Are SAT scores really everything when applying to the "best" colleges?

Many of the “best” colleges take a holistic approach to admissions. That means they evaluate the whole student and SAT scores are only one of the elements they consider. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that they have a large number of strong applicants to consider and most of them have solid test scores.

The good news is that I’m sure there is a quality college in your future, but it may not be the most competitive one you’d like.