To be honest, the SAT/ACT are only as important insofar as they get you into THE (or better yet, A) school that you will be both happy and successful at. But keep in mind that although Admissions departments communicate that they want students that are well balanced, these tests are indeed an important tool used to weigh applicants against each other. If you are looking at a more selective school, then the tests matter - and they matter a lot.

That being said, who cares if you can get into Harvard just because it's Harvard... if that's not the best fit for you. My daughter has Princeton and W&M on her short list (W&M is the current leader), but we're truly hoping that Denison or Wooster will be her choice because we believe they are better fits for her undergrad (and it's still a toss up which she will choose). Since she intends to go to grad school, we would prefer that she continue to be well balanced throughout the undergrad program and worry about the prestige/rigor at that time when she has pinpointed her passion/focus.

I'd be curious to see opinions on whether people loved the college they went to (and what drove them to select it) or if they had a bad experience at the college they went to (and again, the reasons they first selected it).

My undergrad didn't want to take me, but I paddled the admissions secretary on the bum with my ACT scores and she finally just took me in.

LOL.

That works even better than grafes;)