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SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 1340 - 1460 - 1520
Middlebury: 1420 - 1466 - 1520
Wesleyan: 1310 - 1430 - 1505

ACT Composite 24th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 31 - 33 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 33.42 - 35
Wesleyan: 305. - 32 - 34

Percent in top 10% of HS class:
Bowdoin: 83%
Middlebury: Not reported
Wesleyan: 78.8%

Look pretty comparable to me.

These numbers are from older CDS, when Bowdoin was reporting scores whether submitted or not. Percent in top 10% info is not very meaningful because such a small fraction of attending students submit this data.

Those numbers are from 2022-2023 CDS.

Here's 2023-2024:
SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 1470 - 1510 - 1530
Middlebury: 1440 - 1500 - 1530
Wesleyan: 1300 - 1430 - 1500

ACT Composite 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 33 - 34 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 34 - 34
Wesleyan: 31 - 33 - 34

Again, differences not substantial.

Bowdoin has a lower acceptance rate partly because they have a much smaller class to fill. Bowdoin has 1900 students, compared to Midd at 2,800 and Wesleyan at 3,000. Otherwise, their student bodies are very similar.

And the differences go away completely when you look at the Wes scores for submitters only—the apples to apples comparison. In fact, Wesleyan jumps to the top of the list on SAT (and is the same as Bowdoin on ACT).

SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Wesleyan: 1480 - 1520 - 1560
Bowdoin: 1470 - 1510 - 1530
Middlebury: 1440 - 1500 - 1530

ACT Composite 25th - 50th - 75th
Wesleyan: 33 - 34 - 35
Bowdoin: 33 - 34 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 34 - 34

Not sure where these numbers come from. The Wesleyan CDS 2023-24 has reports SAT scores of 1300-1430-1500 for the 52% reporting.

https://wesleyan0.sharepoint.com/:/r/sites/IRDataandReports/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B511364A2-342B-44F5-9598-5AFF50E81CCB%7D&file=CDS_2023-2024.xlsx&action=default&mobileredirect=true

Yeah, the numbers don't add up....hmm.

https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/class-profile.html and

As explained earlier in the thread, for the CDS Wes includes scores for all enrolled students, even from students who don’t submit as part of their application. Forthe class profile, they include only the scores submitted for consideration in admissions.

The class profile scores are the ones to look at if you are deciding whether or not to submit.

How does a school know the scores that weren't submitted?

They require enrolling students to submit scores after the fact for data.

They do not. They do require those who self-reported send official score reports before school starts, but so does every school.

They ABSOLUTELY DO. Good lord. Kids who are admitted TO have to submit scores before they start school in August.

DC goes to a test optional school, and this never occurred. The college doesn't care about your score if you are already enrolled.

My chlid goes to Wesleyan. He was admitted test optional. This August, he was required to submit his test scores before enrolling. I don’t understand why people are arguing with me about this. I don’t know what other TO schools do. But I do know that Wesleyan does require this.

Wesleyan test scores got the drill down treatment because earlier someone wrote “for the CDS Wes includes scores for all enrolled students.” That’s incorrect. Significantly less than 100% of the class submits scores. It’s around 70% if you assume no/few students submit both SAT and ACT. They state on their website admitted students are not required to take the tests prior to starting if they haven’t already done so. It’s seems unlikely that nearly 1/3 of matriculated students never took either standardized test, but if you want to believe that, it’s your prerogative. Regardless, they aren’t requiring all matriculating students submit scores. Here are two pages where they explain accepted students who haven’t already taken the tests don’t need to:

https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/faq.html

“Wesleyan will not require any matriculating student who did not take an ACT, SAT, or SAT Subject Tests to take exams prior to enrolling.”

https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/informationfor/matriculated/

“If you did not take the ACT/SAT you are not required to sit for them”

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SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 1340 - 1460 - 1520
Middlebury: 1420 - 1466 - 1520
Wesleyan: 1310 - 1430 - 1505

ACT Composite 24th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 31 - 33 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 33.42 - 35
Wesleyan: 305. - 32 - 34

Percent in top 10% of HS class:
Bowdoin: 83%
Middlebury: Not reported
Wesleyan: 78.8%

Look pretty comparable to me.

These numbers are from older CDS, when Bowdoin was reporting scores whether submitted or not. Percent in top 10% info is not very meaningful because such a small fraction of attending students submit this data.

