EXAMPLE 3 We attract really good students

Colleges know that many prospective students look at popular guidebooks to decide where to apply for admission. The guidebooks print information supplied by the colleges themselves. Surely no college would simply lie about, say, the average SAT score of its entering students or admission rates. But we do want our scores to look good and admission standards to appear high. What would happen if SAT scores were optional when applying for admission? Students with low scores will tend to not include them as part of their application so that average scores increase. In addition, the number of applicants increases, admittance rates decrease, and a college appears more selective.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges adopted an SAT-optional policy for fall 2006, and their reported average SAT scores jumped 20 points. At the same time, national average SAT scores declined.