<p>I do acknowledge that the only section of standardized test that can be given some merit is the Critical Reading section because that section does diagnose a person's ability and tends to have less flukes than other sections. However, I believe that it is almost inconceivably possible to scores over the 97th percentile without having taken a practice exam before. So,in some sense the higher scores are made for those who have the time and money to get a tutor or attend a boot camp.</p>
<p>You don’t need to have a tutor or attend a SAT camp to take practice tests - prep books, including ones with actual exam equations, are available for free at public libraries. Also, just because you believe it is impossible doesn’t make it so. Furthermore, why do you think that the other sections do not “diagnose a person’s ability” and have more flukes?</p>
<p>^agree. I don’t think higher scores really reflect how much money you can spend on a camp or tutoring sessions, but they CAN show how much effort you’ve put into studying from the resources that are available online and in libraries. Someone who’s pretty talented or even just a good test taker can get a high score with little practice but someone who isn’t so obviously smart but works hard can also get the same score. I honestly feel that’s fair since when admission reps look at your sat score they treat it as a preview of how you’ll do in college. You have this high score, so maybe you’re really smart and you’ll get As with little effort, or maybe you’ll work your butt off for those As. Either way it works.</p>