In comparison to your GPA, admissions essays, extracurricular activities, etc, how much does your SAT score actually count for, and is it really that big of a deal to colleges? I’ve heard that as long as you’re in the right range, your SAT score is less important of a factor than the other ones I mentioned. Is this true?
Depends on the school. Some schools don’t even accept standardized test scores, some make them optional. The schools that do require them all have their own formulas with regard to weighting. The best source of information is to google the “common data set” for any school you are interested in, and that will give you an indication of how heavily the school weights standardized test scores and how they consider the other items you mention. You may be able to find this info easily on a school’s web site, but some schools make it difficult to find so googling might be easier.
Check the common dataset for each school under section C7. Academic and non-academic factors are listed as Very Important/Important/Considered/Not Considered. This section will show how the SAT/ACT scores are used in their application review.
Test scores are often seen as the 2nd most important item for an applicant barring some insane ECs like USAMO or a Nobel Prize. They make schools go up in rankings and prestige if nothing else which gives them some merit at pretty much every school (even the optional ones if you send them in).