<p>No. Colleges & U's overall do not necessarily consider the SAT result, esp. the SAT I, as an indication of ANY more "promise and potential" let alone "much more" promise & potential than someone with a lower SAT I score. It is merely considered a part of the whole profile of an applicant. In fact, the above repliers are correct that a very high SAT I or II score, combined with an unmatched GPA, may signal laziness, whether that conclusion is deserved or undeserved.</p>
<p>Colleges have discovered that the SAT I is not predictive of achievement in college. That assessment would include U.C., and the College Board organization itself. Also, if one studies both the EA/ED results threads on the CC forums and the RD results threads, you will discover more students being admitted to top colleges with high GPA's and kind-of-high SAT's, than the reverse of that.</p>
<p>With my D's high school classes, summer classes, & overseas studies, she has already taken the equivalent of at least 1.5 yrs of a demanding college curriculum prior to her college freshman year (& without once stepping into a community college or a 4-yr college). That was apparently more important to the admissions committees than an SAT I score, which is after all (unlike the SAT II), not even subject-based. </p>
<p>Also, she got 800's twice in a row on the "old" verbal portion of the SAT I. The verbal is considered more predictive of college ability than the quantitative.</p>