Average SATs for admitted Northwestern students rises to 1473

werner5482
Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:26:16 +0000

stockmom123:

I have often wondered what the statistics are of the 73% who did not get admitted. How many of those were ‘not even in the range’ on scores? And, of those ‘in the range’ what was the biggest factor of not getting accepted?..

what would be more interesting is the acceptance rate of those applying that ‘seem to fit’ the admission scores. Anyone have an idea?



I can tell you the admission rate for those that ‘seemed to fit’ the admission scores from four years ago (keep in mind that their were 9000 fewer applicants then, a little over 16000 and a higher admission rate at that point compared to over 25000 today).

At that time, those with a verbal of between 700 and 800 had an admit rate of 43% (50% with a verbal over 750). With less than a 700 verbal score, the admit rate was 22%.

Those with a math score of between 700 and 800 had an admit rate of 40% (45% with a math score above 750). With less than a 700 math score, the admit rate was 21%.

So four years ago, approximately 60% of applicants that ‘seemed to fit’ the admission score profile were rejected. Of course, approximately 20% of applicants who didn’t fit the admission scores also got in. So there are clearly other factors that enter into the admission process other than the SATs.

Clearly grades are a big factor in not getting accepted. Four years ago, of those finishing in the top 5%, 45% got in (52% if you finished first or second in your class, thus grades aren’t everything either). But if you were outside the top 5%, the acceptance rate was only 16%.