@DadTwoGirls “I have been stunned by the outstanding quality of some of the students that have been turned down by multiple universities.”
It really is amazing what these top students have accomplished.
The average student has not improved over time and still has an ACT of about 21. However, the quality of students in the right tail of the distribution has really improved. Many of the students in the right tail were already getting ACT scores in the 25-30 range in middle school.
15 years ago, a student with a 1500/1600 SAT and the grades to match it would probably be admitted to an Ivy or equivalent school. That isn’t true any more. That is a good start, but they need an additional “Wow” factor to distinguish themselves. It is really tough to be a top student today. What they are achieving is really remarkable.