After a little bit of web scraping and programming…
Factor VI=3 I=2 C=1 NC=0 Unk Avg
HS course rigor 52.1% 15.6% 8.7% 7.3% 16.1% 2.34
HS GPA 63.0% 11.8% 4.3% 1.0% 19.7% 2.70
Standardized tests 47.5% 19.5% 13.1% 3.8% 15.8% 2.31
Class rank 16.3% 19.9% 21.4% 24.1% 18.1% 1.34
Recommendations 14.2% 23.3% 29.1% 16.8% 16.4% 1.41
Essay 15.4% 22.2% 24.1% 21.3% 16.9% 1.38
Interview 6.1% 13.1% 31.7% 31.9% 17.0% .91
Level of interest 6.0% 10.5% 27.8% 31.8% 23.7% .87
Extracurriculars 3.6% 21.9% 35.4% 21.8% 17.0% 1.08
Volunteer work 1.1% 10.7% 41.7% 27.5% 18.8% .82
Particular talent 6.2% 16.9% 37.5% 22.2% 17.0% 1.08
Character/personal 13.9% 15.4% 29.2% 22.6% 18.6% 1.25
First gen to college .5% 3.3% 30.3% 42.2% 23.5% .50
State residency .7% 2.2% 15.2% 64.6% 17.1% .26
Geographic residence .4% 1.7% 21.5% 57.3% 18.9% .32
Legacy .3% 3.8% 39.6% 39.1% 17.0% .58
Religion 5.7% 2.2% 6.1% 68.9% 16.9% .33
Race/ethnicity .1% 1.7% 18.0% 62.8% 17.2% .26
Work experience .5% 5.4% 42.8% 32.3% 18.8% .68
Each row is a characteristic listed in the CDS for whether it is very important (VI=3), important (I=2), considered (C=1), not considered (NC=0), or unknown (not filled in by the college). The average is based on the non-unknown numeric values (this average is not weighted by anything like college size).
Perhaps it is not surprising that HS GPA, HS course rigor, and standardized tests are the most important factors.
Of those factors used in the Pew Research survey, the closest analogs’ order of importance is:
HS GPA
Standardized tests
Particular talent (~ athletic ability) *
Volunteer work (~ community service) *
Legacy
Race/ethnicity
(gender N/A in CDS factors)
- These are switched in order between what colleges use on average versus what the survey respondents said, although they may not be exact equivalents.