Temptation to Over-Emphasize College Statistics

Many high schools, at this time of year, are announcing where their seniors will be heading off to college.  But a New York Times article warned students not to be misled.  The reasons students ultimately choose to attend a particular college are complex.  Often, they revolve around money: some colleges may not offer a family sufficient need-based financial aid, others may provide more or less “merit aid,” rewarding students on their grades, SAT scores, and accomplishments. 

The truth of the matter is that no one knows in advance exactly which students will get accepted to any particular college.  There’s plenty of data providing students with an indication of their likely success, but often that information is misleading.

Even when a high school’s list includes all colleges to which students have been accepted, not just the ones they will be attending, the data needs to be considered in context.  It will not indicate, for example, if a student was admitted to a prestigious university as an athletic recruit, or as a legacy student (with alumni parents). Perhaps an applicant was given priority because he/she is a first generational student to seek a college education.

Similar issues arise when students rely on Naviance, a software program utilized by the majority of local high schools, to help identify best-fit colleges.  Naviance scattergrams show students how their peers (at the same high school) fared when applying to particular colleges and universities. For each institution, previous applicants’ GPAs are plotted on the y axis and SAT or ACT scores are plotted on the x axis.  The outcome for each applicant – accepted, rejected, or waitlisted – is indicated with a specific color and symbol, depicting the caliber of students accepted to any given school.

Research conducted by a doctoral candidate at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government found that reliance on Naviance often affected where students applied to college.  The study’s results concluded that students care a great deal about what their peers are doing and tended to seek acceptance to the same colleges that were popular with their predecessors. 

Even data published by individual colleges can be misleading. Applicants not in the GPA or SAT mid-range of accepted students at a particular institution might very well gain acceptance due to a particular skill or talent, as colleges are quite focused on building a well-rounded community. 

While students should certainly utilize all research tools available, including Naviance and those offered by their high school and potential college, they should not allow these tools to rein them in from reaching for their dreams. 

Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of Collegebound Review that, for the past 25 years, has offered PSAT/SAT® preparation and private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362