<p>If you look at this link [Admission</a> Statistics | Princeton University](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/]Admission”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/) you’ll see how low the percentage of students who are admitted with less than 2100 is to the class of 2016, as well as the statistic that 96% of that class ranked in the top decile of their high school. I believe the reason they look for these kinds of statistics is because it increases the probability that admits will be successful in a very rigorous academic environment. It is probably accurate to say that those students who had less than 2100 on their SAT’s and ranked below the top 10% of their class were otherwise hooked applicants - possibly athletes although most of them are very strong students as well.</p>