<p>I have heard that many colleges boost their SAT scores to look more competative. (25% to 75%). They do this by not including SAT verbal scores of international students, scores of legacies and recruited athletes, just to name a few categories.</p>
<p>Question 1 - do ALL colleges do this? Does it exempt the top ivys where SAT ranges are probably accurate?</p>
<p>Question 2 - approx how much do you think boost is on each - 50 points, 25 points, 100 points - </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I never heard this before, but it has the makings of a HUGE scandal!!!</p>
<p>The Common Data Set rules on reporting information about colleges are supposed to put everyone on the same footing as to what they mean when they report those figures. Google “common data set” and [name of your favorite college] and see what you find. (Harvard’s info, alas, doesn’t appear to be publicly posted, but lots of schools put Common Data Set reports up on their Web sites.)</p>
<p>Yes there is some fudging thst goes on. Some of it more os less legitimate and some of it not. A lot of schools backdoor some students in through “University Colleges” or other programs that cater primarily to part-time or non-degree seeking students. They will do this especially with poorly qualified URMs and sometimes atheletes and others. You take a kid in through this backdoor and then admit him as a “transfer” or some such nomenclature after a year and then you don’t have to count his 700 combined on the SATs on the Common Data set. Pitt got busted for this a while back. Here is a link to the story.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030827pittsat0827p1.asp[/url]”>http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030827pittsat0827p1.asp</a></p>
<p>The other thing you can do is put the kid in a prep school or program for an extra year and then bring him in and argue he is not a freshman admit. I am not sure really how nefarious the practices are. They do distort the averages a little but not 50 or 100 points worth. Basically if you are a selective school but not in the top fifteen or twenty and you need atheletes and you need URMs you have only a couple of choices. Either suck at sports or get in a bidding war for the handfull of well qualified URMs out there or take a chance on a kid who would never otherwise even be considered. </p>
<p>Since the rankings very closely parallel the average SAT score of schools and since even a small movement in the rankings can profoundly influence the amount of opprobrium heaped on a school by some pimple faced 17 year old nerd and thus the number of such poindexters applying to your school you can hardly blame colleges for not wanting to take a ranking and financial hit for trying to provide some diversity on campus or a little atheletic entertainment for the alumni. That all conference linebacker taking Gold and Aids Awareness really doesn’t affect the quality of the biology department.</p>
<p>That should have read Golf and Aids Awareness.</p>
<p>Would you think SAT’s are off by 20 points (10 points each - 20 points each)? I know that there are so many variables - grades, ec’s, references, etc. etc. etc. but a movement of the SAT’s would and could change reach/match/safety. What do you think?</p>
<p>I think you look at that 25-75 range number. If you are north of that 75 number your test score are a definite plus and you probably have a shot at merit aid if the school gives any. If you are in the 25-50 range your scores are good enough if your grades are good. If you are south of the 35 marker you better be named Jose or hit the weights hard and work on your time in the 40.</p>