DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE ACADEMIC INDEX IS?

Have you ever wondered what your Academic Index is?   Well, the  AI is a formula which is what is commonly called combines the averages of student test scores (both SAT I’s and SAT II’s) and the  high school GPA and divides by the class ranking.

Although the Top Tier schools have spent many years denying they used any kind of formula for their calculations on how to admit students,, the fact is that they have been using a ranking formula since the 1950’s called the Academic Index.  This formula, often called AI for short, has been around a long time and is used predominantly to make sure that athletes recruited to the school meet the minimum academic criteria that is ultimately reviewed by the NACC.


Most student never hear about this term unless they are applying to Division I or Division II Schools.  While this calculation has traditionally been used for sports purposes; maintaining some kind of academic standard on the various athletic teams, every school still calculates an AI for every student in order to assess their athletes for the NACC.

Why? Because the average AI of each member on an athletic team cannot be more than one standard deviation away from the average AI of the entire class  The only way a college or university  to know and show if questioned is to calculate an AI for every student.

The AI is represented on a scale of 1-240, with 240 being the highest.  There is a high level of correlation between the AI rank and acceptance rates. Applicants with 8 and 9 rankings were accepted at over 90% of the time. Half of the 6-ranked applicants were accepted, while a mere 11% of the 4-ranked were could still place in the acceptance poo. Virtually no students with a 1 ranking are admitted,  and these numbers do not include any outside achievements, awards, or any other positive information, the system is only used as it relates to grades. 

Since the number was so easy to produce, many schools begun to print the number right on the front of every student’s folder and used it to help them rank the student academically. It also creates a ranking to show that the athlete is capable of playing his or her sport.

REMEMBER:  The AI is just a statistical tool that is used for a specific purpose. The majority of students do not need to be concerned with the AI.   It does not take into account a student’s essay(s), teacher recommendations, or letters of recommendation.

If you must, you can find on line AI calculators to see where you fall,  but be careful--  it is only an informational tool used, and hold no merit to you the student  UNLESS you are going to be an athlete.

Important Note: the Academic Index is not used by all elite colleges and even those that may consider other factors, like extracurricular achievements, recommendations, and essays, equally or even more important as pure academics. Use with caution!