--- title: What is OutcomesIQ? How to update existing admissions results information description: OutcomesIQ is CounselMore's college list evaluation tool. It compares your student's profile against historical application outcomes — surfacing how students similar to yours actually performed at each school. --- [Skip to content](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/what-is-outcomesiq#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [![CounselMore College Planning Software Knowledge Base](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logos/CMLogo_CCS_wide_trans-w2000-1.gif?width=1116&height=125&name=CMLogo_CCS_wide_trans-w2000-1.gif)](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/?hsLang=en) Open main navigation Close main navigation - English Show submenu for translations Select below, or search by topic - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Knowledge Base : CounselMore Support](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [CLIENT MANAGEMENT](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/client-management?hsLang=en) # What is OutcomesIQ? How to update existing admissions results information ## OutcomesIQ is CounselMore's college list evaluation tool. It compares your student's profile against historical application outcomes, surfacing how students similar to yours actually performed at each school. This allows you to evaluate admissions potential and campus fit before promoting a school to a family. ### **OutcomesIQ: Your Evidence-Based College List Builder** **The goal:** Move from "this feels right" to "this is evidence-backed."  **Important: OutcomesIQ Network Access** OutcomesIQ is available by request. When you turn on OutcomesIQ from the Counselor List or a student's College List, you can use your own student data. Access to the **CounselMore Network** requires a separate approval process. Before submitting a Network Access request, please update your historical student records **to the best of your ability**. You can update your records in bulk using the [Bulk Import Student Information](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/bulk-upload?hsLang=en) process, or update individual student records using AI Assist. Once your data is as complete as you can make it, select **Request Access** in the Network Access request popup and submit your request. The CounselMore team will review your submission and clean and anonymize the data before it is added to the shared OutcomesIQ pool. **If your submission is approved, Network access will be activated on your account.** --- ### **Overview:** #### In the **College lists**, use your professional instinct to evaluate Campus Fit. #### **![fit-1](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/fit-1.png?width=640&height=292&name=fit-1.png)** #### **THEN \>** Click into Balance with OutcomesIQ to check your instinct against all previous students who also applied to the same school - sorted by applicants, who are most **similar in academic and biography** as your current student profile. ![outcomesiqonoff](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/outcomesiqonoff.png?width=640&height=311&name=outcomesiqonoff.png) How is,  #### *similar in academic and biography*, determined? The areas of weighting, that produce a listing of Similar Applicants: High School State of Residence Test score Years per subject (rigor) AP count Activity overlap Self-assessment GPA Major **\* Maintain student high school information will improve your local data reflection** **[What makes a record complete?](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/what-is-outcomesiq#faq)** --- ###### **Getting Started: Opening OutcomesIQ** - Open a student's college list (either the **Counselor List** or **Student List** tab — OutcomesIQ works the same on both). - Switch on **☆ Balance with OutcomesIQ**, near the top left. ###### **![onoff](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/onoff.png?width=670&height=174&name=onoff.png)** - A **Source** selector appears next to it, letting you choose **Your students** or **Network** — more on the difference below. ![sources](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sources.png?width=670&height=141&name=sources.png) ###### **If you're asked to update the student's profile first** **![update profile](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/update%20profile.png?width=494&height=292&name=update%20profile.png)** You have two easy ways to fill in the gaps: - **Let AI do it for you** — paste in or attach a transcript, resume, meeting notes, or similar document, and click **Parse & Preview**. Nothing saves until you've reviewed and approved it. - **Enter it yourself** — fill in GPA, major, test scores, and outcome directly. - Click **Save & refresh results** when you're done, and OutcomesIQ will load. [What makes a record complete?](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/what-is-outcomesiq#faq)   --- ###### **Choosing where the data comes from** Once it's on, you'll see two source options: #### **Your students** This compares the student only to **your own** past students. It's the most personal, most relevant comparison — but if you haven't logged outcomes for a particular school yet, you'll see **"Insufficient Data — Click to Import"** instead of a result. ![insuf-1](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/insuf-1.png?width=670&height=307&name=insuf-1.png) Clicking that link opens an **Import Students** window where you can upload past records all at once: ![bulkimportiq](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/bulkimportiq.png?width=670&height=323&name=bulkimportiq.png) - Upload spreadsheets, PDFs, or Word docs — intake forms, transcripts, meeting notes, resumes, or outcome spreadsheets all work. (College outcomes specifically need to be in a spreadsheet or CSV.) - The system reads the files and fills in students, GPAs, test scores, activities, and outcomes automatically. - It's safe to import over existing records: only fields with new information get updated, and nothing you've already entered gets erased.   #### **Network**  ***Once Your Network OutcomesIQ Access Is Approved***  *The steps and screenshots below show the **approved Network OutcomesIQ experience**.*  ###### **Is your list balanced?** Right under the toggle, you'll see a **List Balance** panel that tells you, at a glance, whether the student's list has a healthy mix of schools. ![wellbalanced](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/wellbalanced.png?width=670&height=382&name=wellbalanced.png) - If OutcomesIQ disagrees with one of your Fit ratings, you'll see a red **"Action needed"** message telling you how many disagreements to resolve before a grade can be shown. ![resolve](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/resolve.png?width=670&height=288&name=resolve.png) - Once everything's resolved, you'll get a **letter grade** (green for a great mix, amber for fair, red for needs work) along with advice — like how many schools to add or remove, or which category to ease up on. ![wellb](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/wellb.png?width=610&height=117&name=wellb.png) ![fairlybalanced](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/fairlybalanced.png?width=610&height=120&name=fairlybalanced.png) ![unbalanced](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/unbalanced.png?width=612&height=121&name=unbalanced.png) Either way, you'll see a bar showing how many schools fall into each category — **Net, Fit, Reach, and Lottery** — compared to the recommended mix: roughly 30–40% Net, 40–50% Fit, 10–20% Reach/Lottery, and 8–12 schools total.  ![balance-1](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/balance-1.png?width=670&height=103&name=balance-1.png)   --- ###### **Review Disagreement Flags** For each school, OutcomesIQ shows whether it agrees with the Fit rating you gave it: ![agreedisagree](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/agreedisagree.png?width=670&height=244&name=agreedisagree.png) **When it agrees**, you'll just see your rating with a green checkmark next to it — nothing else to do.  ![agree](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/agree.png?width=670&height=127&name=agree.png) **When it disagrees**, the row is highlighted and you'll see both ratings side by side (for example, *Reach → Lottery*). You have two options: ![disagree](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/disagree.png?width=670&height=84&name=disagree.png) - **Use \[rating\]** — switch to OutcomesIQ's suggested rating. - **Dismiss** — keep your original rating; OutcomesIQ won't flag that school again. --- ###### **Comparing acceptance rates** You'll see three acceptance rates side by side: - The school's **published** rate - The average rate across **all CounselMore students** - The rate for **students like this one specifically**, based on OutcomesIQ's matching ![acceptance rate](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/acceptance%20rate.png?width=670&height=222&name=acceptance%20rate.png) This gives you a quick sense of whether a school is more or less competitive than its sticker rate suggests, for a student with this particular profile.   --- ###### **Getting the full picture: VIEW IQ** Click **VIEW IQ** to open a detailed report comparing your student to real past applicants at that school. ![view iq](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/view%20iq.png?width=670&height=219&name=view%20iq.png) It's organized into five tabs: ![viewiq](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/viewiq.png?width=670&height=340&name=viewiq.png) - **Acceptance** — how students like yours have fared here, plus a side-by-side of your Fit rating vs. OutcomesIQ's. - **Deadlines** — admit rates by application round (Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision, etc.), so you can see whether applying early actually makes a difference at this school. - **Academics** — how the student's GPA, test scores, AP courses, and coursework compare to typical admitted students. - **Beyond the Numbers** — how the student's activities and interests compare to what admitted students showed, and what the school seems to value most. - **Also Accepted At** — other schools that students admitted here also got into, which can be a helpful way to spot additional options — with a button to add any of them straight to the list. --- ##### **Getting application strategy advice** If you're using the Network source, you'll see an **OutcomesIQ Strategy** column. Click **Generate Strategy** and, after a few seconds, you'll get a short, practical write-up covering things like: - How the student's profile compares to typical admits at that school - What their odds look like in plain terms (never as a percentage guess) - Notes on application rounds worth considering ![outcomesstrategy](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/outcomesstrategy.png?width=670&height=345&name=outcomesstrategy.png) A few things to know: - Once generated, a strategy is saved — it won't regenerate every time you open it, though it'll let you know if it's out of date and offer to refresh it. - If you update the student's GPA, test scores, or other key details afterward, you'll be prompted to regenerate the strategy so it stays accurate. - If there isn't enough data for a school yet, you'll see a note explaining that instead of a strategy. --- ###### **What a Strong OutcomesIQ Session Looks Like** ![strongoutcomesiq-1](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/strongoutcomesiq-1.png?width=670&height=405&name=strongoutcomesiq-1.png) A successful review ends