<p>I think I had read in the Daily Northwestern that the applicants admitted this spring for the class of 2012 had median SATs of 1468.
I have also understood that NU is among the few top-ranked schools whose Admissions Office does not "superscore," which would make comparing that 1468 to the SAT median of a school that does superscore a bit of an apples and oranges comparison.
Does anyone know whether the 1468 median this year is a "superscored" figure or not? Because if it is not, it would be comparable to a significantly higher median from a school that does superscore.</p>
<p>Don't forget, that whas was published in the campus news was probably the numbers for accepted students, which with the exception of Harvard, is always higher than the medians for matriculating students. Last year, the matriculants had a 75th percentile of 1500, so a 1468 mean seems high to me. And, of course, NU is subject test optional (but recomended), so ACT scorers, which are popular in the midwest, could choose not to send SAT scores, or the SAT scores are ignored.</p>
<p>WCASParents,</p>
<p>Whatever NU is reporting is comparable to those for most other peer schools; NU isn't one of the schools that are known to do things differently (e.g. WashU). Like bluebayou said, that score is not the average of matriculating students. We will have to wait to see what it will be. My guess is it will probably be about the same as last year's. If my memory is correct, the average of the admitted was 1463 while the average of the students enrolled was 1422. </p>
<p>bluebayou,
Actually the matriculants had a 75th percentile of 1520 last year. The 1500 you cited is two years old.</p>
<p>I'm not sure that that answers the question.
I know that we are talking about accepted applicants, rather than matriculated students (that's why I referred to the scores of applicants admitted; I don't see how they could have the other stat before Sept.).<br>
My inquiry was different. At most schools, the admissions office superscores the SAT, so if an applicant gets a CR650/M800 one time, and a CR700/M750 on another, even though both tests had totals of 1450/1600, the superscore for that student would be 1500/1600. But if NU doesn't superscore, while other schools would count that applicant's SAT as a 1500, wouldn't NU report it as a 1450? Or does NU count the scores differently for reviewing applications (i.e., no superscore) than it does for reporting median SATs (whether for admitted applicants or matriculating students)?</p>