<p>I think many parents and applicants use average SAT scores, or percentile ranges, as rough guides to decide whether to investigate further, or to decide if a school’s a reach or a safety. Many online college search tools allow users to set SAT/ACT parameters for the search. </p>
<p>Increasing the average, even slightly, may serve to discourage the lowest-scoring applicants, and to put the school on the list of “acceptable back-up schools” for students with higher scores.</p>