@penandink: Selective colleges use test scores to gauge how well an applicant might handle the reading, writing and math work load on their campus. The HIGHER your test score, the LESS likely an Admissions Director will question “If I admit this kid, will they struggle on my campus?”
No college wants to admit a student and set them up for failure, so to reassure Admissions Directors that a student can handle the work load on their campus, a student’s test scores should be safely in a college’s middle 50%. For Yale, the middle 50% is a 34-35 ACT. A student applying to Yale with less than the middle 50% needs to demonstrate they could easily handle the workload on campus. There are several ways a student can accomplish this:
(1) Teacher Recommendations: Will the teacher recommendations extoll the student’s ability in a particular area of study? For example, in your hypothetical, will the LoR’s be proclaiming the student as the best writer to come into their classroom in 30 years? That would certainly be a plus in the student’s favor, AND demonstrate the student could easily handle the reading and writing workload on their campus.
(2) Guidance Counselor: Will the GC be extolling the student’s ability in a particular area of study? Both the GC and teacher recommendation carry much more weight in the application process than an applicant thinks: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/video-transcription/whats-the-most-important-part-of-the-application
(3) National or State awards. You didn’t mention these in your hypothetical, but is the student applying with any writing awards, such as those listed under Creative Writing in this link: https://cty.jhu.edu/resources/academic-opportunities/competitions/art_writing.html. That would reassure an Admissions Director that a student could easily handle the writing load on their campus.
(4) In your hypothetical, did the student participate in theater and dance programs outside of their high school? For example, were they involved in a local production of the Nutcracker while still in high school? That would demonstrate to an Admissions Director that a student could handle the rigors of a demanding performance schedule while maintaining their school studies.
I’m sure other posters can come up with additional ways a student with test scores which are below a college’s middle 50% score can demonstrate their ability to academically compete on campus, but I’m hoping you get the idea.