Here’s a fast way to get straight answers from your chosen colleges to questions like:
- What classes do you recommend I take in high school?
- How competitive is admissions (how many applicants apply, and how many actually get in)?
- What’s the average GPA of admits?
- What are the average SAT/ACT scores of admits?
- How much does each factor—grades, test scores, activities, etc.—count during admissions?
Type the college name into Google followed by the term “Common Data Set.”
The Common Data Set is a standardized questionnaire to which many colleges have posted responses. I tried this with Boston University, Whitman College, University of Arizona, Colorado College and Haverford College—and found the responses for all five within the first 4-5 Google search results.