<p>Folks, for those of you who still like to refer to hard evidence, ;), Rank rules, not scores.</p>
<p>Example: CDS for Princeton, 2001 vs. 2005.</p>
<p>In the "considered" category (3rd category of importance) in '01 was Class Rank. In '05, Class Rank skipped a whole category, leapfrogging to "Very Important." (I didn't micro-analyze changes in the interim years.)</p>
<p>The Very Important elements (most determinant) are:
Rigor of High School Record
Class Rank
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Application Essay
Recommendations
Extracurricular activities
Talent/ability
Character/personal qualities</p>
<p>Within that above column of Very Important, there is absolutely no quantitative comparative value actually stated as to how these factors are weighted relative to the others, if they are. The only two quantitative pieces of information are the score test ranges (25-75%) -- listed elsewhere, not within the "relative importance section -- and the %'s of those admitted within the tenth, quarter, and top half of their class. What the latter reveals, btw, is that you have a LESS than 3-5% chance of admission if you are not in the top quarter of your class (even with a 2400 score), and only a slightly better chance than that if you are not within the top 10%.</p>
<p>There is no information in the CDS's regarding any 25-75% ranges for e.c.'s, essays, recs. (The subjective factors which THE COLLEGES have stated are so often the determining factors between one excellent student & another).</p>