<p>Sure, colleges look at the whole picture, of which test scores are only a part. My son was admitted to a top LAC with scores on the low side of the bubble for that school (2200 SAT). The question is less about any cut-off test score, but are the scores strong enough to indicate the student could succeed at a challenging school, and then what else would the student bring to the college and its community of students? Special talents in sports, music, art, something else? Contribute to campus diversity? Bring a zeal for advocacy and engagement? Leadership? A unique background or perspective? A brilliant mind for science and innovation? It is important to let them know what’s special about you… but remember of course that many of the brightest minds and special young people in the country (and the world for that matter) are also sharing what’s special about them. It’s just very competitive. As the president of Harvard once said, they could accept an entire freshman class, then toss them out and go back the rejected applications pile and put together a new freshman class that is just as strong as the first one. It’s not arbitrary, it’s just competitive.</p>