What's new
- Five levels instead of three. Every college on your list is now High reach, Reach, Target, Likely, or Safe. A student with top grades and scores sees the most selective colleges as a Reach, and a student further from their numbers sees them as a High reach, so the two no longer look the same. Still never a percentage.
- A selectivity tier for every college. One word for how hard a college is to get into: Ultra selective, Highly selective, Very selective, Selective, Accessible, or Open. It's read from what the college publishes (its admit rate for students from your state, its admitted students' test scores, how many admitted students enroll, and how many of its first-years return and graduate), and the ⓘ beside it lists those facts with their sources. Filter and sort by it on Explore, and compare it side by side on Compare.
- Who you're compared with. Instead of "your pool", the estimate now says it plainly: "applicants like you, from Indiana, were admitted at 71%". A new panel lists every rate the college publishes for your situation: your state, other states, everyone, your major, and automatic admission where a state program offers it.
- Your plan orders itself. Your Dream college comes first, then each level's colleges closest to the next level up. The planner no longer suggests early decision for a Dream that's a High reach, and it points out where applying early would help most.
- More of your grades. Add your weighted GPA if your school has one, where you stand in your class, and whether you expect to be valedictorian or salutatorian. A weighted GPA above your unweighted one shows you're taking harder classes and doing well in them, and it counts.
- Your activities, step by step. The planner now asks about sports, clubs and organizations, work and internships, and everything else (awards, volunteering, projects) on separate screens. Start typing and pick from lists of high school sports and national organizations like DECA, HOSA, and Model UN; mark each year as JV, Varsity, or Captain, Member, Treasurer, or President. Every screen is optional.
- Depth counts. Years in the same few things count more than a long list, and when your courses and your activities line up (art classes and the art club, science courses and Science Olympiad), the estimate notices. Each of these counts only at colleges that say they weigh it. You can also say whether you're the first in your family to go to college; the site shows it, but it doesn't change your level.
- The full picture. At the most selective colleges, Reach now means every part of your record is strong and on file: grades, the hardest courses with top grades in them, class rank, and activities that go deep. If something is missing, the estimate says what to add.
- Legacy and recruiting, per college. In the planner, mark a family connection or where you are in a coach's recruiting at a college on your list. In states that ban legacy preference, the site says so and names the law.
Behind the scenes
How Quad computes a level is its own and stays private; the site says which kinds of information it uses and never the weights. The estimate never uses race, ethnicity, sex, or religion, and outcomes students choose to share are anonymized. Parents see everything their student enters.