CollegeBoard No Longer Offering Essay with SAT Exams

Last year, CollegeBoard announced multiple changes to the SAT services in one statement: the Subject tests were being discontinued, as were the optional essays that accompanied the SAT.

The big takeaway people latched onto then was the removal of the subject tests - what would STEM applicants do who only hit AP Calc in their senior year? How could they demonstrate their strength in math to admissions officers if there was no Math Subject Test?

The longer lasting impact, however, is the removal of the optional SAT essay. Many shrugged off the change as the essay was increasingly becoming optional at colleges for admission. However, as the tests themselves move towards optional, the way we view these scores changes too. For example, schools don't require AP's, but an applicant certainly looks better if they take them, and even better if they do well on them. If we could choose, we would advise you to take the essay if you thought you could do well on it and if you prepared for it (as we have with the ACT).

But alas, we can't choose, and the SAT essay is now gone, so if you would like to demonstrate your writing skills, you will have to do it on the ACT. There is now no other test in which admission officers can see what you (and you alone) can write in a timed format.