For the Fall 2023 admission cycle, NACAC member four-year colleges reported that the most important factors in admission decisions were grades in high school courses and strength of the high school curriculum.
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PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGES ATTRIBUTING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF IMPORTANCE TO FACTORS IN ADMISSION DECISIONS: FIRST-TIME FRESHMEN, FALL 2023
| N | Considerable Importance | Moderate Importance | Limited Importance | No Importance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
High school grades in college prep courses | 185 | 76.8 | 15.1 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
Total high school grades (all courses) | 185 | 74.1 | 18.9 | 5.4 | 1.6 |
Strength of high school curriculum | 185 | 63.8 | 22.7 | 10.3 | 3.2 |
Positive character attributes | 184 | 28.3 | 37.5 | 18.5 | 15.8 |
Essay or writing sample | 185 | 18.9 | 37.3 | 26.5 | 17.3 |
Student’s interest in attending | 185 | 15.7 | 27.6 | 25.4 | 31.4 |
Counselor recommendation | 185 | 11.9 | 40.0 | 27.6 | 20.5 |
Teacher recommendation | 185 | 10.8 | 40.5 | 28.1 | 20.5 |
Extracurricular activities | 185 | 6.5 | 44.3 | 30.8 | 18.4 |
High school class rank | 183 | 5.5 | 22.4 | 43.2 | 29.0 |
Admission test scores (ACT, SAT) | 185 | 4.9 | 25.4 | 38.9 | 30.8 |
Portfolio | 185 | 4.9 | 10.8 | 24.3 | 60.0 |
Interview | 185 | 4.3 | 8.6 | 32.4 | 54.6 |
Work | 185 | 2.2 | 30.8 | 40.0 | 27.0 |
State graduation exam scores | 185 | 1.6 | 6.5 | 18.4 | 73.5 |
Subject test scores (AP, IB) | 185 | 1.1 | 22.2 | 25.9 | 50.8 |
Do the top factors in admission decisions vary by type of college?
Across all four-year colleges surveyed, high school grades and strength of high school curriculum are uniformly rated as the most important factors. However, some differences were found between public and private colleges in the level of importance given to the following factors:
- high school grades in college prep courses
- strength of curriculum
- class rank
- positive character attributes
- the essay or writing sample
- the interview
- work
- extracurricular activities
- counselor and teacher recommendations
- student’s interest in attending the institution.
How has the importance of admission factors changed over time?
The Fall 2023 survey represents NACAC’s first data collection since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent wide-spread adoption of test-optional or test-free admission policies. As expected, the importance of test scores has substantially declined, while grades and strength of curriculum have remained of top importance.
PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGES ATTRIBUTING “CONSIDERABLE IMPORTANCE” TO FACTORS IN ADMISSION DECISIONS: FIRST-TIME FRESHMEN, FALL 2012 TO FALL 2023
| 2023 | 2020 – 2022 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
High school grades in college prep courses | 77% | — | 73% | 71% | 77% | — | 79% | 82% | 82% |
Total high school grades (all courses) | 74 | — | 75 | 81 | 77 | — | 60 | 52 | 50 |
Strength of high school curriculum | 64 | — | 62 | 51 | 52 | — | 60 | 64 | 65 |
Essay or writing sample | 19 | — | 23 | 17 | 19 | — | 22 | 22 | 20 |
Student’s interest in attending | 16 | — | 16 | 16 | 14 | — | 17 | 20 | 18 |
Counselor recommendation | 12 | — | 15 | 11 | 15 | — | 17 | 16 | 16 |
Teacher recommendation | 11 | — | 14 | 7 | 11 | — | 15 | 14 | 15 |
Extracurricular activities | 7 | — | 6 | 4 | 8 | — | 6 | 10 | 7 |
Admission test scores (ACT, SAT) | 5 | — | 46 | 52 | 54 | — | 56 | 58 | 56 |
Portfolio | 5 | — | 6 | 5 | 6 | — | 7 | 6 | 5 |
High school class rank | 5 | — | 9 | 9 | 9 | — | 14 | 15 | 13 |
Interview | 4 | — | 6 | 4 | 5 | — | 4 | 8 | 7 |
State graduation exam scores | 2 | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Work | 2 | — | 4 | 2 | 3 | — | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Subject test scores (AP, IB) | 1 | — | 6 | 4 | 7 | — | 7 | 8 | 5 |
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