Finding Evidence in Holistic Graduate Admissions

A growing body of research suggests that traditional, evaluative metrics like standardized test scores, GPAs, and letters of recommendation do not accurately predict completion rates. Relying on these can, more over, invite bias into the admissions process and exacerbate inequity. Departments should consider letters, GPAs and test scores carefully, and might wish to think of them in relation to socio-emotional variables that track more closely with graduate student success.