There is a long history of SAT items being added and removed. Whether this is "good" or "bad" is debatable. Analogies were replaced with additional reading comprehension passages. The Writing Section is similar to the Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) that was on the SATs from the mid-1970s to mid-1990s. I recall the TSWE but no one cared about it (I think you really had to bomb it for any colleges to care).

Even now, colleges don't care that much about the Writing Section. Some do not even consider it, and most others do not give it the weight that math and verbal (Critical Reading) are given. Almost all merit scholarships are based upon the M+V score out of 1600.

While no test is a perfect measure of ability or potential, colleges need to have some way to compare the applicants. Grading systems and standards vary a lot from school to school, so grades alone cannot be used (there are "test optional" colleges these days, but many kids still submit the test scores). While the SAT is probably more "coachable" now than it ever has been, there is really only so much coaching you can do.

The kids I see that have really good SAT scores (say 2200+) are very bright/gifted. I won't say it can't happen, but it would be a very rare case to take a kid with a 1500 score and coach them to a 2200. For most kids, no matter how hard they try, a 2200 is just not possible.

So yes, there are kids with perfect or near perfect scores who are not PG. However, I don't think that the "elite" colleges were ever on a mission to serve just PG kids. While I think there should be less weight given to sports and other hooks, I also think that these schools would prefer an MG/HG kid who is very involved in sports, music, community service, etc. over a PG kid who is not involved with any activities. (Not saying that PG kids don't do other stuff - I certainly know some who are involved in tons of stuff, and average kids who do nothing outside of school). I truly think that there are MG kids that can benefit from an "elite" college education.