I mean, my friend had a way higher GPA (probably around 4.5 or higher), over a 1500 SAT score, got deferred to the college I got accepted at and I applied test-optional. It just seems too situational. Oh maybe the college thought that this was his safety so they declined him? He was too overqualified? I am not trying to be too comparative here, but too many reasons, too unpredictable like said. Maybe I just got lucky?