<p>I realize that the SAT is being discussed from an objective stand point here and that cases are unique on a person to person basis, but I wanted to share my personal experience with all of you.</p>
<p>I am a Pakistani boy from the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. I am not the brightest bulb out there but I had my heart set on applying to all the top tier schools, from Harvard to Duke. I put a lot of effort into my college applications, but I could not obtain a high enough SAT score. My first attempt was an 1890, my second attempt was a 2040, and my final attempt was a 1970. I thought I stood no chance at my safeties let alone the top tier schools. However, I ended up being very fortunate. I got into quite a few good schools:</p>
<p>Harvard
Princeton
Williams
MIT
Cornell
Brown
Duke</p>
<p>Although I am still in disbelief, I guess what I am trying to say is that most of these admissions offices do approach applications in a holistic manner. I believe I was passionate about the work I want to do and I just wanted the opportunity to do right by everyone. They gave it to me. So I guess there is a lot of luck involved, but I agree with JHS that SAT scores don’t play as great a role in admissions as people think they (or as much as they used to).</p>