<p>What is the acceptable ISEE score (in %) for admission to Roxbury Latin? I read it somewhere it is 99% overall score, which means every student there scores above 99% for all four sections, which is very hard to believe. </p>
<p>Any parent who has a boy got into the 7th grade recently? I understand they look for well rounded boys and ISEE is not the only factor.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I have no information about Roxbury Latin, but your post is rather confused about some basic facts. The ISEE does not provide a combined percentile like the SSAT does. Moreover, even if it did, it would certainly not take scoring 99% on all 4 sections to get a 99% overall. I’d bet that 95% on each of the 4 sections would easily be 99% overall and wouldn’t be surprised if something like 90% or 92% on each section produced 99% overall (because you get some kids scoring high on the math sections and low on the verbal and vice versa).</p>
<p>There is no cutoff score at Roxbury Latin. I don’t know what the average ISEE score for students are, but i got in with around 90% for each section.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Makes sense to me now.</p>
<p>DS was accepted with scores a bit below tots33.</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>My S did NOT get in with scores above 90% a few years ago. It is a really competitive school and ISEE scores are just one piece of the pie. Good luck to your son.</p>
<p>They reject applicants with perfect ISEE scores. They like to see scores in the top category, I believe its above 91%. I believe they like to see at least one score above 91%. Its very very competitive. When my son was admitted, 11 students in our town applied, all good students, and only one was admitted.</p>
<p>My son is in his third year at Roxbury Latin (grade 9). His ISEE scores in grade 6 (for entrance in grade 7) were as follows: Verbal Reasoning-910 (99th %tile; 9th Stanine); Reading Comprehension-910 (99th %tile; 9th Stanine); Quantitative Reasoning-909 (99th %tile; 9th Stanine); and Mathematic Achievement-906 (99th percentile; 9th Stanine). His score report (under the “achievement analysis” section) indicated that he missed one question in Reading Comprehension (39/40) and one question in Mathematics Achievement (44/45). The score report does not reveal the raw scores for Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning, but when I phoned the ERB in New York they disclosed that my son got perfect scores on both of these sections. Although scores like my son’s are not uncommon at RL, they certainly are not necessary to gain admission (nor do such scores guarantee acceptance). RL’s admissions process is somewhat similar to Harvard’s: they seek students who are very bright and those who demonstrate a passion for learning in general or a special talent in particular (be it academic, musical, athletic, or artistic in nature). Character counts for a lot in the admissions decision; boys with questionable ethics and those who demonstrate intolerance toward others will not gain admission to RL, no matter how high their ISEE scores. RL evaluates ISEE scores much as Harvard evaluates SAT scores: more modest scores (say, those in 88th to 98th %tiles) may be interpreted as more impressive than those in the 99th %tile if the student who achieved them was from an impoverished background or had overcome great hardships early in life. Students from Wellesley or Weston (and comparably affluent neighborhoods) must have exceptionally high scores or particularly impressive special talents to gain admission (because they have had a more privileged upbringing than, say, a kid from Dorchester). To put my son’s academic ability in further context, as an eighth grader in Johns Hopkins University Talent Search, he ranked first in Massachusetts in all categories (Math, Critical Reading, and Combined Scores) and first in the nation in two of three categories (Math and Combined Scores). His actual scores as 13 year old were: 800 Math; 770 Critical Reading; and 1570 Combined. Although scores on the Writing section of the SAT are not considered in the Talent Search, my son scored 770 on it. He was the only eighth grader in the nation that year to score above 2300 combined. To put the academic rigor of RL in some context, my son is not a straight A student at RL (as far as I know, no one in recent years has ever achieved all A’s); what’s more, he finds the curriculum demanding.</p>
<p>HMD said: "To put the academic rigor of RL in some context, my son is not a straight A student at RL (as far as I know, no one in recent years has ever achieved all A’s); what’s more, he finds the curriculum demanding.'</p>
<p>A tad more than braggy, the note above, but the dear Mind Doctor is right about RL’s rigor. My child at RL enjoys hanging out with the geniuses there like HMD’s son; though no slouch himself at school, he’s around a 3.4 - 3.5, and had ISEE scores that were in the high 80s/low 90s when he applied in the 6th grade.</p>
<p>I have to add that by definition scores like HMD’s kid are NOT common at RL; I mean, how many students can one school have that are first in the state?</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>P.S. HMD, it didn’t occur to you but in your future posts you might want to tone down the off-topic details about your kid’s greatness. I mean, raw score information, really? You are one among many here, as is your son, and we are all proud of our kids.</p>
<p>Indeed. RL does look for very bright boys, but also emphasizes fit. We have plenty of very smart boys ‘down the street’ at BUA, for example, who have the scores for RL but who would not fit well there.
