<p>This is the info I have collected on this topic. Although there is significant subjectivity involved in calculating AI that varies by school (role of the writing section of the SAT, role of SAT II’s, etc.), I have assumed that CRS (calculated by either class rank or GPA) + SAT score (critical reading + math)/2 = AI score. Each school deals with the writing test differently. My understanding is that the SAT II’s can help you, but can’t hurt you in the calculation. Each school has slighting different method for this calculation.</p>
<p>Below, you’ll see the dynamic between the AI points given for schools that use class rank versus schools that only calculate GPA. Links to the tables used to calculate this info are below.</p>
<p>Difference In AI Score Using Class Rank versus GPA</p>
<p>GPA AI Points SAT Score (CR + M) To Get To AI of 200
3,0 Unweighted GPA 67 AI points 1330
3.0 Weighted GPA 63 AI points 1370</p>
<p>3,3 Unweighted GPA 70 AI points 1300
3,3 Weighted GPA 67 AI points 1330</p>
<p>3.5 Unweighted GPA 73 AI points 1270
3.5 Weighted GPA 69 AI Points 1310</p>
<p>Each AI Point = 10 SAT Points</p>
<p>Class Rank CRS Calculation (graduating of class size of 300 - 349 )</p>
<p>Class Rank/Size of Class AI Points SAT Score (CR + M) To Get To AI of 200
30 - 39/300 - 349 63 AI Points 1370
15-19/300 - 349 67 AI Points 1330
8-9/300 - 349 69 AI Points 1310
5/300 - 349 73 AI Points 1270</p>
<p>The big point here is that at for a school that does not calculate class rank, a 3.0 unweighted or a 3.3 weighted GPA gets you 67 AI points. In a school calculating class rank, to get these same 67 points, a student must finish 15-19 out of a class of 300 - 349. In how many s schools will a 3.0 unweighted or a 3.3 weighted GPA put you in the top 5% of the class?</p>
<p>Although this looks cut and dried, it is not. Class rank is class rank, calculated by the high school and not subject to recalculation by the admissions office. If your school does not calculate class rank and GPA is used, it raises the question of how GPA is calculated. The school calculates a GPA, but this is recalculated by the admissions office (sometimes with help/assistance/lobbying of the coach, depending on how interested he is in the candidate and the importance of the sport at the school - helmet sports and basketball to the front of the line). As a rule, only core academic subjects are used - no PE, extracurricular arts, etc. In addition, if the student has transferred, reclassed, or repeated subjects, it becomes subjective as to how this influences the GPA calculation. Last, and this may be where “challenging” schools get a leg up, it all comes down to the AI that the admissions office is willing to say yes to. The difference between a 3.0 and a 3.5 GPA is 4 AI points, or 40 SAT points to compensate for the difference between the GPAs and still get to the same AI. If the admissions office has a goal of a 200 AI point average for its non-football athletes, it has the latitude to take some under and some over this average, as long it gets to the average. Remember, the lowest possible AI they can take by Ivy standards is 171. They have their internal goals by team and their own practices regarding how they treat students with special situations, including the school they are from and their past track record with students from that school. At the end of admissions process, the admissions officers from all of the Ivies meet and compare the profiles of admitted classes, including the athletes. If you had to defend the admission of a low AI, it would be much easier if the applicant comes from a school that all of the Ivies have respect for and a track record of successful prior admittees. Again, helmet sports and basketball favored. Often athletes on teams that traditionally have high AIs (crew comes to mind) serve as “boosters” to allow sports with traditionally lower AI’s (helmet sports, basketball) to admit targeted athletes with lower AIs. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, it all has to start with the coach falling in love with you. An AI of 200 put you one standard deviation below the average admitted applicant of HYP. And those admittees were, on average, 1 out of 20 applicants, all of whom had great grades, SATs, extracurriculars, etc. This is an opportunity because the school has the desire to have athletic teams that are competitive and sports participation is viewed as an important part of their educational experience. They want sports to be a part of their community. And you still have to have very good grades, SATs, extracurriculars, etc. Once the coach buys into you, it comes down to the influence the coach has on the admissions process (significant in the case of Amaker at Harvard in recent years) and the relative importance that the school places on sports in general and your sport in particular (in basketball, high for Cornell, Princeton and Penn). The higher the degree of coach influence and the importance of the sport at the school, the more subjective the AI calculation can become.</p>
<p>And guess what? This can work to the benefit of exceptional students in non-helmet/basketball sports. For every 185 AI football player that is admitted to a HYP, a 215 AI rower or tennis player is pulled out of the 20,000 applicant pool and is admitted over the many applicants with 215 AI’s that don’t have a sport in their profile.</p>
<p>I hope this is useful. Anyone else with more, better, or different info, jump right in.</p>
<p>Links for GPA CRS calculation and class rank calculation</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.academicrecruits.com/crs%20final.pdf[/url]”>http://www.academicrecruits.com/crs%20final.pdf</a></p>
<p>[Determining</a> your Converted Rank Score](<a href=“http://home.comcast.net/~charles517/crs449.html]Determining”>http://home.comcast.net/~charles517/crs449.html)</p>