Should I Take the SAT Essay How to Decide

Should I Take the SAT Essay How to Decide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT underwent some major revisions in 2016, and one of the biggest changes is that its previously required essay is now optional.This can be confusing for some students and parents. Should you take the essay? Will colleges require the essay or not? Will taking the essay make your application stronger? Read on for answers to all these questions.This guide will explain what the SAT essay is, what the pros and cons of taking it are, and how you can make the best choicefor you. What Is the SAT Essay? The SAT essay is one of the sectionsof the SAT. After being required since its inception, the College Board has now decided to make the essay optional. This is similar to the ACT, whose essay has always been optional. During this section, students will be given 50 minutes to write an essay.The essay for the new SAT is very different than it was for the previous version of the SAT. You can read all about the changes to the SAT here, but, as a brief overview, the essay will give you a passage by an author who is taking a stance on an issue. Your job will be to analyze how the author built that argument. If you choose to take the essay, it will be its own section of the SAT, and the score you get on the essay will be separate from your score on the rest of the exam. Your main SAT score will be out of 1600 while your essay will be graded across three different categories: Reading, Analysis, and Writing. For each area, your essay will be given a score from 2-8. Below isa sample prompt from one of the official practice tests released by the College Board. Here youcan read the entire prompt, including the passages you would need to analyze. Do Colleges Require the SAT Essay Now That It's Optional? So, the College Board has now made the essay an optional part of the SAT, but does that change how colleges view the essay (or if they even view it at all)?Kind of. Some schools that used the essays before no longer require them now that both the ACT and SAT have made the essays optional, but other schools continue to require the SAT essay. Each school makes this decision individually, so there are no patterns to follow to try and guess who will require the essay and who won’t. Even top schools like the Ivy League are divided on whether to require the essay or not. This can make things confusing if you’re applying to college soon and don’t know if you should take the SAT essay or not.The following sections of this guide will explain the benefits and drawbacks of taking the essay and walk you through different scenarios so you can make an informed decision. The #1 Consideration: Do Any of the Schools You're Interested in Require the Essay? The absolute most important factor, the factor that matters more than anything else in the rest of this guide, is if any of the schools you’re applying to or thinking of applying to require the SAT essay. The best way to get this information is to Googleâ€Å"[school name] SAT essay requirement,† look directly on each school’s admission webpage, orcheck out our list of the schools that require the SAT essay. Find this information for every school you plan on applying to, even schools you’re not sure you want toapply to, but are considering.If even one school you’re interested in requires the SAT essay, then you should take it, regardless of any other factors.There is no way to take just the SAT essay by itself, so if you take the SAT without the essay and then, later on, realize you need anessay score for a school you’re applying to, you will have to retake the entire test. So, if a school you’re interested in requires the SAT essay, your choice is clear: take the essay when you take the SAT. However, what if the schools you’re interested in don’t require the essay? If that’s the case, you have some other factors to consider. Read on! Benefits of Taking the SAT Essay If none of the schools you’re thinking of applying to require the SAT essay, why would you want to take it? The two main reasons are explained below. #1: You're Covered for All Schools Taking the SAT essay means that, no matter which schools you end up applying to, you will absolutely have all their SAT requirements met. If you decide to apply to a new school that requires the SAT essay, that won’t be a problem because you’ll already have taken it. If you already are absolutely certain about which schools you’re applying to and none of them require the essay, then this may not be a big deal to you. However, if you have a tentative list of schools, and you’ve been adding a school or removing a school from that list occasionally, you may want to be better safe than sorry and take the SAT essay, just in case. Taking the SAT essay means you have all your bases covered, no matter which schools you end up applying to. #2: A Good Score May Boost Your Application Slightly While it’s highly unlikely that your SAT essay will be the deciding factor of your college application, there are some cases where it can give you a small leg up on the competition. This is the case if a school recommends, but doesn’t require the essay, and that school is particularly competitive. Having a strong SAT essay score to submit may strengthen your application a bit, especially if you are trying to show strong English/writing skills. