What Matters To Colleges

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