Why are the bottom 25% SAT scores so low for the "elite" public colleges?

[Pizzagirl]

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Take UC Irvine. A well-respected school, considered very selective. However, its SAT lower quartile is in the 62nd percentile. Without getting into an argument over US News’ rankings, UCI is a top 50 school. Ranked right about Tulane.

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<p>Why would you expect a school that’s basically unknown outside of California to be any higher than Tulane? Californians tend to exaggerate the impact / knowledge / reputation of all of the myriad UC campuses, when in truth few people outside CA know or care about them beyond Berkeley and UCLA. UC Irvine might as well be Western Illinois University for all anyone outside CA knows!</p>