I feel like looking at your own school’s stats can be very telling. Naviance helps us see the real picture for sure. We are in Illinois and, for the kids in our high-achieving public school, places like Michigan and Wisconsin are tough to get in. 75th percentile for Wisconsin is a 30 on the ACT. Average admit from our school is a 32. 75th percentile at Michigan is also a 30. At our high school, the average is a 33. So, kids at our school may need these high scores in order to be accepted even though they are well above the school’s 75th percentile. I believe this happens because the schools only want so many kids from our suburban Chicago school and, if the brightest kids apply, those are the kids who get in.
Our students are definitely competing with each other for spots.