This is part of my college admissions feature that ran in Newsday on Sunday March 6:

Stony Brook University's admissions officers say they try to look beyond test scores when making decisions. In the two sets of cases here, the admissions office denied applicants with very strong SAT scores while accepting applicants with significantly weaker SAT scores who showed more effort in the classroom, had better grades and overcame some type of hardship.

COMPARISON No. 1

STUDENT 1
More driven, SAT scores: 590 critical reading, 580 math, 590 writing
Academic average: 94. Very good student, most Regents exam scores in 90s, two in high 80s, AP courses in senior year, 22 academic units, strong math through pre-calculus
Letters of recommendation: Strong, attesting to student's persistence and character
Essay: Well-written, about overcoming significant life change to persist and do well
Assessment: Student continued to take challenging courses and performed well through senior year while attending to family needs
DECISION: ADMIT

STUDENT 2
Higher scores, SAT scores: 630 critical reading, 750 math, 660 writing
Academic average: 75. Below average to very weak Regents exam scores, two failures junior year, poor performance all four years, weak math scores in classroom despite high SAT
Letter of recommendation: Unremarkable, with little new information
Essay:About wanting to attend Stony Brook, but not strong enough to make up for poor performance
Assessment: Student might be bright but is unmotivated and continues to perform poorly
DECISION: DENY

COMPARISON No. 2

STUDENT 3
'One-of-a-kind' SAT scores: 490 critical reading, 650 math, 490 writing
Academic average: 98. Excellent student, very challenging coursework, strong math through calculus
Letters of recommendation: All five indicate this is a 'once-in-a-lifetime,' 'one-of-a-kind' student
Essay: Excellent, about leaving all that was familiar to come to a new country even though she/he had an opportunity to stay
Assessment: Student a U.S. citizen but schooled in another country in a different language, recently arrived back in U.S. for high school; English is second language but did well in writing and English in regular, non-ESL classroom; indicates a thirst for exploration and curiosity; phenomenal leadership experiences
DECISION: ADMIT

STUDENT 4
'Underachiever' SAT scores: 690 critical reading, 770 math, 710 writing
Academic average: 73. Very poor performance all four years despite very high SAT scores, no improvement in either junior or senior year; student did win an academic competition in chosen field
Letters of recommendation: Use phrases such as 'late bloomer,' 'underachiever' and 'not working to potential' throughout; all indicate student is very strong in areas she/he likes
Essay: Flowery but not well-constructed
Assessment: Student likes to study things she/he enjoys; student needs to be able to pursue learning on his/her own terms without dealing with required curriculum, and would do quite well in that type of environment
DECISION: DENY