It’s nearly impossible to know how admissions people will assess your applications, but as you put together a college list, you need some idea about which colleges are in the admissions ballpark for you to apply.
Three pieces of information 1) the GPA of previously accepted students, 2) the test scores of previously accepted students and 3) the acceptance rates of colleges - will help you guesstimate your chances of getting into different colleges.
1. Grade Point Average (GPA)
Colleges are very interested in both your GPA and the rigor of the
classes you have taken. In assessing your chances for acceptance, you need
to see if your GPA is at the high end, in the mid-range, or at the low end of a
college’s previously accepted students.
2. Test Scores Of Previously Accepted Students
Previously Accepted Students are the accepted and enrolled freshman
students from the previous year’s college applicant pool.
The test scores of previously accepted students can be SAT or ACT scores.
The SAT I includes three sections with scores that range from 200 to 800:
Critical Reading, Math and Writing, with a best total score of 2400. Some
colleges ignore the Writing score and only use the combined score of the Critical Reading and Math tests, with a best total score of 1600. U.S. News’ America’s Best Colleges and other resources use these combined scores.
The ACT includes four sections with scores ranging from to 1 to 36, English, Math, Reading and Science, plus an optional writing section, with a best total composite score of 36.
When it comes to reporting their test scores to the public, most colleges
offer the “Middle 50 Percent Test Scores” of the previous year’s accepted
applicants. Unfortunately, College Board and different guidebooks use
different terminology when referring to those Middle 50 Percent Test Scores,
including:
Middle 50% Test Scores (used by College Board, The Insider’s Guide and
many colleges)
SAT/ACT 25th-75th Percentile (used by U.S. News’ America’s Best Colleges)
SAT Range And ACT Range (used by The Fiske Guide and others)