Those numbers are from 2022-2023 CDS.

Here's 2023-2024:
SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 1470 - 1510 - 1530
Middlebury: 1440 - 1500 - 1530
Wesleyan: 1300 - 1430 - 1500

ACT Composite 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 33 - 34 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 34 - 34
Wesleyan: 31 - 33 - 34

Again, differences not substantial.

Bowdoin has a lower acceptance rate partly because they have a much smaller class to fill. Bowdoin has 1900 students, compared to Midd at 2,800 and Wesleyan at 3,000. Otherwise, their student bodies are very similar.

And the differences go away completely when you look at the Wes scores for submitters only—the apples to apples comparison. In fact, Wesleyan jumps to the top of the list on SAT (and is the same as Bowdoin on ACT).

SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Wesleyan: 1480 - 1520 - 1560
Bowdoin: 1470 - 1510 - 1530
Middlebury: 1440 - 1500 - 1530

ACT Composite 25th - 50th - 75th
Wesleyan: 33 - 34 - 35
Bowdoin: 33 - 34 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 34 - 34

Not sure where these numbers come from. The Wesleyan CDS 2023-24 has reports SAT scores of 1300-1430-1500 for the 52% reporting.

https://wesleyan0.sharepoint.com/:/r/sites/IRDataandReports/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B511364A2-342B-44F5-9598-5AFF50E81CCB%7D&file=CDS_2023-2024.xlsx&action=default&mobileredirect=true

Yeah, the numbers don't add up....hmm.

https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/class-profile.html and

As explained earlier in the thread, for the CDS Wes includes scores for all enrolled students, even from students who don’t submit as part of their application. Forthe class profile, they include only the scores submitted for consideration in admissions.

The class profile scores are the ones to look at if you are deciding whether or not to submit.

How does a school know the scores that weren't submitted?

They require enrolling students to submit scores after the fact for data.

They do not. They do require those who self-reported send official score reports before school starts, but so does every school.

They ABSOLUTELY DO. Good lord. Kids who are admitted TO have to submit scores before they start school in August.

DC goes to a test optional school, and this never occurred. The college doesn't care about your score if you are already enrolled.

My chlid goes to Wesleyan. He was admitted test optional. This August, he was required to submit his test scores before enrolling. I don’t understand why people are arguing with me about this. I don’t know what other TO schools do. But I do know that Wesleyan does require this.

Yup. Same here.

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SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 1340 - 1460 - 1520
Middlebury: 1420 - 1466 - 1520
Wesleyan: 1310 - 1430 - 1505

ACT Composite 24th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 31 - 33 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 33.42 - 35
Wesleyan: 305. - 32 - 34

Percent in top 10% of HS class:
Bowdoin: 83%
Middlebury: Not reported
Wesleyan: 78.8%

Look pretty comparable to me.

These numbers are from older CDS, when Bowdoin was reporting scores whether submitted or not. Percent in top 10% info is not very meaningful because such a small fraction of attending students submit this data.

Those numbers are from 2022-2023 CDS.

Here's 2023-2024:
SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 1470 - 1510 - 1530
Middlebury: 1440 - 1500 - 1530
Wesleyan: 1300 - 1430 - 1500

ACT Composite 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 33 - 34 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 34 - 34
Wesleyan: 31 - 33 - 34

Again, differences not substantial.

Bowdoin has a lower acceptance rate partly because they have a much smaller class to fill. Bowdoin has 1900 students, compared to Midd at 2,800 and Wesleyan at 3,000. Otherwise, their student bodies are very similar.

And the differences go away completely when you look at the Wes scores for submitters only—the apples to apples comparison. In fact, Wesleyan jumps to the top of the list on SAT (and is the same as Bowdoin on ACT).

SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Wesleyan: 1480 - 1520 - 1560
Bowdoin: 1470 - 1510 - 1530
Middlebury: 1440 - 1500 - 1530

ACT Composite 25th - 50th - 75th
Wesleyan: 33 - 34 - 35
Bowdoin: 33 - 34 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 34 - 34

Not sure where these numbers come from. The Wesleyan CDS 2023-24 has reports SAT scores of 1300-1430-1500 for the 52% reporting.

https://wesleyan0.sharepoint.com/:/r/sites/IRDataandReports/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B511364A2-342B-44F5-9598-5AFF50E81CCB%7D&file=CDS_2023-2024.xlsx&action=default&mobileredirect=true

Yeah, the numbers don't add up....hmm.

https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/class-profile.html and

As explained earlier in the thread, for the CDS Wes includes scores for all enrolled students, even from students who don’t submit as part of their application. Forthe class profile, they include only the scores submitted for consideration in admissions.

