@SJNccc EC’s are judged in context. An applicant from a privileged background will be expected to make the most of the opportunities afforded. By contrast, a first generation applicant from an urban school that is 93% minority students will be considered in that context. That’s why I think your evaluation is too harsh. Obviously scores will matter and are unknown now. And the OP needs to create a balanced list of colleges. But I thought the “mediocre” label of the EC’s was unnecessarily discouraging.