<p>If your scores were just average or mediocre would a competitive college turn you down? Even if your SAT and ACT scores were really good?</p>
<p>Competitive colleges usually do not turn anyone down based on one part of your application. They can help you and they can hurt you, but at most good schools there is no “cut-off point” for anything.</p>
<p>If they’re just average or mediocre the scores probably wouldn’t hurt your chances, and they probably won’t help except for the fact that they show you’re at least at an average level.</p>
<p>This is rather a matter how you look at admissions at elite colleges. I don’t claim to be qualified to talk about the admissions process, though.</p>
<p>Option one:
since 80% of applicants are qualified, adcoms look for excuses (mediocrities, blips, etc) to cut people once they cut out the unqualified 20%.</p>
<p>Option two:
adcoms look only for reasons why to accept you (oh this fellow seems so interesting! or he does X and we need more people that do X!)</p>
<p>Option three:
adcoms think: will other, better schools accept this applicant? they might not because he has an average SAT II. It’s not a big deal to us so let’s accept him.</p>
<p>Option four:
adcoms think holistically: ah who cares if he has one mediocre SAT II, he has good grades in that subject and shows interest in it through ECs.</p>
<p>thanks chronicidal. that relieved me.</p>
<p>Based on that other thread of who was accepted/ rejected and what their stats were, I’d say that even if you appear to be perfect on paper, you still might not get in and if you appear to be less than perfect, you still have a shot.</p>