranging from “if you send an essay score, we will consider it along with your other application materials” to “we do not make use of essay scores for admissions decisions.”
There is hope, however. It has long been accepted that the essay is the least important component of a standardized test score portfolio, and the trend is moving toward even less emphasis on this portion of the tests. Though a strong essay score may modestly improve a student’s shot at admission to a given school, a mediocre score isn’t likely to hurt very significantly, given strong scores on the multiple-choice portions of the test.
All of this means that there is little downside to taking the Writing portion of the ACT or SAT. Many students have not finalized their college lists by the time they are taking standardized tests and are unsure whether they may wind up applying to a school that recommends or requires the essay. So, in spite of the lack of emphasis that most colleges place on ACT and SAT essay scores, it remains worthwhile to take the time to write the essay for many students.
*From time to time, colleges change their testing policies. Confirm your chosen colleges’ policies before making testing decisions.