How reliable is CollegeData?

<p>I've been browsing the site because it seems like a good resource, but some of their chance calculations seem...off.</p>

<p>For example, it tells me I have a low "maybe" at Boston University (which is realistic), but a "good bet" at the far more selective Boston College. Meanwhile, it's also telling me I have "good bet" at Stanford and Cornell, which is completely ridiculous; I doubt there are more than a few dozen students in the country who could consider Stanford University as their safety school.</p>

<p>Are these just holes in their calculations, or is the entire site untrustworthy?</p>

<p>If you want to get a good idea of where you stand google “name of school common data set” and go to section C of the document. There you get to see the percent of students that were accepted, the mid 50% of scores, what the school looks for when considering applicants, and some other important criteria (including class rank distribution, GPA, etc). Do note that some school’s (like U Miami) may report incorrect data on their CDS. </p>

<p>If a school doesn’t make this document available for the general public, go here: [College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)</p>

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<p>lol [Emory</a> University Acknowledges Incorrect Admissions Data - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/emory-rankings/]Emory”>Emory University Acknowledges Incorrect Admissions Data - The New York Times)</p>

<p>Collegedata’s ACT/SAT and GPA part is not reliable. Its based on self reported data.</p>

<p>Emory also fixed its IPEDS data. U Miami has not done the same for its CDS.</p>

<p>I would doubt any “chance calculator” for highly selective schools, because their admission processes cannot be codified.</p>

<p>The data on the tabbed pages (Overview, Admission, etc.) is just a reformatted version of CDS. It’s much easier to access and interpret as compared to CDS. However, do note the school year dates given for the information, sometimes it is not drawn from the most recent CDS.</p>