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I think I’ll stop trying to counter ignoramuses like yourself because it means that there are that many fewer people I’ll have to seriously compete with for HYPSM (actually it’s irrelevant; I’m not applying the normal way). But for good measure, I’ll say it one more time and leave it at that, and maybe, just maybe, a few of you will get off the idealistic myth that anything 2100+ is the same.</p>
<p>No one’s disputing that a 2100 can’t get into top schools. But the info is out there on numerous college websites. The adcoms (and not the ones at college fairs; they’re trying to increase application numbers and hence decrease admission rate) are even acknowledging the importance of a few dozen SAT points, even at the highest ranges. Colleges like Harvard only distinguish on ECs when difference of SAT scores between applicants; think ~60 points. They cannot rely on extremely skewed sources of evaluation over concrete information; this is not a secret, this is common sense. The kids getting in to HYPSM with a 2100-ish SAT score are: URMs, recruited athletes, legacies (probably the more deeply rooted ones), developmental admits, or have such overwhelmingly strong ECs (think head of a major, renown organization) that their relatively weak scores were permissible. And please, oh please, save the anecdotes to yourself; every rule has exceptions. Given the tens of thousands that apply to HYPSM each year, even hundreds of exceptions would only account for, at most, a 1% exception to an obvious trend.</p>
<p>And please, don’t get me wrong, OP. A 2130 is a superb score. For most of your schools, a 2130 will more than suffice. Even schools like Dartmouth have slightly lower thresholds and accommodate more “exceptions” to the SAT trend than HYPSM. But if you really are aiming for Dartmouth and if it’s your top choice, I would highly recommend a retake.</p>