Are SAT/GPA interquartile ranges for accepted or matriculating students?

Applying to College
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I thought that they were the SAT scores/GPAs of those accepted. (This would suggest that the average SAT scores/GPAs of those actually in the college are lower since those that were accepted into better schools–often the majority of the applicant pool as people are often accepted into multiple schools–do not enroll.) However, IPEDS calls the former “Percentile test scores of first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students”.

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Unrelated: College Confidential is the buggiest site I’ve ever been on. Sometimes when I click my profile pic all I get is my demographic information without ability to see my posts, sometimes I get a menu where I can go to preferences and other areas. Also I keep getting “complete your registration” when I log into my account except when I do and then navigate somewhere else on the site it tells me that again. Also when you’re not logged on it claims that you can read further without signing up and that it’s optional and then a short while later it prevents you from reading further. The developers of this site should be ashamed of themselves

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@CC_Sorin @CC_Jon

Just want to make you aware of the above comments in case you can improve the OPs UX.

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Thanks for flagging, @DramaMama2021!

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IPEDS and CDSs show data from enrolled students only. Colleges sometimes publish admitted student test score ranges, either in press release, or sometimes the student newspaper has that info.

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TLDR: enrolled students.

From the CDS (CC won’t let me use the Quote function):

“Provide information for ALL enrolled, degree-seeking, full-time and part-time, first-time, first-year (freshman) students enrolled in Fall 202x, including students who began studies during summer, international students/nonresident aliens, and students admitted under special arrangements.

C9. Percent and number of first-time, first-year (freshman) students enrolled in Fall 202x who submitted national standardized (SAT/ACT) test scores.

  • Include information for ALL enrolled, degree-seeking, first-time, first-year (freshman) students who submitted test scores.”

IPEDS describing the data as from “students” is consistent with this.

This is why you need to take with a grain of salt press announcements and website postings about the “acceptance” statistics of the upcoming class. Especially for test optional.

I’m quite confident NYUs move from a pre-pandemic CDS 1450 midpoint to a web site “1540 median” does not accurately represent the respective enrolled classes.

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