The End of SAT and ACT Essays

NOTE: This is an updated post, originally published June 27, 2018.

In March 2018, Harvard announced it was dropping the requirement that students submit an essay score from the SAT or the ACT.

That was a watershed moment; fast forward to 2020, and all but a handful of schools (notable exceptions are West Point and the University of California system) have eliminated the essay requirement from their testing policies.

Why? Well, colleges have a long history of copying each other’s admissions practices – mostly because they’re competing for the same students. Every time one school finds a policy “innovation,” others follow suit. And Harvard functions like the gold standard of admission policies. (Sometimes, these changes aren’t permanent, such as when Harvard eliminated, then reinstated, Early Action. College admissions is largely a social experiment, and high school seniors, unfortunately, are the guinea pigs.)

But that aside, what are these schools thinking?

According to The Washington Post, the problem is a familiar bugaboo: inequality. The Ivies have always faced accusations of elitism, but recently these criticisms have crystallized in hard economic data about income disparity. Harvard, for instance, admits almost as many students from the nation’s top 0.1 percent highest-income families as from the bottom 20 percent. Harvard, Yale, and the rest of the Ancient Eight are desperate to rectify this problem.

That’s where the SAT and ACT come in. Across the nation, many public schools now fund SAT and ACT testing during the school day, meaning students can take them at no cost. But testing programs often don’t pay for the essay sections. Therefore, many students must choose between two unappealing options: 1) apply only to schools that don’t require the essay, or 2) pay to take the test all over again. Adding to the challenge, the SAT and ACT are more costly when you take them with the essay! (After all, the testing companies have to pay someone to read and score all those responses.)

But eliminating inequality isn’t the only reason to eliminate the essay requirement. One could also point to dubious writing standards, overlap with AP/IB tests, and problematic scoring as reasons schools may give the essay requirement the boot. Problems with writing standards have persisted for a long time. Even though the SAT and ACT have both redesigned their essay prompts, these tests continue to face criticism over dubious scoring and irrelevance to college coursework.

So, let’s say you’re applying to Harvard, Yale, or Michigan. Should you take the essay? Answer: Almost certainly yes. First off, you’re a jerk if you’re only applying to Harvard, Yale, or Dartmouth. (Seriously, who are you?) Nothing in life is certain – not even if your name is on a campus building, you can row at an Olympic level, or you cured the Coronavirus. You’ll always want to apply to some safety schools. Likely, one of them will appreciate seeing that you sat for the essay component.

Unless all the schools on your list don’t ask for the essay, take it.

Also, remember that almost all these schools have only dropped the requirement. That doesn’t mean you still can’t submit your essay scores. What if you’re good at them? Remember, showing your writing skills is very important on your college application.

In other words, you need to showcase your writing ability at some point. Not the president of your school’s literary club? Haven’t written your college essay yet? Maybe the SAT/ACT essays are your best shot.