Hello,
I’m torn over how much I should trust my school’s Naviance data vs. the Common Data Set.
For this example, I’ll use Gettysburg College, which I applied to through RD. Naviance suggests that Gettysburg would be a match (maybe a high match). However, the Common Data Set ('20-'21) suggests that Gettysburg is a reach. Which should I trust more?
I’m attaching a photo of my school’s Naviance scattergram. The scattergram is set to weighted GPA (to accurately compare myself to my school’s data). We have about a 45% acceptance rate to Gettysburg. I do not know how old the data is, but we have had a decent amount of acceptances to Gettysburg within the past few years.
Using the CDS or data they show is tough. The CDS is two years ba I and the data on their website is not enough.
Your SAT is fine. We’ll for two years ago. It’s in the middle. What I’d like to see is what % submitted vs TO.
it doesn’t show.
They also do not show GPA but simply rank.
One should assume the acceptance rate RD is below 48% because at least two years ago they had 43% in via ED. They don’t say the acceptance rate is higher but one should assume.
Do you have a rank ? They say gpa is important and rank less but they only show rank.
How are your ECs and rigor ? If solid top 20% I’d feel good but hopefully you have safeties.
I can’t answer your actual question but naviance is school specific I believe so I would not trust it.
No rank. According to the fuzzy data my counseling office provides, I’m in the top 40% for sure (competitive public high school); however, as a junior/senior I’m in the top 25% (upward trend).
Already accepted to a few safeties/matches, including Clark (with merit). I mention the name because I think it gives a bit of hope for Gettsyburg (which has a similar acceptance rate—of course, acceptance rate is not the only way to measure how competitive a school is).
EC’s are, according to a counselor, “fantastic,” and will “help me stand out.” No national competitions, but genuine EC’s that stand out for my high school.
The CDS data is more recent and - under normal circumstances - would be a better predictor of grades and standardized test scores than Naviance, but of course 2020-21 was not a normal admissions year. As you mention, some of the Naviance data is outdated. Some high schools have 10 years worth of data on Naviance. You should be able to see the number of students admitted from your school (though not their stats) on Naviance, broken down by year of admission. This is valuable to see if your school is trending up or down (or holding steady) in the number of students admitted to a particular college each year. Good luck!
Note that Gettysburg’s Class of 2025 admit rate was 56%. (Higher than 2024’s) Detail - Gettysburg.edu
It would be good to know the time frame of the Naviance data….aren’t there bar charts at the top of the scattergram that show
applied/admitted/enrolled data by year?
What the scattergram shows looks much higher than a 45% acceptance rate for your school, no? Based on this it looks like you are likely to be accepted.
I’m not sure what you are seeing in the class of 2024 CDS that suggests Gettysburg is a reach. Math SAT is below 25%ile, EBRW at the 75%ile, so that’s a match. The class rank data is irrelevant, because your school doesn’t report it. No GPA data, but if there was, it would likely be worthless.
Have you demonstrated interest? Beyond that, all you can do now is wait until March. Congratulations on the acceptances you do have!
I would classify it as a match-ish. One limitation of Naviance is you have no idea what anyone’s application status is - if they were a legacy, or an athlete, or applied ED, or needed significant financial aid. The other thing is you are always compared to the current applicant pool and the last 2 years have been so unpredictable in terms of the number of applications received. I think you are in good shape, though.
