For instance, if the school’s average ACT is 34, is there a huge difference in my chances if my score is either 33 or 34? Does being just 1 point below automatically put me as unlikely to be accepted, or would I still be a contender? Assume it’s a selective school like 25% and under.
Unless every admitted applicant has an identical score, an AVERAGE means some admitted scores have to be above and some admitted scores are below.
Google:
“Common Data Set <>”
Section C9 will list the 25th-75th percentile SAT/ACT scores of admitted students. If you’re below the 25th percentile, then you better have some killer hook (e.g., recruited athletic, URM, development case, mega celebrity status).
^ Section C7 will show what weight scores have vs. other admission criteria.
For general unhooked applicants or those without special talents, connections and stories, I’d consider the 75th percentile the median line. For the hypothetical school with a 34 average which implies extreme selectivity, admission decisions are going to be based on a lot of other squishy factors.
I’m not sure that I would agree with this estimation. The majority of accepted applicants to even elite schools are going to be “unhooked” students without special talents or connections. Development candidates, recruited athletes, and others in those categories are such a small group (relatively speaking) that they likely don’t drag down the average that much, and instead are more likely to have scores that are below the median in terms of getting accepted.
Even if we said that “unhooked” candidates need higher scores, I wouldn’t say that the 75th percentile is the median line…that’s a huge jump.