What do admissions committees actually care about?
FREE REPORT
We examined how each university ranked its admissions factors. What's expected changes based on the school.
Free PDF with clear insights
List of every admission factors colleges weigh based on selectivity
Advice on how to customize your college applications for schools
of our recent students gained acceptance to a top 100 school
satisfaction rating from 400+ reviews on TrustPilot
students and parents served with admissions guidance
Section C7 of the Common Data Set holds the secret to college admissions. It lists up to 19 admissions factors that schools rank on a four-point scale.
Empowerly’s Research Team analyzed 2025 data from 1,761 four-year colleges and universities in the United States. We asked and answered the following questions: What do elite privates like Stanford and Princeton rate highly? Is this the same as the rest of the schools in the Top 100, according to the U.S. News 2027 rankings? What does the median college care about most?
What is "character" and why does it rank so highly at selective schools?
Does the SAT and ACT truly matter?
How do elite private schools and public schools differ?
What the schools report
Our analysis draws on data that each school submits every year about what it values in admissions.
Reviewed by former admissions officers.
Every report is interpreted alongside counselors who spent years reading applications at selective universities.
Published in full.
We publish our methodology so you can judge the report