My figure in post #16 includes a non-trivial error. If the stipulation for SAT non-submitters were set to the 25th percentile, then the impact on Hamilton’s reported average would be *17/i points.
You’re calculating the non-submitted scores were 60 points below the 25th percentile?
Another reason the BI ranking is somewhat useless is because although Hamilton superscores the ACT, many top colleges don’t. E.g., Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Berkeley, UCLA, Northwestern, Georgetown, Bowdoin, Carleton, RPI, Carnegie Mellon, Oberlin, Barnard, William and Mary, Bryn Mawr, Holy Cross, Mount Holyoke, etc.
If you want to study engineering, DO NOT count on a 3-2 program to accomplish your objective. Very few students actually complete a 3-2. There are a few dozen threads here on CC on this subject. They ALL come to the same conclusion - Don’t do it.
LACs offer 3-2 programs to attract students like you to their school. They know full well that you will probably not complete the 3-2 program, but hey, no loss to them. They recruited a student who otherwise would have gone elsewhere.
If you want to study engineering, go to a college that offers an ABET accredited engineering program. In your case, its the University of Rochester - a very highly ranked and very well respected university.
Good luck!
I did calculations for two stipulations.
If the non-submitters averaged 60 points below Hamilton’s reported 25th percentile, then the reported average would be impacted by -28 points.
If the non-submitters averaged at Hamilton’s 25th percentile, then the reported average would be impacted by -17 points.
That said, I used algebra for this calculation, but not the two variable iterative math that would be needed for a precise result.
Regarding superscoring, this should not be a factor, in that superscoring applies to the internal evaluation of candidates for admission, but would not be relevant to the data collection protocols of external organizations.
I could not disagree more with your assertion. I can’t speak for every LAC but I can for Hamilton. The integrity of Hamilton’s administration and professors is incontestable and they’re very upfront regarding the difficulty of being accepted to the Columbia, RPI or Dartmouth engineering programs.
Hamilton already receives ~ 5300 applications from the best and brightest students in the US and abroad.
To insinuate that Hamilton only offers the Cooperative Engineering Program to recruit a few extra students is ludicrous.
Offering a “Cooperative Engineering Program” where only 14 students in the past 10 years have attended is…ludicrous.
OP, if you want to study engineering, don’t go to Hamilton.
Are you saying colleges don’t report superscored ACT results to USNWR, which is where BI obtains their data.
If not superscored ACT figures, what do they report?
Superscores and raw scores represent simply flip sides of the same software. If USNWR were not to insist on raw score data that can later be reported in standardized form across institutions, then they would seem to be badly in need of a new statistician.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-collects-rankings-data
USNWR doesn’t ask for raw data but uses the information supplied in the CDS. USNWR has no way of knowing if reported ACT data is superscored or not. Oui?
Can we apply the same principles (post #28) to CDS data? If not, the CDS source itself would seem to be significantly deficient. Standardization across schools requires only simple math/statistics/programming. With respect to USNWR, they can know what they want to know, I’d think.
My point was, asserting that Hamilton uses the CEP to recruit students is inaccurate. You’re far too intelligent to actually believe that. 
I’ve been surprised over the years that more students who can afford the extra year of college don’t take advantage of the engineering program. Ditto the other LACs that offer a similar CEP. I agree that if a student is certain that they want to major in engineering, then Hamilton is not the best choice. Having said that, I’d advise a student to choose a college where they’ll be happy if engineering doesn’t work out. As you know, engineering majors have a very high attrition rate…especially for students who are deficient in math and/or writing skills
Oppsie
[quote]
A new report from The Washington Post’s Nick Anderson explores the increasingly common problem, in which universities submit inflated standardized test scores and class rankings for members of their incoming classes* to U.S. News,which doesn’t independently verify the information.*
Yes, but we knew some colleges lie. That seems different in principle from statistical issues related to superscoring.
We’re back to the same question, how are ACT scores reported on the CDS? There’s no reason to believe that colleges don’t use superscored ACT data.
Just figured out I have to pay 11k as Net Cost for UR, only generous package from Colgate and Hamilton. Still undecided, need some more advices. Also, I don’t even know if I can be a engineer.
By these indications of your own, I might still strongly suggest you choose UR or, perhaps, Colgate.
However, Hamilton would 1) set you in an environment with a greater percentage of math majors (~10X the national average) than nearly every school in the country and 2) support an improvement in your writing skills perhaps more so than any other school in the country.
Ultimately, your decision would seem to depend on 1) your interest in a direct engineering program and 2) whether your or your parents’ viewpoints have changed since you placed your original post.
@smartisan.This:
I disagree with using rankings as the primary differentiator among college choices.
But if you want a list that combines universities and liberal arts colleges, Forbes does so:
42- Colgate
50- Hamilton
58- U of Rochester
They are all so close as to make no difference. The difference in status or quality is negligible.
But there are other differences- size, class sizes, frat influence, sports, etc., that might make a real difference in environment.
For engineering, unless you want a 3:2 program, Rochester makes sense. Otherwise, the other two are also fabulous schools and you could pick based on the environment you would most like.
Stilling leaning toward U of Rochester, I feel the school is more about math and science( correct me, if I am wrong), However, the net cost of 11K is a huge amount of money for my family(extremely low-income). Colgate and Hamilton I got in with special program that offered me very generous FA. Which school provide best environment for math and science person?