Somebody made a really good point on this subject a few months back when they alluded to the confusion that is the CDS. Many people think the CDS is some kind of federally-mandated legal form that the schools are compelled to fill out. It’s not.
The Common Data Set (CDS) initiative is a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson’s, and U.S. News & World Report. The combined goal of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student’s transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.
So, I think everyone wants to run to the CDS as THE authority for all the numbers - THE place where you are going to find legally-compelled accuracy vs. the shiny marketing stuff. But the CDS is not the 10-K and the school websites are not the shareholder letter. Wrong analogy.
If the school is providing the goods on its website, go there and forget the CDS. As for Wesleyan, I have not done a complete review of all its peer disclosures, but I would be comfortable putting them against any school when it comes to transparency. The information they provide on their website about the class profile goes into a level of detail that I would never, myself, care about or need, but there it is.
Is Wesleyan unique in terms of these two populations of students? IDK if every TO school requires its non-submitting population to submit scores, or in the other extreme if they - Wes - are the only one or one of a few. But I confirmed again before making this post that they do, and that they publish both makes them a model of candor and transparency. Oddly, though, it has caused at least one poster in another thread to question their disclosure practices. Still scratching my head over that one. National Liberal Arts Colleges Composite SAT/ACT Scores, 2023 - #10 by cquin85
In terms of the information that I think is most helpful to aspiring applicants, it has to be the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile scores of those who submitted, because that’s the pool against which you need to compare your scores. Who ultimately winds up at Wesleyan (enrolled) is interesting in evaluating the class, but getting in is the first step.