Common Data Set

Summary of Significant Changes: 2016-2017

Changes to the 2016-2017 CDS document are highlighted in yellow in Sections C & H.

Section C9 (SAT/ACT Reporting) – New instructions regarding the conversion of New SAT scores to Old SAT scores using the College Board’s concordance tools

C9. Percent and number of first-time, first-year (freshman) students enrolled in Fall 2016 who submitted national standardized (SAT/ACT) test scores. Include information for ALL enrolled, degree-seeking, first-time, first-year (freshman) students who submitted test scores. Do not include partial test scores (e.g., mathematics scores but not critical reading for a category of students) or combine other standardized test results (such as TOEFL) in this item. Do not convert SAT scores to ACT scores and vice versa.

Do convert New SAT scores (2016) to Old SAT scores using the College Board's concordance tools and tables (sat.org/concordance).

The 25th percentile is the score that 25 percent scored at or below; the 75th percentile score is the one that 25 percent scored at or above.

Percent Number
Submitting SAT scores %  
Submitting ACT scores %  

25th Percentile 75th Percentile
SAT Critical Reading    
SAT Math    
SAT Writing    
SAT Essay
ACT Composite    
ACT Math    
ACT English    
ACT Writing    

Section E (Academic Libraries language) - Removal of no longer relevant sentence regarding academic libraries

Current sentence to be removed: “Library Collections: The CDS publishers will collect library data again when a new Academic Libraries Survey is in place.”

Section H5 (Student Indebtedness) – Clarification of the terminology and methodology used to populate the indebtedness grid. Additionally, a new definition added to the glossary for the section.

H5. Number and percent of students in class (defined in H4 above) borrowing from federal, non-federal, and any loan sources, and the average (or mean) amount borrowed.

NOTE: The “Average per-undergraduate-borrower cumulative principal borrowed,” is designed to provide better information about student borrowing from federal and nonfederal (institutional, state, commercial) sources. The numbers, percentages, and averages for each row should be based only on the loan source specified for the particular row. For example, the federal loans average (row b) should only be the cumulative average of federal loans and the private loans average (row e) should only be the cumulative average of private loans.


Source/Type of Loans

Number in the class (defined in H4 above) who borrowed from the types of loans specified in the first column

Percent of the class (defined above) who borrowed from the types of loans specified in the first column (nearest 1%)

Average per-undergraduate-borrower cumulative principal borrowed from the types of loans specified in the first column (nearest $1)

a) Any loan program: Federal Perkins, Federal Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized, institutional, state, private loans that your institution is aware of, etc. Include both Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Family Education Loans.

  % $

b) Federal loan programs: Federal Perkins, Federal Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized. Include both Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Family Education Loans.

  % $

c) Institutional loan programs.

  % $

d) State loan programs.

   %  $

e) Private alternative loans made by a bank or lender.

  % $

Additionally, a definition for “private students loans” has been added to the glossary that reads: “Private student loans: A nonfederal loan made by a lender such as a bank, credit union or private lender used to pay for up to the annual cost of education, less any financial aid received.”

Last updated: 01/30/2023