I’m linking my answer from the other thread Wesleyan University Early Decision Class of 2030 Official Thread - #4 by circuitrider
In essence, this idea of a 1550 SAT being an official cut-off of some sort has the earmarks of a stock answer. I’ve now heard it from three different sources including an alleged instance involving a varsity coach. It’s the sort of thing a system develops in response to being on the receiving end of the same question, thousands of times; it just saves time and cuts through a lot of confusion, the main one being that a hundred points on your child’s board scores are going to make the difference between getting into Wesleyan and not getting into Wesleyan. In the vast majority of cases it won’t, but if you put it that way, people won’t accept it. They will focus on the tiny minority where it will make a difference.
In other words, when does the SAT score become a “hook“? And, of course, from the adcom’s POV, it makes sense to make that figure as high as possible. So, yeah, a 1550 on the SATs will garner their child’s file a second look. But didn’t we know that?