Scoring basics
DreamApply uses a set of components to score applications:
These components work together in a step-by-step workflow where each step contributes to calculating final scores and ranking candidates.
Scoresheets
Scoresheets are the foundation of the scoring process. They are used to evaluate and assign points to applicants based on specific criteria. Each scoresheet focuses on a single assessment area, for example, language proficiency or academic performance.
Institutions can create different types of scoresheets:
- Private scoresheets: Used by authorized evaluators, like professors or academic staff, to assess skills that require expert judgment.
- Public scoresheets: Typically used to report standardized test scores such as TOEFL or prior academic results. Applicants can fill out these scoresheets themselves while applying.
- Unlisted scoresheets: Used to capture additional criteria not covered by standard scoresheets. Unlisted scoresheets are not visible to evaluators or applicants by default, but Administrators can add applications to them as needed.
For easier management, you can group scoresheets, for example, by academic programme or general criteria like extracurricular activities.
Depending on the evaluation process, evaluators can score applicants in two ways:
- Application-level scoring: The score applies to the entire application to provide an overall evaluation of the applicant.
- Offer-level scoring: Scores are assigned to each priority within the application.
For timely and thorough review, Administrators must add applications to be assessed to relevant scoresheets. Applications can be added in the following ways:
- Automatically: Institutions can use criteria or predefined rules to add applications
- Manually: Administrators can manually add applications for specific evaluation needs
Conversions
To guarantee fair and consistent comparison of applicant scores collected via scoresheets, DreamApply uses conversions. Conversions help adjust and standardize scores from various educational systems, testing formats or grading scales. As a result, admissions teams can compare applicants using a uniform scoring system and make accurate decisions.
DreamApply offers the following types of conversions:
- Standardized test conversions: Allows institutions to convert scores from standard tests and exams like SAT, ACT or GMAT
- Custom conversions: Allows institutions to set custom formulas to adjust scores based on their own evaluation criteria
Evaluation criteria
Evaluation criteria allow institutions to specify how final scores are calculated and applied to rank candidates.
You can use several tools to define criteria:
- Weight scores: Prioritize the most important aspects of an applicant’s profile
- Scoring formulas: Calculate the overall score
- Score conversions: Optionally standardize results from different tests or grading systems
Evaluation criteria are linked to specific programmes, allowing institutions to automatically rank candidates based on established evaluation rules.
You can configure criteria in various ways. The simplest criterion may be a single score assigned via a scoresheet or that score after conversion. More complex criteria can combine multiple scores from different assessments into a single weighted and aggregated value.
DreamApply supports multi-layered criteria. Institutions can set up several sub-criteria to evaluate a specific area or applicant’s skill. These sub-criteria can be then aggregated to form a final criterion for a comprehensive evaluation.
How scoring works
DreamApply organizes its scoring process in the following steps:
Administrators with appropriate roles and permissions set up the following resources in the system:
- One or more scoresheets to evaluate specific parameters or skills
- Custom conversion rules (if required)
- Evaluation criteria to calculate final scores
Administrators set up automatic rules or use evaluation criteria to automatically add incoming applications to scoresheets, or they can add them manually.
Administrators, evaluators or applicants themselves enter scores in applications added to scoresheets.
DreamApply captures initial scores and, if necessary, further processes them using conversion rules to standardize the data.
DreamApply feeds collected and converted scores into the evaluation criteria, which define how the final score is calculated.
Based on the obtained final scores, DreamApply automatically generates a ranking list of candidates in the Rankings view.