The score has two parts:
- Your Chances is our estimate of how likely you are to be admitted.
- The Reliability is our confidence in our calculator's prediction. Our rating is based on the amount of data we had available about you and the school.
We use over 200 data points about you and your target college. Our unique algorithm takes many factors into account, including your grades and test scores, the academic rigor of your high school curriculum,
your extracurricular activities, personal details, and just about everything else in your profile. We also consider numerous factors about the college, including the grades and scores of students who have been
admitted in the past, the school's selectivity, the gender and ethnic makeup of the school, and others. We use data from multiple government and private sources, plus information provided by the schools
themselves.
Don't ignore the reliability score! For best results, make sure you fill out your Cappex profile accurately and completely. A reliability score of VERY LOW means that we don't have enough information to give you
an accurate rating. (Make sure your entire profile is filled out, especially your test scores and GPA.) A reliability score of VERY HIGH means that the calculator has enough information, and our estimate of your
chances of getting in is extremely reliable for the vast majority of cases. Of course there are always exceptions - the odds are never 100%, and we don't guarantee you will get into any college. You might look
good on paper but be a jerk in real life! As well, your individual circumstances and qualifications may qualify you for admission in situations where someone of comparable standing will be rejected.
Use the Cappex calculator like you would any other source - as a tool to help you plan and prioritize your college search. College is an important decision, and you'd be nuts to rely solely on what a computer says.
Always get advice from high school counselors, admissions representatives, parents and others in your college search - people who know you better than any computer can.
Comments? Think you can do better? Join the discussion on our blog.