Last modified: Thursday, July 2, 2009 1:56 AM EDT Dear Babs: Will poor SAT scores rule out top schools? By CampusCompare.com Dear Babs, I'm getting my SAT scores back this Thursday, and I'm pretty sure I didn't do as well as I had hoped. I heard that if you want to get into a top-school, you need to get above a 2100. Is this true? Should I forget about going to a good college? -Bad Tester Dear B.T., I wouldn't shelve your college plans just yet. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about colleges de-empahasizing the importance of SAT scores in their admissions decisions. A growing number of top liberal-arts schools are joining the "SAT optional" movement, including Sarah Lawrence College, Bard College, Bennington College, Bates College, Drew University, and Connecticut College (to name a few). Their objections with the SAT is that it is biased towards the rich, and a poor measure of potential. In addition to a long list of some of the nation's best liberal arts colleges, the president of the University of California spoke against the use of these standardized tests. Many more colleges are simply trying to downgrade the weight of the SAT's in admissions decisions. If an otherwise excellent applicant has poor SAT scores, it won't automatically rule him/her out. Other schools do still emphasize SAT scores -- often large universities need objective criteria to quickly filter through massive piles of applicants. Also, some schools pay attention to the SATs because it is a criteria that affects their rankings. Basically, low-SAT scores may or may not hurt you. If your grades are good, but you find that your SAT scores leave something to be desired, take heart. Look into some "SAT optional" colleges to see if one might be a good fit for you, and try and make your application stand out in other areas. After all, you are more than just a test score. Good luck! -Babs