<p>Okay, I know this is dumb, and I think I'm just confusing myself but here it goes. If a college reports their mid 50%, doesn't that just mean that the average students scored between this range? Also, how is this different than then 25-75% range? Thanks for listening to my really dumb question in advance.</p>
<p>The mid 50% should be a single number. Like Northwestern stats:</p>
<p>mid 50% ACT - 31
25-75% ACT range - 29-33</p>
<p>So basically the mid 50% is one number in the very middle, and the other is a range of what is considered typical.</p>
<p>Median .</p>
<p>what on earth are these people talking about</p>
<p>the middle 50% range is the test score range achieved by the people BETWEEN the 25 and 75 percentiles. MEANING that 25% of students achieved scores BELOW this range, and 25% of students achieved scores above the range. 50% of accepted applicants achieved scores in this range.</p>
<p>If it's reported as a single number, it's the median.
If it's reported as two numbers, it's the middle 50% range (25%-75%) so read jimbob's post.</p>
<p>mercury is right, i was only partially correct in my answer</p>
<p>first, be careful as to whether a school is reporting numbers for accepted or enrolled students. at the lowest yield schools (those with yields below 30%) there can be as much as a 50 point difference.</p>
<p>second, and this is a small point, the 25-75 numbers (accepted or enrolled) are essentially rounded up. specifically, the 25th percentile reflects the score that 25 percent of students scored below and the 75th reflects the same for 75 percent. given the limited number of possible sat scores, this essentially means that scores are always rounded up to the nearest 10.</p>