How to Read a psgrader Report: Tiers, Evidence, Priorities

A psgrader report is organized from the whole to the parts: an overall tier, a one-line summary, dimension-level signal lights, the evidence behind those judgments, and a short list of revision priorities. Reading it in that order keeps a single comment from turning into the whole story.

Start with the overall tier

The overall tier describes the level the draft currently reaches against the standard used for that product line. It is a reference for revision, not an official judgment, an admission probability, or an eligibility decision.

Three things follow from that:

• The tier is per product line. Common App, UC PIQ, and UCAS use different standards and different structures. A tier from one line cannot be converted into a tier from another.
• A UC PIQ tier covers the four-answer set. It is not four separate tiers, and one strong answer does not by itself lift the set.
• A "near the next tier" reading is not a promise. It means the draft has some of the next level's qualities, not that a small edit will produce a different result.

The school names attached to tiers describe the current standard. They are not a list of schools you will be admitted to, and they do not predict any particular admissions outcome.

Read the one-line summary next

The summary states the main impression the draft currently creates. For most reports it appears near the top; in some UCAS Full reports it may appear at the end of the report. Treat it as the thesis the rest of the report supports, not as a separate verdict.

If the summary and the details seem to conflict, read the evidence before concluding that the report contradicts itself. A summary can name a strength while a dimension still shows a gap, because the two are answering different questions.

Understand the dimension lights

Dimensions break the overall judgment into the qualities the report is actually assessing. Depending on the product, they may cover the story, the applicant's way of thinking, the evidence behind claims, the coherence of the set, or the authenticity of the voice.

The lights are relative to the current tier's requirements:

• Green means the dimension meets the requirement for the level the draft is currently reaching. It does not mean the dimension is perfect.
• Yellow means the dimension is not yet meeting that requirement, or is inconsistent across the draft.
• Red means there is a clear weakness that is likely to hold the draft back.

A red light is not a judgment about the applicant's ability. It identifies a place where the writing, evidence, or structure is not yet doing its job. Conversely, a green light does not mean there is nothing to improve; it means the dimension is not the main obstacle at this level.

The tier mark in the header and the dimension lights are different signals. A draft can reach a tier while still showing yellow or red in a dimension, because the overall level and the individual requirements are not the same measurement.

psgrader does not show internal numerical grades or scoring details in the report. The lights and the tier are the intended level of detail; a number would suggest a precision the evaluation does not claim.

Examine the evidence

The detailed section explains why a dimension received its light. In a Full report, this is also where quoted sentences from your draft appear. The report uses those quotations to connect a judgment to something you actually wrote.

Highlights are aids for locating a quoted sentence, not a complete annotation of the draft. A quotation may not be highlighted when the report paraphrases it, when the sentence was split across paragraphs, or when the matching panel is displayed differently on a narrow screen. On mobile, the original-text panel and the feedback panel may appear in a different order than on a wide screen.

An unhighlighted sentence is not automatically fine, and a highlighted sentence is not automatically wrong. Use the highlight to find the passage, then read the comment around it.

Turn priorities into a revision plan

The revision priorities are deliberately short. They identify the changes most likely to improve the draft, ordered by impact. They are not a complete editing checklist, and they do not cover every sentence-level issue.

Work in this order:

1. Content and structure. Does the draft answer the question, make a clear claim, and support it with specific evidence?
2. Coherence across the set. For UC PIQ and UCAS, do the parts add up to one person rather than repeat the same material?
3. Language and polish. Tighten sentences, remove clichés, and check that the voice sounds like you.

The report may describe "modification potential" or "room to move up." That is a direction, not a guarantee that a revision will reach the next tier. A new evaluation is a new reading of a new draft, not a promised outcome.

Compare is for revised Common App drafts

Compare shows a revised Common App personal statement against the original Full report, with arrows and text describing what moved. It is currently available only for the Common App personal statement.

A higher overall tier can come with a higher requirement at the dimension level. A dimension that turns yellow after a revision is not necessarily a contradiction: the draft may have moved into a level where that dimension is expected to do more. Different reports may also use different standard versions, so compare the content and the comments, not only the tier label.

For UCAS and UC PIQ, Quick-to-Full is an upgrade in report depth, not Compare. Those products do not currently offer a two-version comparison.

When something looks wrong

If a section is missing, the report does not match the text you submitted, or the output is clearly broken, contact support@psgrader.com with the report link and the specific passage. That is a quality issue.

If you simply disagree with a judgment, the report is complete, and the quoted evidence matches your draft, that is a subjective disagreement, not a defect. Support can check billing and quality, but does not provide manual scoring or re-evaluation.

For a worked example of the structure, browse the sample reports. For how to submit a revision and what an upgrade costs, see how to use psgrader and how credits and refunds work. The FAQ covers the remaining product questions.