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Drawbacks to Taking the SAT Essay There are also costs to taking the SAT essay;here are three of the most common: #1: It's Another Section to Study For If you choose to take the essay, that means you have an entire extra SAT section to study and prepare for. If you already feel like you have a ton of SAT prep to do or have doubts about staying motivated, adding on more work can make you feel stressed and end up hurting your scores in the other SAT sections. #2: It Makes the Exam Longer Taking the essay will, obviously, increase the total time you spend taking the SAT. You’re given 50 minutes to write the essay, and, including time needed for students not taking the essay to leave and things to get settled, that will add about an hour to thetest, increasing your total SAT test time from about three hours to four hours. If you struggle with keeping focused or staying on your A game during long exams (and, let’s be honest, it’s not hard to lose concentration after several hours of answering SAT questions), adding an additional hour of test time can reduce your test-taking enduranceand make you feel tired and distracted during the essay, likely making it hard for you to get your best score. #3: The Essay Costs Extra Taking theSAT with the essay will also cost you a bit more money. Taking the SAT without the essay costs $46, but if you choose to take the essay, it costs $14 extra, raising the total cost of the SAT to $60. However, if you're eligible for an SAT fee waiver, the waiver also applies to this section of the exam, so you still won't have to pay anything if you choose to take the essay. Taking the essay likely means the cost of taking the SAT will be slightly higher for you. Should You Take the SAT Essay? Five Scenarios to Help You Decide Now you know what the SAT essay is and the pros and cons of taking it. So, what should you decide? Five scenarios are listed below; find the one that applies to your situation and follow the advice in order to make the best decision for you. Scenario 1: You're planning on applying to at least one school that requires the essay As mentioned above, if even one school you’re thinking about applying to requires the SAT essay, you should take it in order to avoid retaking the entire SAT again at a later date because you need an essay score. Scenario 2: None of the schools you're applying to look at essay scores If none of the schools you’re thinking about applying to even look at SAT essay scores, then you shouldn’t take it. Even if you get a perfect score, if the schools don’t consider essay scores, then taking it will have no benefits for you. Scenario 3: The schools you're applying to don't require the SAT essay and aren't highly competitive In this case, you don’t need to take the SAT essay, unless you’re trying to make up for weak writing skills in other parts of your application. Scenario 4: The schools you're applying to recommend the SAT essay and are more competitive For this scenario, you should take the SAT essay in order to give your application an extra boost, unless you really think you’d perform poorly or preparing for and taking the essay would cause your scores in other sections to decline. Scenario 5: You aren't sure where you're going to apply yet If you’re not sure which schools you want to apply to, then you should take the SAT essay, just to be safe. This way you’re covered no matter where you end up applying to college. If the thought of figuring out which colleges to apply to has you as confused as this blue panda, your safest option is to take the SAT essay. Conclusion Because of the College Board’s recent decision to make the SAT essay optional, students are now faced with the decision of whether they should take it or not.The best way to decide is to learn the essay policy for each of the collegesyou're interested in applying to.Some schools will still require the essay, some won’t even look at an applicant’s essay scores, and other schools don’t require the essay but will look at your score if you do take it. Use these school policies to help decide whether you should take the essay.Remember, if you end up needing to submit an essay score, you will have to retake the entire SAT, so make sure you have accurate and up-to-date information for each school you are thinking of applying to. What's Next? Have you decided to take the essay and want to know how to start studying? We have a step-by-step guide that explains how to write a great SAT essay. Want more examples of sample prompts? Here are all of thereal SAT essay prompts that have been released by the College Board. Are you aiming fora perfect SAT essay score?Check out our guide on how to get a perfect 8/8/8 on the SAT essay. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

