<p>Just look at stanford’s common data
they openly acknowledge that they accepted applicants with act scores of 18-23
and applicants with 400-499 in sat sections.
what is so hard to understand?
there are tons of smart kids
not many superstar athletes with half way decent academics that can put your school on national tv and win championships.
it is all about the money with big time sport schools like Duke and Stanford - which makes complete sense.
Duke and Stanford never will have a shortage of great academic applicants.
Superstar athletes are not easy to come by - especially if they can read and write english - even with an sat of 1500/2400.
I don’t think many Stanford alum would argue with getting a great quarterback with a 1500 (or somewhat less sat) over a 2400 applicant who is just a typical smart person - nothing special.
Alums love seeing their school win championships - and giving money…
anyway, this thread is getting off base - unless the OP is a super athlete in a major sport.
p.s. shrink - Duke reports that they accepted applicants who scored between 300-399 in sat sections. just check their own common data</p>