<p>Eventhough the SAT ranges (CR and M) for Williams is 660-760.. I seem to have this notion that applicants with 660 SAT scores will only be admitted if they are recruited athletes or have some really 'big' hooks.. while someone with not many or no hooks will need a 760 to have a shot?.. is what i think true?</p>
<p>Those are the 25 and 75 percentile ranks, right? I don't really know the numbers off the top of my head, but I think there are about 70 tipped athletes in a class of ~540, which gives us 13% of the class as tipped athletes. Even if we assume that group is <em>the</em> bottom 13% of the class (which it surely isn't), then half of the 25% of kids admitted with sub-660 SAT scores are not recruited athletes.</p>
<p>But generally speaking, I'm sure that it takes a hook to get admissions to consider a low SAT score application. They could fill the entire class with insanely high scores if they chose, so a 660 applicant has to demonstrate that they're in some way superior to a 760 applicant - that they're an athlete, a musician, a writer, a leader, whatever. Of course, even 760+ won't guarantee admission if that's all you've got going for you.</p>
<p>I don't really know what SAT you need. I had 640/780/700 (multiple sittings) and I got screwed after being waitlisted.</p>
<p>It is ridiculous to judge someone so seriously on the basis of few points. In fact, two wrong answers in SAT may mean about 50 points difference. Crap!</p>
<p>I have also heard that, once you're above some baseline threshold, most elite schools don't care too much about test scores. For example, a 1600 on the old SAT wouldn't be much better for you than a 1450, because once you're above 1400 or so (not sure of the actual numbers) they'd be looking at other qualifications.</p>
<p>Ksarfeks: sorry to hear that. Yeah, it sucks that a couple of missed questions on the SAT can determine the course of the rest of your life, but what's the alternative? Admissions offices have to judge people somehow, and they'd miss out on a lot of useful information if they ignored test scores and just looked at grades and extracurriculars. If it helps any, I don't think your SAT scores singlehandedly killed your app - there are definitely kids at Williams with similar scores, and probably quite a few with worse.</p>
<p>Psst... jeke... you're probably not making him feel any better...</p>
<p>ie higher better?..</p>
<p>I know people who had 780s and 800s, and others who even had 680s and scores in that range. None were athletes. Now, when I say people, I mean 4 or 5. Few discussions on SAT scores arise.</p>
<p>but 680 and 780 definitely makes a difference towards someone's chances..</p>