What do prestigious American universities consider important?

Today, I've prepared a somewhat macroscopic topic: "What do prestigious U.S. universities consider important?" The data I'm presenting comes from the Common Data Set released by three organizations: College Board, US News, and PETERSON'S. It compiles responses from U.S. universities based on forms sent by these three organizations, providing valuable information categorized into Academic and Nonacademic factors. Although the Common Data Set I'm presenting is based on 2021, the information remains relevant as major changes are infrequent.

Let's delve into the evaluation factors for applicants according to the Common Data Set:

• Academic

  • Rigor of secondary school record - Very Important

    
    

    As we have always emphasized, the difficulty level and rigor of the courses taken are very important evaluation factors.

  • Class rank - Very Important

  • Academic GPA - Very Important

  • Standardized test scores -Very Important

  Although it is optional, if you submit it, it will be judged seriously, which can be interpreted as asking you to submit scores from official tests such as SAT/ACT.

  • Application Essay - Very Important

  • Recommendation(s) - Very Important
    

• Nonacademic

  • Interview - Considered

    When an interview request is received from an applicant, an alumni will conduct the interview and prepare a results table. As the university incurs economic expenses in the process of designating alumni and receiving interview results, it means that the applicant will be carefully considered as a successful candidate, so if given the opportunity to be interviewed, leaving a good impression is a plus factor. It's important. Unless you have just arrived from Korea and are unable to communicate freely, I advise you to participate in the interview.

  • Extracurricular Activity - Very Important

    As GPA is in an inflationary atmosphere, EC activities are an important evaluation factor as the item that shows evidence other than this.

  • Talent/ Ability - Very Important 

    It is important to show award-winning experience in music/athletic/academic fields.

  • Character/ personal quality - Very Important

    
    

    Evaluation items that can be demonstrated in roles such as captain/vice captain in a school club.

  • First generation - Considered

  • Alumni / ae relation - Considered

  • Geographical residence  - Considered

  • State residency - Not Considered

  • Religious affiliation/ commitment  - Not Considered

  • Racial / ethnic status  - Considered

    Personally, I would like to say that from an Asian perspective, you should think of it as Very Important, not Considered. Since each university has roughly determined how many Asians it will select, I think it is correct to think that universities take the racial aspect into consideration.

  • Volunteer work - Considered

    I think it would be helpful when planning your activity to know that you are going to work extremely hard on the service and make it a hook, but it is not a very important factor to consider.

  • Work Experience - Considered

  • Level of applicant's interest - Not Considered

    You can see that the above data has once again proven the importance of GPA/EC activities/Standardized tests that we have always emphasized.

Harvard stands out by having no categories marked as Very Important or Important. Most factors are labeled as Considered or Not Considered, likely to avoid bias and controversial issues.

Stanford closely resembles Princeton in its evaluation criteria.

• Academic:

  • Rigor of secondary school record - Very Important As we have always emphasized, the difficulty level and rigor of the courses taken are very important evaluation factors.

  • Class rank - Very Important

  • Academic GPA - Very Important

  • Standardized test scores - Very Important Although it is optional, the fact that it will be considered important if submitted can be interpreted as a request to submit scores from official tests such as SAT/ACT.

  • Application Essay - Very Important

  • Recommendation(s) - Very Important
    

• Nonacademic:

  • Interview - Considered

  • Extracurricular Activity - Very Important As GPA is in an inflationary mood, the item that shows evidence other than EC activities is an important evaluation factor.

  • Talent/Ability - Very Important

  • Character/Personal quality - Very Important

  • First generation - Considered

  • Alumni/ae relation - Considered

  • Geographical residence - Considered

  • State residency - Not Considered

  • Religious affiliation/commitment - Not Considered

  • Racial/ethnic status - Considered Personally, I would like to say that from an Asian perspective, you should think of it as Very Important rather than Considered. Since each university has roughly decided how many Asians it will hire, I think it is correct to think that universities take racial aspects into consideration.

  • Volunteer work - Considered I'm planning to work really hard on volunteer work and make it a hook, but I think it would be helpful when planning activities if you knew that it's not a very important consideration.

  • Work Experience - Considered

  • Level of applicant's interest - Not Considered

    
    

Yale University Compared to Stanford, Yale evaluates standardized test scores as "Considered." Otherwise, the criteria are similar.

• Academic

  • Rigor of secondary school record - Very Important

    
    

    As we have always emphasized, the difficulty level and rigor of the courses taken are very important evaluation factors.

  • Class rank - Very Important

  • Academic GPA - Very Important

  • Standardized test scores -Considered

  • Application Essay - Very Important

  • Recommendation(s) - Very Important

• Nonacademic

  • Interview - Considered

  • Extracurricular Activity - Very Important

  • Talent/ Ability - Very Important 

  • Character/ personal quality - Very Important

  • First generation - Considered

  • Alumni / ae relation - Considered

  • Geographical residence - Considered

  • State residency - Considered

  • Religious affiliation/ commitment - Not Considered

  • Racial/ethic status - Considered

  • Volunteer work - Considered

  • Work Experience - Considered

  • Level of applicant's interest - Not Considered

This section pertains to the number of years spent on each subject during high school. Although specifics may vary, taking Math, English, Science, and Social Studies for all four years is generally recommended.

The submission of SAT/ACT scores is emphasized by universities, even if labeled as optional.

Princeton Entrance Exam Scores:

• 75th percentile tile for Princeton students is around 1570.

Harvard Entrance Exam Scores:

• 1580 is the 75th percentile score for Harvard students.

Yale Entrance Exam Scores:

• 1580 is the 75th percentile score for Yale students.

Stanford Entrance Exam Scores:

• 1560 is the 75th percentile score for Stanford students.

In summary, the importance of standardized test scores is underscored due to the inflation of high school GPAs. While universities may claim these tests are optional, submitting scores is often more advantageous. The final section provides additional details on Harvard's information and cautions against relying on average scores for Asian applicants. It emphasizes the significance of understanding each university's unique evaluation process.