Gaining Entrance To College, Routes To Pursue

College entrance exams have truly been replaced for most students by SAT and ACT exams which serve the same purpose. Depending on a student's score on these tests they may or may not be accepted to the college or university of their choice.
Not every student is a test taker though and many struggle with the pressure that taking these types of exams can put on them. Generally speaking, while colleges will look at a student's test scores to help them determine whether they should be granted acceptance to their specific institution or not, this is not the only criteria a college recruitment officer will use to make a decision.
In case a particular student has an exemplary high school record, including extracurricular activities, good grades, and of course an active community spirit but doesn't do very well on these tests, some colleges may offer the student the opportunity to come in for a personal interview. For the duration of this process, if the student impresses them enough with the other aspects of their interview and application process then the college representative may advocate to the student that they either retake the SAT exam again or instead take that certain school's entrance exam.
Obtaining a good grade on the college entrance exam may in some cases override a bad SAT score for a desirable student. Earning the grade to most schools means more than just getting the best possible SAT or ACT score, it also means being a good, well rounded man or women. A student, who only has a good SAT score or even an exceptional one, will not get into most schools unless they have met other parameters of acceptance too.
Schools prefer the whole package so don't allow your less than perfect test scores to stop you from applying to that school of your dreams. Even if your test score is on the low side you will likely see that most schools will be willing to look the other way if they really want you and may just permit you to take their college entrance exam and placement test and use that score in place of your low SAT score. There are many factors that go into whether a college accepts you or not and sometimes there are ways of getting around a negative SAT score, so deal with each college one on one and you will likely find that there are other options to help you be admitted.