What to do: fantastic ACT composite, mediocre ACT writing

[AEC]

DS17 took the ACT for the first time a few weeks ago.  Got a 35 composite score - which seems pretty fantastic.  Everyone's thrilled.

Then the scores for the optional writing part came out, and he got a 7 - which is apparently the median score. He was all set to send his ACT to his current fav schools (uMich, Carnegie Mellon, and Stanford) but w/ the writing score in there he feels like 'it's ruined' and he shouldn't send it to anyone.

It feels odd that he got a 7 on the writing part, given 36's on the english/language sub-components of the ACT and that he's got a pair of dual-enrolement English writing classes under his belt w/ A+s in both.  but it is what it is.

I understand that many (most?) universities don't require the optional writing part, but since he took it I assume they'll see his score?  How much do they care at the selective universities he wants to attend? He wants to double-major (Mich calls it 'dual majoring') in Musical Threater & Econ, which are generally separate colleges within the university, so he'll need to get into both at any particular school to go there.

Thoughts on what to do or how much this matters? IS there any way to send only the composite and not the writing?

 

 

 

 

[klmama]

I think he's overreacting.  This is exactly why many colleges make it optional or don't want it at all.  It's not actually that predictive of ability to successfully write good papers in college.  It's possible someone will care, but looked at in the context of his other ACT scores, grades in DE classes, etc., this is likely just a minor blip. If he's still fretting tomorrow, he could call to ask how much weight they place on the optional test.

[RootAnn]

You know your other post? True here as well. In general, they really don't care. Except for the rare schools that require that score, admissions likely won't even glance at it. They know it is bogus. 

[EKS]

Timed writing tests are idiotic.  I assume that colleges know that.  I wouldn't worry about it.

[RootAnn]

12 hours ago, AEC said:

IS there any way to send only the composite and not the writing?

Missed this the first time. I don't know that there is anyway to do this. You send the whole thing or nothing.

Less & less schools are requiring the writing portion of these tests. My kids will not take it unless absolutely necessary. I do know a few schools still require it & I feel sorry for those kids. Because graders of the writing portion spend so little time grading each piece, I don't feel the scores are reflective of how well a kid can write (even if it is a timed writing test like a blue book exam in college). Most colleges agree with this from what I've read. @AEC You used to be able to ask that ACT rescore the written portion if you believed it was unfairly low. It cost $50, but they'd return the fee if your score went up (which it almost always did). The rescoring request is gone now. Just have your son read some of the many articles on the internet about how the writing portion isn't really useful to anyone except the ACT/SAT companies who make money off of it & have him move on.

[Mom0012]

My dd has a similar situation. I was kicking myself because none of the colleges she is interested in require the essay, so she didn’t even need to take that part of the exam.  Anyway, we’ve decided to just not worry about it. She’s happy with her overall score and she doesn’t want to retest. Everything I’ve read makes me believe it won’t have an impact.

[AEC]

thanks for the feedback everyone.

[2_girls_mommy]

We had the same results! My DD got a 35 in English and 34 on reading, but got a 7 on the writing! I'm glad to hear it's not a big deal. She isn't planning on a selective school though, so we weren't worried about it. Mine tanked the math though which brought her composite down to 30. For her though this is typical. She did the same on PSAT. So we keep studying and working on it. It's just not her thing. A 30 is still good. 🙂 A 35 is amazing! Congrats to your kid. 

Edited May 10, 2019 by 2_girls_mommy