Wish they reported the 25-75% spread for accepted, rather than enrolled, students

This would indicate what it takes to have the option of attending.

This only matters if you assume there’s a significant difference between accepted students and enrolled students. I’m not sure it’s as meaningful as you imply.

@iwannabe_Brown There is a difference, and a very significant one in some instances.
Most schools accept high(er), enroll low(er).
@byadg123
However the averages and 25%-75% ranges you see ARE in-fact for accepted students. Especially the numbers posted on the University website.

There is a difference, but should not be substantial. For schools that have yield rates >>75%, there should be almost no difference. Some schools post the admitted student stat, however, the CDS is for enrolled freshmen.

@VANDEMORY1342 - I’ve been using collegedata.com which shows enrolled.

Safety schools are likely to have large differences.

@byadg123 Okay yes those are enrolled scores. However they are usually a few years old. The ranges on the website would be more accurate for acceptance.

Broadly speaking, the yield is lower for high stats kids – they have lots of options. Colleges have to accept more of these for each one they want to enroll.

When a kid below the 75%ile stats gets in, it’s more likely one of his best choices – so the yield on those kids is generally higher. Colleges accept fewer of these for each one they want to enroll.

To see whatever a school is saying about their admitted student group, Google schoolname admitted student profile

Here is one example: https://www.macalester.edu/admittedstudents/classprofile/

They report median but not quartile. Many schools don’t report scores at all.

Most websites use year(s) old CDS information. You should search for the current year CDS for the school directly instead.

@billcsho Common data set is enrolled students, not all admitted.

Agree that it makes it confusing as the colleges tend to advertise the accepted numbers since they are always slightly higher. Differences aren’t that significant though at the more elite schools with higher yield rates.

Isn’t it what I said?

These numbers are only worth so much. Scattergrams tell a fuller story. You would expect to see data points below GPA and above SAT/ACT or vice versa. Data points significantly below both averages suggest a school actually does pay attention to non-numeric elements. Lots of schools claim that test scores aren’t all that important yet the scattergrams tell a different story.

Just a thought. Personally, I would prefer that my scores/profile placed me in the top half. College has enough issues that can derail students. However, falling above the mean may give me more wiggle room if academic problems arise.

@zannah - you make a great point. I absolutely want D’s gpa to be comfortably above the mean as I think it’s a better reflection of her capabilities. As a guy who scored 99 percentile I can guarantee that SATs don’t prove nor predict much.