Nonacademic factors playing a large part of the admissions decision can be found in the Common Data Set. Learn to take advantage of this information to boost your ability to get into a good college. Here are a few:
Talent / Ability
Character / personal qualities
Geographical residence
Work experience
Level of applicant’s interest
It would be helpful to know that your dream college admits 5% of students who fall in the bottom half of their high school graduating class. 75% who are admitted rank in the top quarter of the high school graduating class.
Knowing how to use statistics to your advantage will help you shape the narrative when you apply. Taking trends into consideration, you will have a better platform to apply where you know the odds are in your favor. Things to look for:
Ethnicity as a percentage (are you part of a group that is trending upwards at an institution)
First generation in household to seek a college degree
Families who require financial aid (does the institution show more Pell Grant recipients than others you are considering)
Probably one of the most important factors to consider is the percentage of students pursuing a specific major at the university. If you know that 18% of students are studying Computer Science and is the most popular major, ponder where might you have a competitive edge based by not applying into the most scrutinized major.
Making college decisions shouldn’t be emotional, especially since this is data driven. Give yourself a strong leg to stand on by using this data to your advantage to be an outlier rather than a normal prospective college applicant.
Check out the CDS for Lafayette to get you started: https://oir.lafayette.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/196/2023/03/CDS2022-2023.pdf
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