No, I believe it is to benefit the overall admissions process which in turn could benefit certain applicants, like athletic recruits, legacies, underrepresented minorities even w/o AA, strong “hooked” applicants, children of massive donors, etc. Admissions committees view early applicants as deeply committed to that specific institution rather than shopping around among multiple top-tier universities, especially at ones that offer ED. They don’t want certain applicants to be swayed away by a competing peer institution.
I don’t believe that Harvard & Princeton reintroduced these SCEA policies to reduce student essay writing. This just happens to be an unintended advantage for admitted students that decide early to enroll.
In the case of Staniscraft, s/he has received grades of +18/20 under the French system in all subjects which are of top 1-2% mastery. Assuming Staniscraft has the solid leadership, ECs, co-curricular activities, & strong recommendations, I don’t think an SAT score would add much value to the application. I would submit the application by October 31st under EA w/o the SAT score. I don’t know what other schools Staniscraft is applying to but s/he should definitely have back up plans.
“Long-term future of Princeton test-optional policy unclear as Dartmouth reinstates requirement” (The Daily Princetonian, 2/9/2024)
This article references a couple of students that were admitted to Princeton w/o test scores, including an international student from the U.K.