UChicago is Tops at Top Prep Schools

Data10
Sat, 02 Jan 2021 01:09:48 +0000

marlowe1:

The data also discloses that 43 percent of Harvard’s admits from all sources are drawn from this generally lower-achieving ALDC cohort. That percentage is surely higher for the prep schools. That being so, it follows that most of Harvard’s admits from the prep schools are not “tippy-top” on the academic spectrum, whatever they may be on the Fitzgeraldian golden-boy or girl spectrum. Some are, but not most. This is not merely “noise.” It is the reality of gaining admission to Harvard.

The specific numbers are summarized in the paper at https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w26316/w26316.pdf . According to table 2, 29.2% of domestic admits were ALDC and 70.8% were non-ALDC. Across the full class, 75% of admits had a high 1-2 academic rating. Among non-ALDC, 82% had a high 1-2 academic rating compared to 78% among LDCs. In both non-LDC and LDC groups, ~80% of admits appear to have a high 1-2 academic ratings. Athletes are a different story an had mostly average 3s.

Percent of Admits with High Academic Rating
Non-ALDC – 82%
LDC – 78%
Athletes – 25%

Rather than being academically weak, the more noteworthy differences between non-LDC and LDCs occur when you compare admit rates among kids with a particular academic rating. For example among applicants with a high 2 academic rating, the admit rates were as follows. Both groups are likely to have good stats and be well qualified academically, but there is a huge difference in admit rate. The well qualified ALDC kids seem to get a huge boost in chance of admission over well qualified non-ALDC.

Admit Rate Among High Academic Rating = 2 Applicants
Non-ALDC – 10% admitted
LDC – 49% admitted
Athlete – 96% admitted

Chicago doesn’t publish this level of detail, but one can get some rough numbers from the freshman surveys at the 2 colleges. The Chicago class of 2020 survey (most recent one I could find that lists legacy and athlete) and Harvard class of 2020 freshman survey lists the following percentages. I am defining legacy as having at least one parent who attended the college.

Class of 2020 Freshman Survey: Legacy and Athlete %
Chicago – 10.1% legacy, 5.6% recruited athlete
Harvard – 14.6% legacy, 10.3% athlete

There does appear to be a significant difference between the 2 schools, particularly for % athlete. In addition to Harvard having more athlete admits, I imagine that there is also a substantial difference in how influential being an athlete is for admission at the 2 schools, given that they compete in different NCAA divisions (Div I vs Div III).

How much this changes conclusions from the prep school matriculation totals is unclear. We need more information than just number of matriculating to students to draw reliable conclusions.