Colleges and universities vary tremendously in selectivity. Some accept all applicants while others accept fewer than 20 percent of those who apply for admission. Given this wide variation in standards, it's not unusual for the prospective college student to ask, "How do I know if I will be admitted?"

While there is no foolproof way to determine if a particular college will admit you, you can assess your chances of being admitted by doing a little homework. You can develop a fairly accurate assessment by carefully examining the college's Freshman Class Profile for the most recently enrolled class.

What is a freshman class profile?

Most colleges publish a statistical summary of their admission activity for each enrolling freshman class. Often the colleges describe the typical enrolling student by detailing the average performance on various admission criteria. When reporting on standardized test results (like the ACT and SAT), the school will often show these data as a range of scores for the enrolling class. These descriptions, taken together, represent the Freshman Class Profile. Check the institution's web site to do a thorough comparison.

What do I look for when examining the profile?

When evaluating the profile, you need to find where you fit in, in relation to the average accepted student at that institution. Colleges and universities often publish profile data for students who applied, students who were accepted and those that actually enrolled. Since you want to know who got in, you should focus on the accepted students. Key elements you need to examine include:

1. The average grade point average of accepted students. Most colleges express this on a letter scale (for example, A+ through C-) or on a 4-point scale in which an A equals four points, a B equals three points, etc. If your GPA falls at or above the average, you know you are in-the-running.

2. The middle 50 percent range of standardized test scores. Since average test scores can be misleading, many colleges publish the range of scores represented by the middle 50 percent of its students. For example, a college might state that the middle 50 percent of accepted students presented an ACT composite score between 24 and 28. This means that 25 percent of the students had scores higher than 28 and likewise, 25 percent of the students presented scores lower than a 24. If your standardized test scores fall in the middle of the 50 percent range or higher, you can consider yourself still in-the-running. With the creation of the New SAT in March 2005 it may be hard to make a SAT comparison at this time.

3. Number of students in the top 10 to 20 percent of their graduating class. Some schools place considerable emphasis on where an applicant ranks relative to the other students in the graduating class. Most high school profiles will report the percentage in the top 10 percent of the high school graduating class. You can best determine where you stand by comparing your class rank, if available, against the rank data provided by the college. For example, if you rank in the top 20 percent but not the top 10 percent and the college accepts 90 percent of its student from among those in the top 10 percent, you do not favorably compare with the typical freshman. However, if the admitted student class at a particular school has only half of its admitted students ranking in the top 10 percent, your rank would appear to, again, keep you in-the-running. (Please note: not all high schools compile or report class rank data to colleges. If your school does not, it will be difficult for you to compare your performance with the admitted students at a particular college.)

So, now that I know the profile, what does it mean to me?

If you are at the average (or mid-point of the range) on all three criteria, you can assume that your application is competitive for that college and that you will receive full consideration. You cannot assume, however, that admission is a sure thing. If your record falls below the average or mid-point of the range on all three criteria, you can conclude that your chances of gaining admission are greatly reduced and these schools would represent schools that are a reach for your admission consideration. If you are considerably above the average or top of the middle 50 percent range, you can conclude that your admission to that school is likely, although never certain.

What other factors need to be considered when assessing my chances for admission?

Many public institutions are restricted in the number of out-of-state students that they may accept. So, while it is important to know what the freshman class profile looks like for all admitted students, you should be particularly interested in the freshman profile for the out-of-sate students admitted to the institution if you are not a resident of that state. You may find that while you look competitive against the entire profile, you may not be competitive when the out-of-state group is looked at separately. If data for the out-of-state group are not provided, feel free to contact the admission office at that institution directly to see if the information is available.

A college may have a specific need for students with a particular talent or ability such as athletics, music, debate, drama, etc. Such a college may be willing to give special consideration to applicants who have outstanding abilities in the college's area of need. These needs are not usually recorded in the school's profile so it is your responsibility to make sure that the admission officer knows about your skills and abilities.

How do I really know how competitive a particular college is?

The easiest way to answer this question is to compare the number of students who apply, against the number of students accepted. As a general rule of thumb, the lower the acceptance rate (i.e. the number of students accepted as a percentage of the number who applied) the more competitive the college. A college that accepts only 15 percent of its applications is both a competitive and popular institution. One that accepts 75 percent is less competitive.