Use With Caution: Scattergrams as a Predictor of College Admissions

Updated: January 2023

Students and parents frequently reference their (or their child’s) admissions chances based on the Scattergrams displayed in Naviance, the online counseling tool at their high school.  We always caution that Scattergrams tell a very limited story and that they should be utilized with the following context.   

To the uninitiated, Scattergrams plot the admissions decisions received by previous students who applied from that high school to a particular college or university.  The Scattergram graph uses the X-axis for standardized test scores and the Y-axis for GPA to give prospective students a snapshot of their chances for admission. 

Some key things to keep in mind about the limits of Scattergrams:

•  Often, admission results are self-reported by the student. There are no controls in place for the accuracy of results!

• The data is collected over preceding years and is a very small sample size.  Most colleges are getting more selective each year, so a student that was admitted even a year or two ago might not be admitted in the current or upcoming admissions cycle.

• The two variables used, GPA and test scores, are frequently not the two most important factors considered by colleges.  More schools than ever are now test-optional. Most schools will look closely at academic rigor and like to see it on an upward trajectory over the four years of high school.  Many give important consideration to the essay and extracurriculars.  Colleges have their own enrollment objectives that can change from year to year. Additionally, there’s no way of knowing whether the students included on the Scattergram were recruited athletes, legacies, or had another “hook” desired by the college or university.

• Scattergrams usually don’t reveal whether the student applied Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision, which can significantly affect one’s admission chances.

• The GPA utilized for Scattergrams is usually the student’s final GPA after senior year, not the GPA they used when submitting applications in the fall of senior year.  Many times, their final GPA is lower due to Senior Slide or Senior Slump in the spring.  Therefore, GPAs on the Scattergram may be skewed lower.

It’s important to keep in mind that Scattergrams offer a VERY limited window into the admissions outcomes for the given group of students. The breadth of variables upon which colleges base their decisions is not reflected in this simple diagram.  For colleges or universities that are more numbers-driven, they may be more useful. For highly selective schools and those that read more holistically, Scattergrams are less useful as outcomes are harder to predict based on these two variables.

Use Scattergrams with caution!

I've Been Deferred. What Do I Do Now?

Q:  I was deferred from my early action school. I really thought that I would get in. What should I do now?

A:  For many students, deferral seems like being in limbo – “do they want me or not?” Deferrals, however, can sometimes provide a second chance for those who understand the process. 

When a college informs you that your application has been deferred, they are often saying, in effect, that they’d like more information before they make a final decision. Sometimes, they want to know more about you as an applicant: Are you really interested in attending if you get in? Is your upward grade trajectory going to continue? Will you have additional test scores to consider? On the other hand, sometimes it’s the college that wants to do some more data gathering: What is the regular decision pool going to look like? Will they make their targeted numbers? Do they want to avoid taking too many students early? We’ve even heard of admission offices deferring applicants that they simply couldn’t get to read because of an unusually high number of applications.

Of course, you don’t know which scenario is the reason why you were deferred, so it’s probably best to assume the first. Read the deferral letter carefully and follow the directions that they give you. Some schools ask you not to send any additional letters or documentation. Others ask for updates. If they do, sending improved grades in challenging courses is definitely a plus! Be sure that your senior year grades reflect your hard work, and ask your school counselor to send updated marking period grades to the college as soon as they are ready. You can also ask a senior year teacher to write a letter on your behalf if this teacher can comment positively on your continued growth and achievement.

Next, send updates of significant new achievements that occur during your senior year: perhaps a copy of an article you wrote for your local newspaper or an honor or award you received. 

Finally, review the list of colleges to which you applied. Check to be sure that your list is realistic and that you’ll have choices in the spring… and remember that for every student, there are many schools that offer a perfect fit.

Is It More Competitive to Gain Admission as a Computer Science Major?

Move over biology - computer science is the hot new major!

The numbers are staggering. From 2011 to 2021, The University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering saw a 400% increase in interest in studying computer science. At the University of Wisconsin — Madison? 800%!

Naturally, admission rates reflect this popularity. Last year, out-of-state students applying directly to CS at the University of Washington faced a 3% acceptance rate. At Carnegie Mellon, the admit rate to CS was 5%.

Once on campus, it’s still competitive. A recent article in the New York Times, “The Hard Part of Computer Science? Getting into Class,” highlights the issues many computer science majors have getting the classes they need to graduate. “It’s a cutthroat race to register for classes,” one comp sci student shared.

So what should you do if you want to pursue computer science in college?

• Diversify your list. We always tell computer science applicants to ensure that they have plenty of safety schools on their list. And dig deeper into the admission rates for computer science versus the overall admission rate to make sure that your “safety” school isn’t actually a reach.