The class profile scores are the ones to look at if you are deciding whether or not to submit.

How does a school know the scores that weren't submitted?

They require enrolling students to submit scores after the fact for data.

They do not. They do require those who self-reported send official score reports before school starts, but so does every school.

They ABSOLUTELY DO. Good lord. Kids who are admitted TO have to submit scores before they start school in August.

No, they don’t, regardless of your all caps. See second to last question on their FAQ page. If “required” then everyone would have to test and submit, but that’s not what they say.

https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/faq.html

The most logical explanation for the near 100 point discrepancy between their CDS scores and the enrolled student scores on their profile is the latter is an even smaller subset of the class than the ~50% mentioned in the CDS sample.

If you want to compare Wesleyan to other schools, use the CDS. Class profiles have inconsistent conventions so are a moving target from one school to the next.

My child was admitted to Wes TO and required to submit before enrolling. Thus my all caps.

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SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 1340 - 1460 - 1520
Middlebury: 1420 - 1466 - 1520
Wesleyan: 1310 - 1430 - 1505

ACT Composite 24th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 31 - 33 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 33.42 - 35
Wesleyan: 305. - 32 - 34

Percent in top 10% of HS class:
Bowdoin: 83%
Middlebury: Not reported
Wesleyan: 78.8%

Look pretty comparable to me.

These numbers are from older CDS, when Bowdoin was reporting scores whether submitted or not. Percent in top 10% info is not very meaningful because such a small fraction of attending students submit this data.

Those numbers are from 2022-2023 CDS.

Here's 2023-2024:
SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 1470 - 1510 - 1530
Middlebury: 1440 - 1500 - 1530
Wesleyan: 1300 - 1430 - 1500

ACT Composite 25th - 50th - 75th
Bowdoin: 33 - 34 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 34 - 34
Wesleyan: 31 - 33 - 34

Again, differences not substantial.

Bowdoin has a lower acceptance rate partly because they have a much smaller class to fill. Bowdoin has 1900 students, compared to Midd at 2,800 and Wesleyan at 3,000. Otherwise, their student bodies are very similar.

And the differences go away completely when you look at the Wes scores for submitters only—the apples to apples comparison. In fact, Wesleyan jumps to the top of the list on SAT (and is the same as Bowdoin on ACT).

SAT Composite percentile 25th - 50th - 75th
Wesleyan: 1480 - 1520 - 1560
Bowdoin: 1470 - 1510 - 1530
Middlebury: 1440 - 1500 - 1530

ACT Composite 25th - 50th - 75th
Wesleyan: 33 - 34 - 35
Bowdoin: 33 - 34 - 35
Middlebury: 33 - 34 - 34

Not sure where these numbers come from. The Wesleyan CDS 2023-24 has reports SAT scores of 1300-1430-1500 for the 52% reporting.

https://wesleyan0.sharepoint.com/:/r/sites/IRDataandReports/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B511364A2-342B-44F5-9598-5AFF50E81CCB%7D&file=CDS_2023-2024.xlsx&action=default&mobileredirect=true

Yeah, the numbers don't add up....hmm.

https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/class-profile.html and

As explained earlier in the thread, for the CDS Wes includes scores for all enrolled students, even from students who don’t submit as part of their application. Forthe class profile, they include only the scores submitted for consideration in admissions.

The class profile scores are the ones to look at if you are deciding whether or not to submit.

How does a school know the scores that weren't submitted?

They require enrolling students to submit scores after the fact for data.

They do not. They do require those who self-reported send official score reports before school starts, but so does every school.

They ABSOLUTELY DO. Good lord. Kids who are admitted TO have to submit scores before they start school in August.

DC goes to a test optional school, and this never occurred. The college doesn't care about your score if you are already enrolled.

