DS12 just got his SAT scores. His highest score was in writing, which doesn't surprise us as he is a very talented writer with a good sense of language. I was curious about how the writing score was used in assessing gifted kids or even by colleges. His critical reading score is high enough to qualify him for the programs we are interested in, so we don't "need" the writing score for anything, but I was wondering if there has been any research into how good the writing section is at predicting GTness or school success or if a high writing score can open doors that other scores won't.

So far, ACS, most colleges are still primarily concerned with the old verbal/math duo and put less emphasis on the writing section. At least that's what I gleaned from DS's college search and the information we gathered. That's not to say that a high score in writing is anything to scoff at, but a good score will weight in your son's favor while a relatively lower score might not detract as much as the same score on math or verbal.