<p>Hi, I'm sure this has been posted before, but I'd like to remind students wondering why they didn't get into a school or for future students wondering about admissions to various institutions to google (name of school) common data set. </p>
<p>The CDS is fantastic if you want to know more about a college's admissions policies. Not only do you get to find out the admissions rates for females and males, but you can also see how many students were placed on the waitlist and subsequently accepted. But wait, there's more! Section C7 shows what a college looks for in its applicants. Are you curious to know why Emory rejected the cancer curing 2400 SAT, 4.8 GPA Burundian applicant? Well maybe he failed to show interest, something Emory considers very important. </p>
<p>If you're trying to figure out whether a school can be considered a safety, check C7. If the school indicates that it even considers level of interest, do whatever it takes to demonstrate that you can actually imagine yourself going there. Sometimes that just means signing up for a mailing, other times it might mean touring campus. </p>
<p>Want to know the SAT/ACT/class rank distributions of incoming freshmen? Well great, go down to Sections C9-C10. Not only does that show where you fall in terms of the class right before your own, but it also might indicate the schools where you stand a better than average chance of receiving preferential financial aid. </p>
<p>Finally if you're curious to know how many students graduate with majors in what field, check out Section J. That can indicate whether you'll find classmates with similar academic interests, or if you'll be relatively unique in terms of your major. </p>
<p>So again, look at the CDS. It's a great tool for prospective students.</p>