College Guidance Q & A

Larry receives numerous questions regarding college admissions from applicants and their families. This week he answers a question about test scores reported by colleges in the mid 50% range.

Q: How can so many schools list their ACT (or comparable SATs) in the mid 50% range as 31 to 34. Are there enough total students scoring in that range to fill half the spots at so many schools? Or are their stats inflated?

A: Yes. Indeed 75% of such a class has scores at or above that range. One caveat to consider, though, is that where many students apply without testing (Test Optional) those figures skew upwards. How much they are skewed depends on the percentage of students submitting or not submitting scores, which is reported to the same two data collectors that are the most reliable sources for the various aggregators you might read. The sources are the Common Data Set (private) and iPeds (Federal).

If you are wondering if you should submit your test scores or have other questions about college admissions, please contact Larry at larry@learningassoc.com to learn more about our program.