CASE 7 Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

7 - Case Study Example tead of passenger shippers to ensure that the nighttime services offered by the cargo shippers coincided with later afternoon pick-ups and next-time deliveries (Hill, 2011), which were actually the choice of customers. Again, Federal Express took much responsibility of the services it offered to customers and this has remained till date. This is done by ensuring that even in the case of door-to-door deliveries the company uses its internal delivery agents instead of relying on external third party companies. With this, customers are assured to guaranteed delivery and are well informed of whom to go to when the need arises. Computer companies that follow different business models are Apple and Dell. Apple follows a cost leadership strategy emphasizing quantity over quality with its Big Bell Value menu. With this, the company perceives growth from a perspective where every individual entering the premises of the company can get as many information and communication technology tools as possible. As more people are served with various hardware and software, even at lower prices, the accumulated revenue increases. Dell follows a focused differentiation strategy with its limited hardware manufacturing. Unlike Apple, there is total absence of software manufacturing. With this, there is a belief in the need to specialize in one area only so that with the provision of quality products, costs can be increased to meet expected revenue

Painting Styles, Impressionist, Post-Impressionist & Modern Essay

Painting Styles, Impressionist, Post-Impressionist & Modern - Essay Example The essay "Painting Styles, Impressionist, Post-Impressionist & Modern" explores such painting styles as Impressionist, Post-Impressionist & Modern. The group included the rebellious young Artists looking for new ways for the expression of ideas in painting. They attempted to question the traditionalists by portraying objects and scenes that lacked definition, and tried to explain how the eye interpreted objects. Exponents of ‘Impressionism’ also exploited the light sources for exploration and translation of light on the canvas, and the subject matter was the modern world, particularly landscapes. The founding members of ‘Impressionism’ were Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro."Images of suburban and rural leisure outside of Paris were a popular subject for the Impressionists.† The artistic technique of ‘Impressionism’ includes strong strokes of brush on canvas, and this style uses vibrant shades and attempts to translate scenes with mood and feeling. The Painting-â€Å"Autumn Evening,† by the Russian Painter Oleg Frolov in the year 2001, an oil painting on canvas, can be considered as an example of typical ‘Impressionist Painting.’ Post-Impressionism: Post-Impressionism is less easy to define and it differs from Impressionists on dissimilarity in personal styles, and subjects. In the transitory effects of light and spontaneous compositions, they share similar interest with Impressionists and concern with light, but their personal styles vary greatly. The term Post-Impressionism was coined.

Case Studies in Finance Company G & H Essay Example for Free

Case Studies in Finance Company G H Essay Company G deals mostly in selling books in a large retail setting, however they implement a concept that is more community-based. Company H deals in a variety of media, including books, music, and video along with electronics and other varieties of merchandise. Not only does Company H differ in merchandise variety, but it also differs from Company G in that it is internet-based only and is highly interested in further corporate acquisitions—very different from Company G’s â€Å"community store concept†. Bruner, Eades, Schill, 2010, pp. 96-97). Since Company H has a variety of merchandise to sell, along with its interest in acquisitions; it has a significantly higher level of net fixed assets than that of Company G. Acquisitions will always increase the level of net fixed assets. Since Company G tends to implement a strategy that does not favor large acquisitions, its level is lower at a level of 7. 6 versus 24. 4 in Company H. Company H also exceeds Company G in most of the liabilities section, which automatically gives Company H a leg up in being able to take on more liabilities such as credits and loans. However, Company G comes out winning in terms of income and expenses, with a net income of 8. 5%. Company H’s net income ended at 2. 9%. This also relates to lowered percentage of SGA expenses on Company G’s side, higher interest income, special items income, and its lower percentage of income taxes. Company G is also considered to be more liquid than Company G, with a current ratio of 1. 57 versus Company H’s 1. 49. This indicates that while Company G has more liabilities, it is better-able to pay its short-term liabilities than Company H. It is understandable why Company H keeps its liabilities slightly lower so that they do not become overwhelmed with short-terms loans and notes that it will not be able to pay back on time.

