<p>Does anyone know how colleges decide which high school is "better" than another. Is there something like a specific system or database they use or is it just based on how well they know a school? Would stuff like the US NEWS high school rankings play a large role in any of it. I was told they have some algorithm that they use to and they give each high school a number and multiply that by a number associated with the difficulty of your courses and your GPA. It sounds like BS to me. Is it true?</p>
<p>Well, from my experiences with admission officers, your file is initially read by a an officer that has knowledge of the schools in your region (it may then get passed on to committee or whatever, it varies by college). But the officers that read your file have some connection to your region, and know which schools are tough and which are not.</p>
<p>A specific algorithm used by more than a few colleges is certainly baloney. More important for each applicant is what that applicant does that is nationally recognizable and comparable to the achievements of students in other parts of the country (and other parts of the world).</p>
<p>thanks for your replies. I am really curious about this.</p>
<p>bummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmp</p>
<p>One way is historically how students from the place do at the college. However, the more data driven approach is the school profile, which is compiled each year on SAT (ACT) I II, scores, AP scores, where grads went to college and the like. You may be able to get last year for your HS. We saw my D's last year.</p>