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The competition to get into America’s most selective colleges and universities is fierce. Some top universities admit as few as 5 percent of applicants. Judging from how much high school students and their parents worry about standardized test scores, one might presume that an SAT or ACT score is the primary factor in college admissions—and that those admitted with lower scores are an exception to the rule.
This report suggests a different reality. If admission to the most selective colleges were based on SAT scores alone, those institutions would serve even more affluent White students than they already do, the report says, and further perpetuate intergenerational race and class privilege.