<p>“how could a college ever predict with any accuracy whether it will be THE school chosen by a particular student”</p>
<p>They can’t know for sure about any individual, but they can know the odds. Admissions stats, gender, race, geography, track record at that high school, financial status…they know which students in their applicant pool are 80% likely to enroll if admitted, and which are 20% likely. They would be in big, big trouble if they didn’t know that.</p>