Ask The
Experts
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Should the 25 minute Essay have the right to decide your destiny?
Is it fair that your college admission should be based on how you
do on your essay?
Apparently not, but the essay still remains an important component
of the SAT exam.
Then,
where lies the justification of the essay? Can this time bound,
writing sample say enough about the applicant? Does it not chiefly
tell you how fast an applicant can write instead of how well? Don't
most people need more time to organize their thoughts into a 'rev'
and then a final draft that best reflects their
thinking?
The College
Board- the body responsible for the SAT, has now made it a
three-part test instead of a two-part, with a perfect score of 2400
instead of 1600. The writing section is now for 60 minutes, with a
multiple choice section lasting 35 minutes and an essay-writing
portion of 25 minutes. The SAT according to them is a unique way of
learning about a person's personality and knowing his
capability.
With all its constraints, the SAT essay is of great assistance to
colleges in their admission procedure, especially when deciding
borderline cases. It becomes the decision making tool between two
students who have similar scorers.
A compelling essay is what can make the
difference when all else is equal between competing
applicants.Most importantly it can get results for a
marginal student. A powerful, well-written essay will tip the
balance in favor for the marginal applicant. The SAT essay was
actually recommended a long while back, but was considered
difficult because the technology of the day couldn't accommodate
the transmitting and grading of essays on a large scale. Like
society the test has now also evolved- hence the essay
So while grades, admission tests, and rank remain the top factors
in the college admission decisions, a majority of colleges and
universities consider the essay to be a key factor in determining
which academically qualified students they would choose.
The essay is looked upon as evidence that a student can write well
and follow a logical argument for supporting their point of view.
It is also a reflection about a person's identity.
Even though it is
recommendable that before admissions applicants talk to counselors
and find out exactly how the college they are applying to will be
viewing their essay, it remains a device used to assure the college
that the student can do the work they are expected to.
The essay provides colleges with an additional tool, and 44 percent (nearly half!) of colleges use the essay score to verify or reinforce existing information for borderline applicants. In an essay, colleges get a snapshot of the applicant's ability to plan and write in 25 minutes.
The
SAT applicant during his admission process will be writing 2
essays- one the college essay, which is longer and more creative
but also usually tutored. It is through the SAT essay that the
Colleges are trying to see the student's innate writing skills to
match the writing level that is on the application
essay.
They
are really checking to see how much help a student received on the
application essay. It is the easiest way for them to know if you
cheated on the application essay and what is your true level of
proficiency. For this, Colleges will be looking not so much for
grammar, but rather at the bigger style.
As an
official for the college board had explained - through the essay
the schools are looking at the student's complexity of thought,
varying sentence structure and vocabulary, exhibiting their general
proficiency.
Students need to learn what a good persuasive essay is and then use
good detailed support, to create something that is well constructed
while within the SAT time constraint.
The SAT essay is an exposition for colleges, of the students
ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, and
remains one of the most important skills a student can develop.
In a survey of 374 top colleges and universities conducted by
Kaplan, the test-preparation company, 58 percent said they would
use the SAT essay to evaluate whether students had received outside
help on their application essays in cases where there appeared to
be discrepancies in the applicants' writing levels. Thirteen
percent said they would compare the essays for all applicants.
56 percent of the roughly 1,000 four-year colleges do not use the
writing section for admissions, although 61 of USA's most selective
colleges an overwhelming majority, use it in some fashion or the
other.
Quoting Marlyn
McGrath Lewis, director of admissions at Harvard College on the SAT
essay, "We will use them on an individual basis as we need to use
them, if we wanted to get a better sense of how somebody actually
expressed something in his or her own words, we certainly know
where we could go to extend our understanding."
Georgetown University, Smith College, and MIT are among the schools
that ignore the writing score altogether, while Wellesley College,
Tufts University, and Harvard take varying approaches, with none of
them placing high importance on the score.
While still unclear on it actual importance, the relative importance of the SAT essay overshadows all other sections in the test.
