Will schools try their best to accept a 2400? Will her chances be higher because of that vs 99th percentile?
Isn’t 99th percentile as high as it goes? I’ve never heard of 100th! I truly believe that after a certain point the SSAT score isn’t a huge variable. They need to make certain that a kid can meet academic requirements, but after that they are looking to put together a diverse class. A perfect score on the SSAT alone isn’t enough to get anyone into the tippy top schools.
99th percentile is the highest possible, but 99th percentile cutoff starts at 2330ish. Would a super high score like 2398 be more advantageous than a simple 99th percentile
@Personof2017 no there is no difference First of all test scores are no predictor of academic success. They only validate that you have the capacity to learn at a high level because you are 1)smart or 2) have studied extensively.
@Center Totally agree. If you are already 99 percent, and you study harder and get 2400, you will only prove that better preparation improves your standard test score by a little, a known fact. You won’t be able to prove a lot more of your ability or character. Time is better spent to make the kid a well rounded person, or to simply enjoy life, imho. If the kid is already content with other aspects of life, and thinks getting 2400 is something fun to do, like playing a video game, then I might say yeah, why not?
Also, the admission committee in those good schools did tremendous amount of work to evaluate every aspect of the applicants. To think that they will rely on subtle difference in test score is possibly a unfair simplification of the abundance of talents and character in the applicant pool and the committee’s work.
There are students at Andover and Exeter with scores in the high 70’s and 80’s. Every piece of the application validates or illuminates the other components. Straight A’s with weaker test scores may mean that the student is extraordinarily driven (recommendations may bear this out) and not a great test taker. They may also mean the coursework isn’t that rigorous. (they will assess program of study, read essays, evaluate SSATs and use the interview to evaluate). Multiple extracurriculars with no one or two driving passions may illustrate resume padding or lack of focus. Etc
My guess is all 2400s are not equal. Admissions offices get the raw score with the score report. It’s very possible to get 3 or 4 wrong in a section and still get a “perfect” 800 for that section. For kids like this, I agree that 4 wrong = 800 or 6 wrong = 760 doesn’t make much of a difference in evaluation.
However, I would think that truly “perfect” 2400s - no mistakes on any section - would carry some weight because it might indicate that the student is beyond the test level in a significant way. Sort of like how the talent search organizations require applicants to take “beyond grade level” tests like the SAT and ACT in 7th grade.
As a matter of fact, all 2400s are equal. The “2400” is a raw score: it is the highest a SSAT test taker could achieve.
However, if everyone was to obtain a perfect 2400, the score would be given a 1st percentile. The scaled score(1~99%) is given based on how well other test takers did in relation to the raw score.
I am pretty sure that you can have as many as 10 questions wrong and still have 2400. Getting zero question wrong is high achievement. But again studying for it is, or should be.more entertainment than education.
@dankfinesse. No, 2400 is actually a scaled score. The score report will include numbers of questions answered correctly, incorrectly or omitted. I think you are thinking of percentile ranking, which is loosely tied to the scaled score. In some test administrations a 99% might require a 2330 while in others a 2320 might suffice. Nevertheless, I am guessing that the cutoffs for various percentiles do not vary too much.
There can sometimes be a stigma associated with a 99th percentile grade. Those with a score a point or two lower are sometimes believed to have greater versatility. To the OP, a 99% score is a guarantee of nothing. The schools are admitting kids with personalities and interests and passions, not robots. A 99% SSAT score and a 0% personality will get a student nowhere in the admissions office or in life.
Just to echo what has been said above : An applicant can have an amazing SSAT score and the best grades ever, and a BS admission team will still reject that applicant based on maturity and readiness.
Agreed! Let’s say: SSAT- 10 points; Rec-20 points; grades-20 points; essay-20 points… up to 100 point.
A good SSAT score just indicated that you got 10 points. You need other points to get close to 100.
Lol @cungen 10 + 20 + 20 + 20 = 70 not 100
Ellipses. Learn them, use them, love them.
There is no stigma to a 99% score. That is ridiculous. However, a 99% doesn’t get you as a standalone qualification, especially if you are viewed as too one dimensional.
I need an ice pack here… =))
Higher raw scored 99% would not mean more than lower raw scored 99%.
@Center For a moment, I thought that this is ridiculous too. Then I realized that I accidentally visited the “Chance” forum. So I guess it’s all good.
@SculptorDad I’m not talking about raw score, I’m talking about scaled score.