My chlid goes to Wesleyan. He was admitted test optional. This August, he was required to submit his test scores before enrolling. I don’t understand why people are arguing with me about this. I don’t know what other TO schools do. But I do know that Wesleyan does require this.

Wow this thread has taken a strange direction. To answer the original question- probably no difference or not much of one. I’ve got two students in different schools in the “next tier” and can say they are both having a great experience, are surrounded by really smart kids, and seem to have picked places that culturally are good fits. I’d suggest you pay more attention to the latter than rankings within this set of excellent schools

Hopefully we can all agree that when a school cites its test scores it should always cite the % reporting. Wesleyan’s class profile page was written in a misleading manner by having “59%” under the admit stat section but no new percentage under the enrolled stat section (apparently up to 42%, depending on how many submitted both tests rather than one.)

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Third to last question (not second) which says “Wesleyan will not require any matriculating student who did not take an ACT, SAT, or SAT Subject Tests to take exams prior to enrolling.” That means scores are not required.

As already mentioned, their SAT % per CDS is roughly 50%. Their ACT is roughly 20%. Even if those are completely separate groups with no overlap (they aren’t), that’s ~70%. If comparing scores to another school, also compare the % reporting. The magically higher bottom of their profile is silent on the % reporting, but the best explanation in light of the CDS is that the profile was averaged over a smaller and more self-selecting group.

Wesleyan is a great school and none of this changes that. But of course the best way to compare school stats between schools is with the CDS. That’s why it exists.

I think part of the confusion in this thread is that a few schools (e.g. Wesleyan, Bowdoin up to last year) require entering students to provide all available test scores whether those scores were submitted as part of their application or not. The best way to confirm this is to compare the CDS data, which gives schools some flexibility about how they present their data, with the IPEDS data (accessible via College Navigator) which has uniform reporting standards.

So for Wesleyan's class entering fall of 2023,
the CDS data shows that 52% submitted SAT scores,
the 25/50/75 scores for SAT EBRW were 660/710/750,
the 25/50/75 scores for SAT math were 630/710/760,
while the IPEDS data shows that 28% submitted SAT scores,
the 25/50/75 scores for SAT EBRW were 720/750/770,
the 25/50/75 scores for SAT math were 730/760/770.

The difference reflects the obvious fact that students who don't submit test scores with their application tend to have significantly lower test scores than those who do. Reported scores from schools which show <50% score submittal rates (ACT+SAT) in their IPEDS data should probably not be taken too seriously. Amongst the highly ranked SLACS, most have score submittal rates in the 55-60% range (Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton, Haverford, Swarthmore, Williams) but some have significantly lower submittal rates in the 40-45% range (CMC, Middlebury, Pomona, Wesleyan).

The 28% for SAT and 14% for ACT are likely the missing submission rates from the bottom of their profile, so thank you for that!

Wesleyan may request admitted students who have taken tests and didn’t submit do so if choosing to enroll, but that’s certainly very different from the earlier comments that all enrolled students are required to submit test scores. I also don’t think those who have taken but didn’t submit during the appplication phase are later required to do so. The sum of SAT and ACT submit rates from the CDS tells us 30% or more either never took the test or that they did but didn’t worry about the consequence of not submitting. I think it’s very unlikely a third of Wesleyan students never even tried either the SAT or ACT. I think it’s far more likely Wesleyan simply requests but doesn’t truly require (let alone have a way to enforce) submission of scores for those matriculating, other than requiring official records for those who self-reported on their apps. Imagine the uproar and liability if a test optional school rescinded a student’s admission months after they made their deposit and declined other schools when they never self-reported any scores in the first place and believed the “we won’t penalize you if you don’t report” assurance during the college search and application process, all because they didn’t submit a score they didn’t use. There would be no grounds for that, as the student never wanted scores used in the first place, the school said they were optional, and the only possible grievance on the school’s part is they didn’t get to have another institutional research data point on a test they themselves say is optional. It would be about as crazy as rescinding admission of a student who selected the option not to disclose race on their app then was told after the fact that they are required to for institutional research purposes but didn’t comply. I think the term “required” was used too loosely earlier in this thread, and a college wouldn’t want to misuse the term on things that aren’t truly required as it would set a terrible precedent for things that truly are.

But the more important point was always their higher scores on the bottom of the profile reflected a smaller population than that of the CDS which itself was also a smaller population than the whole class.