Our methodology
Trust the source. Understand the context.
01 · Start at the source
Every college figure starts with that college’s own Common Data Set (CDS). NCES College Navigator / IPEDS provides a cross-check. Live college admissions pages are checked for deadlines. These are our only publication sources.
02 · Verify before publishing
The Airtable registry is the system of record. A publication mirror feeds this site. A college must have Fit Ready = true, Verification Status = Verified, and Publish Ready = true. Only the human owner, JR, changes Verified, Verified By, or Verified At. Agents and syncs never grant verification. Colleges that leave the gate are removed at the next sync; public reads refresh within 60 seconds.
03 · Keep one vintage
Each profile, factor matrix, and comparison uses one college CDS vintage. We label it on the page and never combine years to fill missing figures. Missing data stays missing.
04 · Read score bands in context
Score bands reflect students who chose to submit scores. Test-optional submitters are self-selected; their bands do not represent all enrolled students.
05 · Explain round data
Non-ED rate derived from the college’s CDS: (Admits − ED Admits) ÷ (Applicants − ED Applicants); includes EA/REA applicants. The Round Advantage Score is published as supplied by the registry. These historical ratios describe institutions, not an applicant’s outcome. Missing round fields never mean a college has no binding ED round. The current schema has no explicit no-ED indicator, so we do not make that claim.
06 · Compare, without predicting
Reach: admit rate below 15%, GPA below the college average by more than 0.15, or a usable score below its 25th percentile. Safety: GPA at or above average, tests skipped or score at or above the 50th percentile, and admit rate at least 40%. Match: other complete comparisons. Missing necessary figures produce Insufficient Data. The below-15% Reach rule takes precedence over Safety. Optional tests are skipped only when the family chooses that mode and the college policy is Optional. Blind colleges without score bands use GPA and admit rate only. These are historical comparisons, not personal admissions advice.
07 · Earn the right to publish a statistic
Aggregate statistics appear only when Qualifies is true and n is at least 10 Verified colleges. The registry requires a reproducible method and a new figure or a change of at least 5%. Until a stat clears the gate, no aggregate number is shown.
08 · The operating pipeline
The operating agent uses AIQ_Sources, AIQ_Agent_Runs, AIQ_Derived_Stats, AIQ_Social_Queue, AIQ_Approvals, AIQ_Verification_Queue, AIQ_Operations_Log, and Ingestion Log in the separate registry. Approved publication copies enter Colleges, CDS Factors, and Derived Stats. Builder Prompt Inbox, Scheduled Check Log, and Daily Summary support operator workflows; their records are never public. Five planned daily junctions are morning build, midday check, afternoon check, evening reconciliation, and nightly summary. Separately configured operator-only headless routines must record COMPLETED or MISSED and prepare the daily summary. This preview does not execute prompts, publish, or run those routines.
09 · What AdmitIQ is
Independent information for families. No college pays for placement. Directory order is alphabetical; we do not rank colleges. AdmitIQ is not admissions counseling and does not tell a family where to apply. Billing and affiliate offers are off at launch.