<p>I only took the SAT once, and got a 2210. (750CR, 730W, 730 V), and I was really happy with my score. However, when I looked at the stats on the websites of Brown and Amherst, I saw that kids with a 700-750 Math score got in at 16% at both places, whereas applicants in the 750-800 range got in 36% of the time. </p>
<p>First of all, I wonder what causes this jump. Is it just that applicants w/ high SATs are more likely to have better extracurriculars, class rank, etc? (ie correlation, not causation) Or is this difference really that significant to the elite colleges?</p>
<p>Also, I kinda wish I had taken the test again to get that 20 point bump in math. I know it's a good score and I'm sounding ungrateful, but still...</p>
<p>Those stats are usually based upon enrolled class numbers and (believe it or not) those average numbers are artificially low because they include URM enrollees- such URMs at the elite schools averaging somewhere between 150to 300 points lower(or more) on SAT scores on average</p>
<p>For example at Dartmouth (as one example) native americans from certain locales can get in sometimes with SATs below 1900, which is about 400 points lower than the norm. Admittedly native americans may be only 1% or less of enrollees, but combined with other URMs - its a very large group</p>
<p>The true "myth" actually is: (for non-URMs at least) is that AD COMs don't distinguish between lets say a 2200 and lets say a 2350 - they do and it's not about EC's</p>
<p>Of course not all 2200 are rejected and all 2350's accepted - its simply about the odds of acceptance</p>
<p>Actually to be more precise its the median (enrolled class number) SAT that is generally the most deceptive</p>
<p>For example Yale in recent years was showing numbers around a combined old score SAT 1490 at the median - however that number is highly deceptive because it was not broken down between non-URM admits and URM admits, and nor was another (though smaller) adjustment made for athletes</p>
<p>Note legacy SAT medians are usually in the same range as other enrollees and sometimes better</p>
<p>Look, 2210 is a good score in any case, a commendable achievement - however the elites have just gone off the charts for non-URMs. There is no sense in denying it</p>