Tue Oct 14 2025

A college application generates a lot of data. "The transcript is the heart of the application," Emily Roper-Doten of Brandeis notes, "and there's a story in that transcript." And while that story seems straightforward, admissions data is easily misunderstood, as a grade point average, SAT score, and class rank (when available) dance with the rigor of a student's curriculum, the teacher recommendations, and the achievement norms shared on a high school profile. In an updated encore episode from Season Four, the new Brandeis dean joins AB host Lee Coffin from Dartmouth and Jeremiah Quinlan from Yale for a dive into the high school transcript and the role of standardized testing, optional or required. The trio of deans offers a primer on what the numbers mean, which stats matter and why, and how digits or percentages or letters inform an admissions evaluation.