I know people think academic index is BS, but I think it’s still worth at least looking at. Just out of curiousity, I checked the academic indexes of applicants to my top choice school (princeton) for the class of 2008, to see if it made a difference.
I used ■■■■■■■, whcih is obviously a biased source, but nonetheless my results were interesting
Rejected
Middle 50% academic index: 220-227
Average: 222.6
Accepted
Middle 50%: 229-238
Average: 231.2
Waitlisted
Middle 50%: 218-234
Average: 223.85
There must be something to it…
<p>I don't think so. Maybe at a stats driven school, but what about (in the ivys) Brown and Columbia, known for being very personable? Essays play a huge part at these schools, as well as at others, and simple numbers won't get you in.</p>
<p>I'm not saying numbers get you in, i'm just saying the higher the better.</p>
<p>disregard my comments, I was making no sense</p>
<p>My first thought after reading that was "well... duh" A college is an academic institution, so of course how well you do in an academic setting is important. And I'd bet that even at those schools where they claim that your personality is important, the AIs for accepted, waitlisted, and rejected students would have a similar distribution. Granted, numbers alone don't get you in... but unless there's something REALLY compelling about you (like you won a gold medal at the Olympics or something) I think numbers alone can keep you out.</p>