<p>JHS, Funny thing is that they do all you say. There is even a discipline called “institutional research” that studies things like this and much more.</p>
<p>At the same time, the folks doing admissions are often not specialists, and can’t help but let their biases enter into the decision process. </p>
<p>So there may be hope for the poor UofC grad with the beastly reputation.</p>
<p>I should add that my own D, in an interview with folks for a major scholarship, was asked quite a few questions about how difficult UofC was reputed to be. And they seemed very impressed with a UofC background, even though they deal with HYPS types all the time, both in the scholarship competition and professionally. </p>
<p>So more and more I am thinking the UofC reputation is of benefit to students…</p>