Should I Take the SAT Essay?

Hey guys, I'm not sure if I should take the SAT Essay. Do colleges really care about it? Can it help my application at all?

Hello! It's true that the importance of the SAT Essay has diminished in recent years. Most colleges have actually moved away from requiring or recommending it for admission, as they find other parts of the application more indicative of a student's writing and critical thinking abilities.

That being said, it's essential to check the specific requirements for schools you're interested in, as some might still recommend or require the SAT Essay.

If you choose to take the SAT Essay and score well, including it in your application certainly won't hurt your chances. However, if your target schools don't require the essay, it's unlikely to considerably impact your admission chances. Instead, you might want to focus more on your actual SAT score, GPA, extracurricular involvement, and crafting strong personal essays, which are more pertinent components of your application.

Finally, consider your ability to excel in the SAT Essay section. If you feel confident in your writing skills and think you can perform well, it might provide additional evidence of your capabilities. But, if you think it will be a challenge or detract from your performance on the other sections, it may be best to skip it, particularly if your schools of interest don't require it.