What I heard from my students last year:
Among several universities like U Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Northwestern, etc., during live audition, Northwestern was the only one asking for SAT/ACT scores (for the audition judicators to see). It was an optional question but it was on the student information form.
A very strong string student (national awards, NYO, etc.) with decent academic (<1500 SAT, large public school top 20-25%) was accepted (eventually decided to attend a conservatory).
These information alone may not imply anything. It seems to confirm that Northwestern has a gate on academic but Bienen holds high value on music performance. If you can find one current student in the studio you are applying to, you may want to ask them for more accurate information.
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