with: - Every school having a clear, evidence-backed role on the list - Disagreement flags resolved - Student profile data as complete as possible --- ###### **How Similarity Is Calculated** OutcomesIQ scores each historical student against your current student across multiple factors: - Test scores - Course rigor (years per subject) - AP tests and scores - Activities - Self-assessment profile - GPA [What makes a record complete?](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/what-is-outcomesiq#faq) --- ### **INSTRUCTIONS** ### **HOW TO UPDATE AND CLEAN STUDENT INFORMATION** Thank you for your interest in adding **OutcomesIQ** to your existing CounselMore account. To ensure the highest level of data integrity, please complete the following steps before your admissions outcomes are shared anonymously with the CounselMore network. ### **Step 1: Export Your Admissions Outcomes into a spreadsheet** 1. Log in to CounselMore. 2. Click **Account** (top right) \> **Reporting**. 3. Open the **Admissions Outcomes Report**. 4. Toggle to **Per Student**. 5. Filter for **All Graduation Years**. 6. Export the report as a spreadsheet. ### **Step 2: Update the spreadsheet and upload** Review the spreadsheet and complete as many empty cells as possible. The more complete your historical admissions outcomes, the more valuable **OutcomesIQ** becomes—for both you and the community. When finished: 1. Click **Account** \> **Settings**. 2. Select **Bulk Upload**. 3. Upload your updated Admissions Outcomes spreadsheet.   ### A Note on Data Privacy Historical outcomes are shared anonymously with the CounselMore network at your discretion. This is a closed environment built only for professional counselors — never sold, shared, or rented to advertisers, colleges, or any outside party. That standard has been in place since 2016. #### **What makes a record complete?** ***What makes a student record a "complete" student record?*** ***I'm not sure how much I should "update"?*** ### The Short Answer You don't need a complete record to contribute a valuable one. But if you're prioritizing what to fill in first — whether you're migrating old students or logging new ones — three categories matter most, in this order: 1. **Student profile basics:** GPA, test scores, and intended major 2. **The college list itself:** the schools the student actually applied to — ideally at least five 3. **Outcomes per school:** admitted, waitlisted, or denied for each school on that list A record with all three is strong. A record with even the first two is still genuinely useful. Partial records are not a problem to apologize for — they're how the system is designed to work. --- ### Why These Three Categories, in This Order **GPA, test scores, and major** are core inputs to Outcomes IQ's similarity matching — they're what determines whether a future student is "similar" to this historical one. Without them, a record can't be matched to anything. **The school list matters as much as the profile.** A strong student profile with only one or two applications attached gives Outcomes IQ very little to work with. Five or more schools per student gives enough range — reaches, targets, and accessibles — for the record to be useful across a variety of future comparisons, not just one narrow case. **Outcomes complete the picture.** A list of schools without decisions attached tells you where a student applied, not what happened. The admitted/waitlisted/denied result on each school is what turns a list into evidence. CounselMore even tracks the Initial Decision and the Final Decision in admissions applications because, as many have experienced; the process tends to begin with a waitlist. Knowing this about a school's process can mitigate expectations and provide a more realistic pathway and journey overall. --- ### Why Your Own Data Helps You First Here's something worth understanding clearly: when you're the one entering your own historical students, **you are the common denominator.** Your notes, your advising style, your student population — all of it is consistent across your own records in a way it isn't across the wider network yet. That means your own historical data will sharpen Outcomes IQ's recommendations for *you* almost immediately, even before the broader network has caught up. You don't need the network to be fully mature for your own contributions to start paying off in your day-to-day advising. Over time, as more counselors add their own historical outcomes, those individual pools aggregate into a much larger, closed dataset — used only within the CounselMore professional community, never sold or shared outside it. The more counselors who contribute, the more accurate the aggregate model becomes for everyone. This is genuinely a case where telling a colleague to add their data helps your own results too. --- ### You Don't Need to Reconstruct Everything by Hand Older records — especially students from earlier years when your systems were less structured — are exactly where **AI Assist** is built to help. Paste or upload whatever you already have (**old resumes, meeting notes, essay drafts, decision emails**), and AI Assist will read it and pre-fill matching fields for your review, rather than asking you to manually rebuild a record from memory. **For your more recent and future students, the best approach is the simplest one:** let the record build itself as you work. Logging GPA, test scores, major, the list, and outcomes as they naturally happen during your advising process means you're never facing a backlog to reconstruct later.     Learn how to set default data columns, then add **outcome columns** to the student's College List. Record the student's **chosen major** when they select each school, and update admissions outcomes as decisions arrive. 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