Method

How the score is built.

Two separate layers, never blended into one number: what each university publishes about itself, and what has happened to AST applicants there.

University-published data

Each school's own Common Data Set and IPEDS filings: admit rate, GPA distribution, test middle-50%, class size. Available for every school on day one and identical for every student. This drives the baseline weighted score.

Neutral label throughout the app

AST historical outcomes

Real results of past AST applicants at that specific university, plotted against their grades and scores. No national tool has this. It lives in its own panel — it never silently moves your score.

Sample data in this prototype

The five factors

35%

IB grades / GPA

Predicted or final IB points out of 45. Converted to a GPA equivalent only for schools that publish GPA, using the standard IB-to-4.0 table. UK and Canadian schools are matched on point offers instead.

25%

Test scores

Best SAT or ACT against the school's published middle-50%. With no scores, this weight is redistributed proportionally across the other four factors — never scored as a zero.

15%

Course rigor

HL count, AP exams and advanced electives measured against what AST offers that year. Taking the heaviest load available earns full marks, whatever a larger US school might offer.

15%

Extracurriculars

Each activity is tiered by the highest recognition it reached — school, regional, national, international — plus years involved and leadership. Depth counts more than the length of the list.

10%

Selectivity modifier

A downward adjustment tied to the school's admit rate, applied identically to every profile. It is a statement about the school, not about you.

SAFETY

Score 75 and above

Your profile sits above the school's typical admitted range on most factors.

TARGET

Score 55 to 74

You're inside the range. Realistic, never automatic.

REACH

Score below 55

Possible, but you'd be applying from below the typical admitted profile.

Sources: Duke University Common Data Set 2025–26; University of Florida Common Data Set 2024–25 and IPEDS; institutional admissions reporting for all other schools. Figures for non-US universities are institution-published offer ranges and require verification before launch.

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