Act Essay Optional

However, assuming you prepare ahead of time, this outcome is unlikely—generally, you should expect to score in the same range as your most recent practice test indicates.Additionally, it has been acknowledged that the essay has dubious predictive validity, so scoring slightly below your target score on the essay is unlikely to be materially harmful for admissions purposes.

However, assuming you prepare ahead of time, this outcome is unlikely—generally, you should expect to score in the same range as your most recent practice test indicates.

It's an easy way to give your admissions profile a boost (albeit a small one), especially if you’re already good at writing, or if you want to showcase your skills in writing to help compensate for lower grades in English classes.

-Compared to the rest of the SAT/ACT, preparing for the essay often requires only a small time investment to achieve meaningful improvement (see what we wrote above).

The University announced the new policy on Friday in an email to high school counselors.

In the letter, Quinlan emphasized that students who do not take the essay portion of the SAT or the ACT “will not be at a disadvantage” in the admissions process.

However, each additional SAT score report costs $12 to send, and each additional ACT report costs $13.

The University will still require all applicants to submit official test scores from the testing agencies if they are admitted and choose to enroll at the University, Quinlan wrote in the email.

The change means the SAT essay and ACT writing tests will be optional but recommended, while also reducing barriers that students from low-income families and under-resourced schools may encounter when applying, said Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions.

The move will begin with next year’s incoming undergraduate class.

Like most things that have to do with college admissions, that means the starting point for this decision is developing a preliminary college list—it’s as simple and as complicated as that.

The good news is that we have plenty of resources to help you on your journey.