Future Aggies do not have to take written portion of ACT
Prospective Utah State University freshman may not have to worry about changes to ACT/SAT testing- but they will have to deal with the growing demand that college students must know how to write.
A new option writing portion was added to the ACT exam, the test most preferred by USU’s Admission’s office. The revised exam was offered beginning last month. The last time the ACT was revised was 10 years ago.
“We’ve decided not to use it,” Vice President for Undergrad Studies Joyce Kinkead said. “All the state schools in Utah have decided not to use the essay.”
According the ACT Web site, about half of colleges and universities nationwide have chosen to opt out of requiring the writing portion.
“We’re satisfied with the information we currently require. This includes an essay that student submit with their application as well as the ACT English Test results,” stated BYU’s Director of Admissions on the ACT Web site. “We don’t see a need to require students to incur the additional expense and time of taking a writing test at this time.”
The essay added was created to bring high school students’ writing to college standards, a problem some USU students have had.
“I’ve always been comfortable writing,” USU junior, Holly Scott said. “But, it was an adjustment coming here – I struggled with the structures of writing.
USU English professor, Susan Andersen felt that incoming freshman could use more experience writing.
“The skill level of students has a wide range,” Andersen said. “But I’ve had some that are at a middle school level.”
The average score for ACT admittance at USU is at 19, with a 2.5 GPA cut off. USU doesn’t have the opportunity to be as selective when it comes to the writing portion, Kinkead said. There is not enough staff to go through the approximately 5,000 freshman applications USU gets a year, not counting the 3,000 applications they receive from transfer students.
The added essay, which must be completed in 25 minutes, is being required by a select number of schools. Scores received for the writing portion will range from 0 to 6 and will not affect a student’s comprehensive score.
The other popular admittance test for universities, particularly on the East Coast, is the SAT. The test, comprised of two sections, has undergone a complete transformation.
“It’s like comparing apples to oranges,” Administrative assistant Ann Gibbons said. “We will still take SAT scores though.”
USU currently admits about 90 percent of the students who apply, according to USU’s Analysis office. More than 85 percent submit only ACT scores.
-gbrownlee@cc.usu.edu