• Consider alternative majors. Plenty of students land lucrative tech jobs with alternate majors such as Applied and Computational Mathematics, Data Science, or Digital Arts and Media. Others choose to minor in computer science, pairing it with majors such as economics, physics, or engineering.

• Work to develop your “CS Fingerprint.” Successful CS applicants tend to have robust resumes and diverse experiences outside of the classroom. Yes, they can code, but they have already begun to use their skills to make an impact: developing apps for local non-profits, assisting businesses with website maintenance or database development, and participating in hack-a-thons, robotics tournaments, and science fair competitions.

HELP, Typo in my Common App!!

Q: I submitted my Common Application a few weeks ago. When I looked back at it again, I noticed a typo in my activities. What do I do?

A: A college representative was visiting our office a few weeks ago, and we asked the same question of her. "Students need to realize that we are human too! We are far more understanding than they think!"

Mistakes happen all the time! 

So, what should you do if you discover an error in an application that has already been submitted? If it absolutely needs to be corrected, such as an incorrect essay version or a glaring typo, the student should call the school and ask what their policy is for correcting the mistake. Often, the college will have the student email the change to the general admission email -- an admission staff member can then make the adjustment on their end, sometimes even before the file has been reviewed. If the error is more of an oops than egregious, it can be a harder call. Sometimes, it is better just to let it go. Pointing out the error may draw more attention to it, which could be a bad thing.

"I totally get it! These kids are juggling so much," said the rep. "Even calling us the wrong name in a supplement, I'll let go if the rest of the application is strong."

Admission officers review an application in under ten minutes! So take a deep breath and relax! Most of the time, they won’t even notice!

Five Mistakes to Avoid BEFORE Starting Your Résumé

Updated: November, 2022

Submitting a résumé with your college application can be an effective way to share more about yourself with admission officers. There will be a space for you to list your different activities on the main college application, Common App. However, this section only allows students to list ten activities and write 150 characters for each activity. This amount of space will be sufficient for some students and very limiting for others. If you think you’re a part of the latter group, consider putting together a college résumé. Before you begin writing yours, check out our five big mistakes to avoid.

 Make Sure Your Colleges Allow You to Submit a Résumé

Some schools welcome students to submit a résumé, while others prefer applicants submit just the normal activities section on the application. You can check on your schools of interest in two ways. The first is creating a Common App account and adding colleges onto the application. Once you add the schools, you can click on each of them on the left-hand side, click Questions, and look to see if there’s a space that says, “If you wish to submit your résumé, you may upload it here.” There’s usually an “Upload” button underneath it.

The second way would be to look up all your colleges’ admission websites and see if they list a résumé as one of the application requirements or if you are able to upload one to your applicant portal after submission of your application.

 Think Twice Before Listing Pre-High School Activities

We get this question a lot: “What if I played piano until 8th grade?”

A general rule of thumb is to list activities and accomplishments starting from your freshman year of high school. Admission officers are more curious about what you’ve done recently rather than what you were interested in a long time ago. One exception to this rule could be listing activities that you started pre-high school and continue to do now. By including these, you can show you’ve made a deep commitment to an activity as opposed to a passive commitment. Another exception is if you had an outstanding accomplishment pre-high school. For example, if you won a state or national competition in piano in 8th grade or starred in a popular sitcom, you could consider listing it.

At the end of the day, you should be more focused on what you’re doing now rather than relying on past activities.

 List Everything First and Cut Later

Students sometimes feel like some of their extracurriculars aren’t good enough to put on their résumé. While this might end up being true, we highly encourage students to list everything first and then decide later. Take some time to think more deeply about your activities. You might find that certain ones that you originally questioned are actually a great reflection of who you are. You won’t know until you mull it over for a bit, and if you never list the activity, you might end up forgetting about it later. Give things a chance and give yourself credit for the great things you’ve done.

Don’t Go Without a Plan

You’ve listed your activities. Now what? Do you just plop them onto the résumé? Before doing so, come up with a plan. What are the qualities you want admission officers to take away from reading your résumé? Do you want them to know you have extensive experience in the communications field? Do you want to highlight your strength in coding? Consider different skills or qualities that are important to you and use them as categories to group your activities together on your résumé.

In a Résumé, Looks Matter

If you look up examples of poorly formatted résumés versus well-formatted résumés, you’ll quickly get the idea of what we mean here. You could have wonderful accomplishments, but if you present them in an unprofessional-looking way, your readers may not give those accomplishments the credit they’re due.

