What test range to look at?

[Anonymous]

Lots of discussion around whether to submit scores if below the 25th or 50th (or even 75th) percentile...but I have a different question: the ranges when up quite a bit for many schools from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021, presumably because of test optional.

So if you assume that the vast majority of non-submitters (which is more than 50% for many schools) last year had lower-than-average scores, it skews the 2020-2021 ranges quite a bit. ....so are you looking at the 2020-2021 ranges or the 2019-2020 ranges to determine your benchmark for submitting?

[Anonymous]

Are you referring to the Common Data Sets? 2019-2020 has class of 2023 score data. 2020-2021 has class of 2024 data. I would look at both; they're likely very similar. I would avoid class of 2025 data currently available on many college websites, though that will be included in Common Data Set 2021-2022, which will not be published by most schools until after app deadlines or even later, into the spring, depending on the school. Few schools publish their Common Data Set in the fall.

[Anonymous]

If we were to use test optional data (class of 2025) to decide, the range would be constantly pushing upward. I would use enrolled data for the class of 2024.

[Anonymous]

Your assumption that the majority of students who didn't submit scores is probably wrong. Many of those students didn't submit scores because they didn't take the test because of covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you referring to the Common Data Sets? 2019-2020 has class of 2023 score data. 2020-2021 has class of 2024 data. I would look at both; they're likely very similar. I would avoid class of 2025 data currently available on many college websites, though that will be included in Common Data Set 2021-2022, which will not be published by most schools until after app deadlines or even later, into the spring, depending on the school. Few schools publish their Common Data Set in the fall.

How does a person access the "data" at the Common Data Sets? Is this the website? https://commondataset.org/

Does a person have to join the Google group? The downloads from that website are questionnaires, not actual data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you referring to the Common Data Sets? 2019-2020 has class of 2023 score data. 2020-2021 has class of 2024 data. I would look at both; they're likely very similar. I would avoid class of 2025 data currently available on many college websites, though that will be included in Common Data Set 2021-2022, which will not be published by most schools until after app deadlines or even later, into the spring, depending on the school. Few schools publish their Common Data Set in the fall.

How does a person access the "data" at the Common Data Sets? Is this the website? https://commondataset.org/

Does a person have to join the Google group? The downloads from that website are questionnaires, not actual data.

Colleges publish the Common Data Set on their individual websites, often under a website section called Institutional Research. Google the college name and "Common Data Set."

Random example: https://enrollment.northwestern.edu/common-data-set.html (page with many of their Common Data Sets), https://enrollment.northwestern.edu/pdf/common-data/2020-21.pdf Scroll down to C9 for score data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you referring to the Common Data Sets? 2019-2020 has class of 2023 score data. 2020-2021 has class of 2024 data. I would look at both; they're likely very similar. I would avoid class of 2025 data currently available on many college websites, though that will be included in Common Data Set 2021-2022, which will not be published by most schools until after app deadlines or even later, into the spring, depending on the school. Few schools publish their Common Data Set in the fall.

How does a person access the "data" at the Common Data Sets? Is this the website? https://commondataset.org/

Does a person have to join the Google group? The downloads from that website are questionnaires, not actual data.

To add, you can also find some, but not all, of the data from the Common Data Sets on the IPEDS website, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/. Search up a college name, click the admissions tab, which currently has score data for class of 2024 (i.e., fall 2020 enrolled freshmen)

[Anonymous]

OP, here. Yeah, I guess by 2019-2020 vs 2020-2021 I was referring to those admissions years (so the classes of 2024 and 2025, respectively). Makes sense to look at the classes of 2023 and 2024 I think.

[Anonymous]

Yes interesting to see the range for a couple schools is pushed up two points on the ACT when I look at VA schools between a couple years ago and the most recent data. Its going to be even harder for high schoolers to figure out reaches/matches/safeties when scores are so skewed.

[Anonymous]

Wow...Northeastern's ACT range (33-35) is the same as Northwestern's??? I know all about Northeastern's "gaming" of the rankings, but that is still a very impressive student body (if you think test scores matter...and, I take them with a grain of salt but they don't mean nothing).

[Anonymous]

Do you look at the range for "enrolled" kids or "admitted" kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow...Northeastern's ACT range (33-35) is the same as Northwestern's??? I know all about Northeastern's "gaming" of the rankings, but that is still a very impressive student body (if you think test scores matter...and, I take them with a grain of salt but they don't mean nothing).

One difference, from before test optional times, is that Northeastern does not include about a third of its enrolled class in the score data (internationals and those in the NU.in program), so Northeastern's data has always been skewed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you look at the range for "enrolled" kids or "admitted" kids?

Some people prefer to look at admitted data to gauge their chances. I prefer enrolled, as some portion of those on the higher end of admitted data often will have chosen to attend elsewhere. You cannot find admitted data for every school, though schools tend to choose to display admitted score data on their admission profiles to appear even more selective. Common Data Set only has enrolled score data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you look at the range for "enrolled" kids or "admitted" kids?

Some people prefer to look at admitted data to gauge their chances. I prefer enrolled, as some portion of those on the higher end of admitted data often will have chosen to attend elsewhere. You cannot find admitted data for every school, though schools tend to choose to display admitted score data on their admission profiles to appear even more selective. Common Data Set only has enrolled score data.

Helpful. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, here. Yeah, I guess by 2019-2020 vs 2020-2021 I was referring to those admissions years (so the classes of 2024 and 2025, respectively). Makes sense to look at the classes of 2023 and 2024 I think.

NP here.

Do the years refer to the year the student is first enrolled in college, or the year the students are seniors in HS?

For example, does 2020-2021 represent kids who graduated from HS in 2020 and entered for the 2020-2021 academic year.... or kids who were seniors in 2020-2021 and thus have only recently started college?