What Do US Colleges Really Look For in Admissions? A Factor-by-Factor Count of the 18 Admission Factors in the Common Data Set (C7) at 53 Universities: How Course Rigor, GPA, Essays, Test Scores, Interviews and Legacy Are Rated, and How Domestic and International Applicants (Including Students in China) Can Use It
In section C7 of the Common Data Set, each US university rates 18 admission factors as very important, important, considered or not considered. We checked the original C7 tables of 53 universities: 49 rate the rigor of the secondary school record as very important and 44 rate academic GPA as very important; 30 consider standardized test scores and 6 do not; 27 do not consider interviews and 22 do not consider alumni relations. This guide explains how to read and use C7.
2026-11-11Read more