Business Law Essay -- essays research papers

It is a question concern the law of contracts in particular, the law of misrepresentation. It is my objective to identify the difficult concept of different kind of misrepresentation and analyze why it is problematic. Misrepresentation is a false statement designed to encourage the other party to enter a contract. To prove a statement to be a misrepresentation, 7 essential conditions must be satisfied: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A statement must be made by word or conduct. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The statement must be factual. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The statement must be false. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The offeree must have reasonable relied on the statement. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The offeree must have been misled by the statement. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The statement must be material to the contract. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The statement must be a factor in including the offeree to enter a contract. In the law of misrepresentation, there are three kinds of misrepresentation. Fraudulent misrepresentation can be illustrated by Polaroid Far East Ltd. v Bel Trade Co. Ltd. (1990), where BTC, who was offered a special discount price by promising not export or re-export their product, re-exported PFEL ¡Ã‚ ¦s films to North America and Europe. It was held that BTC had devised a deliberate scheme to buy film at a lower price and to re-export it, and were liable for fraudulent misrepresentation. Fraudulent misrepresentation simply ...

Use of Magic Realism in Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Chronicle of a Death Foretold Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a perfect example of a novel that showcased cultural and contextual elements. The technique that was the most interesting in Garcia Marquez' novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, was his use of magic realism. One magical element in the book is the use of dreaming. Dreaming is a constant theme throughout the novel. Chronicle of a Death Foretold, presents the reader with characters that have dreams, as these dreams are the primary sources of events that come true.Magical realism is portrayed through dreams which are used in the novel to see the predicted future, as in most cases, the dreams that we are presented with come true. Although dreaming is not something that is seen to be unrealistic, its the way the author provides truth to all dreams. Garcia Marquez allows the characters dreams to come true, which is the true source of unrealism. Another aspects was describing the upbringing of Angela Vicario and her siblings. Wom en are not allowed to get jobs or follow their own dreams; their lives are bounded by tradition and the expectation to get married and have families.A woman's worthiness as a wife was measured by her beauty. In those days, I believe marriage wasn't based on love. Through this book we are engulfed in the Colombian culture that Marquez demonstrates. Another theme we become aware of is honor. Chronicle of a Death Foretold consists of many different themes that can be recognized by the reader. It was interesting when Raza brought up â€Å"Machismo†. Machismo is a strong or exaggerated sense of manliness, sense of power, or the right to dominate. This theme in turn can be related to the theme of moral responsibility.In this novel the power to dominate is aimed towards women. Machismo, throughout the book is exaggerated to show the dominance of the male sex, and I believe the author felt that the sense of having a dominant sex, is purely based on culture, because in those times, wo men were considered to be inferior to men. Women were looked at as possessions. Knowing that women were forever to just get married, Marquez shows rebellion of the opposite sex by Angela Vicario showcasing her independence and breaking the barrier of the life she HAD to live, by not being a virgin.

The Screenplay - Escape from the City Free Essay Example, 1750 words

Tayo succumbs to the effects of the scratch and they all resolve to take him to a safer place to limit the possibilities of his condition affecting their health. They are strategic as Dembe and Idris aid in the establishment of a safer route which protects them from the stringent protocols established by the army barricading the area. Their journey is faced by different challenges as they find ways to sustain their lives and cater to the needs of the baby they had rescued. Additionally, they rescue more people and establish a safe haven in form of a camp where the survivors gather before they are transported to the border. They decide to evade the border and seek an alternative route as illustrated above where they encounter continued resistance. The screenplay refutes the assumption that blackness is a limiting factor and thus reiterates the fact that all humans are equal irrespective of their racial differences. Dembe leads the group efficiently which is backed by their survival a s illustrated by the screenplay. Dembe embraces the leader s role and works in cohesion with the group. We will write a custom essay sample on The Screenplay - Escape from the City or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page The choice of the topic was inspired by (Vale, 1972) an assertion which illustrates that detail in a screen is the most effective part of any screenplay. The screenplay grows and develops with time to inspire reasoning, and changes the concept to reflect on other vital components relating to speculation, suspense, and anticipation.