Some of the keys to a nice résumé format include proper grammar and spelling, consistent use of fonts (including size, bold, italics, etc.), consistent punctuation, and proper spacing. Thankfully, there are many free templates available on Google Docs, Word, and other sites. There is no one right way to arrange a résumé. Sometimes people will even get a little creative with theirs. Before you get any ideas, make sure yours looks clean and easy to read.

Summer School REQUIRED for Florida Public Colleges

Florida State Colleges and Universities:  Summer Term Requirement for Undergraduate Students

While visiting Florida universities and colleges, we learned an important piece of information to consider if you are applying to schools in the state system.  According to Florida State regulations, “All students entering a university in the State University System with fewer than 60 semester hours credit shall be required to earn at least nine semester hours prior to graduation by attendance at one or more summer sessions. University presidents or their designees may waive the application of this regulation in cases of unusual hardship to the individual.”  Therefore, if you attend a state college or university in Florida, plan on spending one summer on campus to fulfill this requirement!

Recommended Legal Documents to Consider Before Sending Your Teen to College

After paying bills for tuition, room, board, and other college costs, it may come as a shock that the college your child attends will not provide you with their grades.  Officially, your 18-year-old is an adult, so, legally, you will have to seek their permission to make healthcare and financial decisions for them, along with asking them to provide you with updates on how they are doing in their classes!

 This information has some critical implications.  For example, if your student sustains a serious injury or illness, you will need written permission from your teen to discuss and make healthcare choices for their treatment with the healthcare professionals treating them.  Therefore, it’s an excellent idea to get a Health Care Proxy (also called a medical power of attorney) signed by your college-bound student before they leave for college so you can make medical decisions on their behalf in emergency situations.  Since each state has different requirements, it’s important that the document aligns with the state laws where it may be used. 

You can also get a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) authorization (also called a HIPAA release) signed by your teen so that healthcare providers can give you information about your teen’s general healthcare.

Lastly, you may want to get a Durable Power of Attorney that will allow you to make financial decisions on their behalf. 

Here is a link to an excellent article with online resources for these forms: GrownandFlown: The Legal Documents You Need When Your Child Turns 18

Thinking ahead and being prepared is prudent; these documents will give you peace of mind as you send your 18-year-old off to college.

Before You Hit "Submit" On Your College Apps, Read This

Application season is HERE! Like here, here. You probably know you’ll need to take care of the basic things like filling out the Common App and finishing your main college essay. However, if you want to maximize your chances of getting admitted and your scholarship offers, there are many more factors to consider.

For example, College Kickstart surveyed ten colleges that admit between 10 and 24% of their applicants. Those colleges reportedly increased their Early Decision enrollment by 5% (on average) from the 2025 class to the 2026 class. How can you use data like this and apply it to your own application strategy?

We hear it from students and parents all the time: “When it comes to college applications, I just don’t want to miss anything!”

That’s why our Educational Consultant Gilbert Guo is hosting a virtual event titled “Before Hitting ‘Submit’ On Your College Apps,” right before students head into their senior year. This presentation will address some of the most common mistakes students make during application season and how you can stay ahead of those in your own process! For more info or to secure your spot, you can go here to get started.

Should I work with a private college counselor?

It can be easy to get lost in the crowd!

Making the decision to work with an independent college consultant depends on many things: family dynamics, specific needs, and time. For some families familiar with the benefits of working with an IEC, it’s a no-brainer. Others wonder what the benefits would be. So we thought it would be helpful to hear from some of our current and past clients about why they chose to work with us.

• “I suppose we could have educated ourselves and done it ourselves, but we don’t have the time.” I feel the same way about doing my taxes; I could do it myself, but I’d much rather hire an expert!

• “Sometimes we would say the same things, but when you say it he listened.” Welcome to the teenage psyche! Often they do listen better to anyone but their parents.

• “We don’t know what we don’t know.” The process of applying to college has changed dramatically since most patents applied themselves. Of course families worry that they will miss something.

• “We wanted to find the right fit and having someone that had actually been on all of these campuses made all the difference.” It is like having a friend scope out the AirBnB before you rent it, but on a much larger scale.

• “College is too expensive of an investment not to get it right.” Absolutely! That’s why we put affordability first in our conversations with a new family.

• “Her schedule was so busy! We needed someone that could work with her when she was free.” We understand how packed many teen’s schedules are! That is why we work on school breaks, in the summer, and evenings and weekends — it’s when they have the time to buckle down and get thins done.

• “Working with you was a gift I gave to myself.” The high school years fly by, and having the last few years at home with your student be as nag-free as possible is a gift!

If you do choose to work with an independent college consultant, make sure that they are a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, which has stringent criteria for membership and holds its members to the highest ethical standards in the industry.