<p>If you are international you are being evaluated with all your country people. Schools have accepted students from your country, whatever she is, before. They know how to evaluate transcripts, ECS, all info, whether a student from your specific school has been accepted before or not. They also have lists that are compiled by consultants about the academic rigor of different schools in each country. The school is not going to evaluate only the SATs. Transcripts are extremely important as it shows trends and ability to cope under intense academic pressure. There are thousands of students with perfects SATs being rejected by top universities every year, while students with lower scores get accepted. If you are not a genious, go to a feeder school, belong in a family of a top politician/elite, then your chances decline dramatically if you are an international. A US student who grew up homeless, in a rural, tiny town, in a ghetto, or any other unfortunate sad situation, has a good chance to be admitted, even with scores below average for that college because that student adds to the diversity of the class. An international under similar circumstances will not. You are Pakistani, right? My Pakistani classmates when I was in college had the following parent connections: a Jatoi and a Jinnah grandchild/prominent lawyer dad in Lachore/MD in Karatchi/textile factory/World Bank employee/PIA senior employee. All of them had graduated from private HS and some were not exactly top students compared to the rest of the student body, but I guess full pay and needed addition for international diversity.</p>