Over 700 college presidents will receive a letter over the next few days urging them to reduce the importance of SAT scores in the college admissions process.

The letter writing campaign is part of a massive effort launched Wednesday, mounted by some of the country's top business executives, including leaders of Shell Oil and Verizon Communications along with the National Urban League, to argue SAT scores are a poor prediction of future success.

"In corporate America, we routinely place bets on people, including many top-flight executives who may not have excelled 'on paper,'" the letter reads.

The letter does not urge colleges to ignore the SAT altogether but encourages colleges to find better ways to measure applicants' leadership and creativity.

Despite the letter's claims, Harvard University's Office of Admissions say they have no intention to reconfigure the role of SAT scores in Harvard's admissions process.

"We are in the admissions business and they [the businesses] are not," Marlyn McGrath-Lewis `70-`73, Harvard's Director of Admissions said. "We have no plan not to use the SAT."

The SATs are merely common yardstick for the Admissions office. Decisions are not based just on test scores.

McGrath-Lewis noted the high frequency of attacks against the SAT's role in the college admission process.