<p>unalove - every kid takes the same test, so its flaws apply to everyone attending every school.</p>
<p>An AIME kid who spends 8 hours a day studying advanced math doesn't have a significant advantage over a smart kid who can think straight, and is good with numbers. Its goal is to not test how much you know, but how logically you think.</p>
<p>Either way, I think we can agree that a higher SAT score is still better than a lower SAT score.</p>
<p>I agree with you completely, unalove. The SAT isn't really difficult, but rather just limits you insanely on time ("24 questions, 25 minutes, go!" -- and you have to read passages in that time, too). I have friends who score rather low (1600s) on the SAT, yet who are very intelligent. And I have friends who don't score as high as others (instead, say, about 2100) and who are insanely intelligent, probably more so than many of the 2300-scorers. But I really agree with you on the essay point -- some of those stupid topics are really difficult to write well on (simply because they're generic and lame).</p>
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I have friends who score rather low (1600s) on the SAT, yet who are very intelligent
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<p>Right here baby \m/ 0(O_O)0 \m/</p>
<p>The obsession with rankings rankles the mind. These lists lend perspective to the admissions process. Global perceptions and international rankings would digress even further from these considerations above.</p>
<p>Educate yourself at an institution that accords you an environment suited to your needs and experiential desires.</p>
<p>Then if you are inclined towards grad school, look to your particulars and the schools will sort themselves out.</p>