Scores are definitely taken in context of background. I would guess that anything in the 80s could be acceptable, with perhaps a median in the low 90s.</p>
<p>When I said “scores like my son’s are not uncommon at RL,” I was, of course, referring to his ISEE scores (not his SAT scores, which are obviously quite rare for someone his age). There are plenty of students every year at RL who score in the 99th percentile of the ISEE. Such scores are decidedly NOT uncommon at RL–but, again, scores in the 99th percentile are by no means a guarantee of admission (nor should they be).</p>
<p>I wish RL would reveal its admissions statistics, but, like Harvard, I suspect they fear doing so would discourage applications from lower scoring students who might otherwise be strong candidates for admission. RL does, however, release their SAT scores, which consistently rank not only as the highest in New England but in the nation as well (among secondary schools, that is). Looking at last year’s graduating seniors, roughly 27% of the class scored 800 on the math section of the SAT, while about 20% scored 800 on the critical reading and writing sections. I would venture a guess that all of these kids scored in the 99th percentile on the ISEE (and, of course, that’s not even counting the many kids at RL who score in the 770-790 range on the SAT, which, given the SAT’s margin of error, reflects academic ability comparable to those scoring 800).</p>
<p>There are certainly other schools with very high-achieving, high-scoring students, and BUA is definitely one of them. No school has lock on these students. It’s similar at the collegiate level: some students choose Stanford, others Yale, others Swarthmore, and still others opt for state universities, etc.</p>
<p>Obviously my post touched an unintended nerve with Kei-o-lei, for which I’m sorry. These posts are ANONYMOUS–how anything expressed anonymously could be interpreted as bragging is beyond me (a nameless parent bagging about a nameless child–really now, and the point of that would be?).</p>
<p>I posted the raw score data from the ISEE precisely because these posts are anonymous, and thus anyone can say or claim anything here (and some, regrettably, probably do). The ISEE is one of those tests for which relatively little information is publicly available; students are permitted to take it only once in a given year (so there are no “do-overs” for students dissatisfied with their scores). Providing details, therefore, may be of interest to parents and students alike, and doing so lends verisimilitude and presumably credibility to my post. That, anyway, was the purpose behind the details in my post.</p>
<p>I suspect, Kei, your seeing bragging in my post reveals rather more about you and your insecurities than my motivation. Enough, though. This site is about the free exchange of information for the interest and benefit of all who might be interested. It is not about one poster taking another to task for something that has nothing to do with the matter under discussion. So you’ve had your say, and now I’ve had mine: let’s agree to keep future posts devoid of gratuitous commentary and unseemly opinion, fair enough?</p>
<p>What do you think RL is looking for in its applicants, besides standardized test scores?</p>
<p>My son is a student at R.L. and he and we can unequivocally say the school has exceeded all of our expectations. All of the students are exceptional and some are very exceptional. I think because the school participates in most sports in the competitive ISL that athletics is at least considered when choosing amongst the candidates. While I believe some are admitted entirely based on intelligence, I definitely think they consider a well rounded, smart and athletic kid as a strong candidate. If the school just let in all nerds and braniacs they would not be able to field competitive teams in the many sport they participate in. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>I believe that the class is so small and there are so many applicants that they can choose the best of best. If you ask me, I’d say just be the best in all fronts as you can be. A school like this would look at test scores, GPA, atheletics, leadership, you name it. I guess the admission at a school like RL is more straightforward than at a top boarding school, where all sorts of diversity are more pursued after.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information HoopsRule and Benley.</p>
<p>I don’t think RL looks for a well rounded Child at all and don’t listen to what they say. This is how I feel it goes based on my own experience and my sons friends as well. while
it is an academic school they look for boys who have excelled at one particular talent beyond their peers whether it sports music or art. along with that they need to be able to keep up with the work load. My sons friend was accepted with much lower scores than others and is now struggling. other friends have been contacted by the school for the sole reason of playing hockey they are good public schhol students but not the best.
If your child shows a special talent and is just a good student they will make sure they do the work and will do well. If your kid is smart and offers nothing else but is not gifted he may not get in. as always it’s a nimber game and it’s what they need at the time not always a reflection on the child. make sure you son understands this well. There are tons of schools in the area that matriculate around half the grad. class to the ivies. the classes are bigger that RL do your homework and see whats really going on.</p>
<p>that is not entirely true seen it with my own eyes. they don’t always take the best of the best and you need to understand they take what they need to round out the class and build the school. Trust me plenty of better kids than other applicants are turned away. I have seen it myself with people we know well.</p>
<p>From what I have seen, RL is all about fit, once you get over a certain bar in terms of potential. My child applied for 7th, and had very high SSAT scores, plus quite strong SAT scores but didn’t get in - I"m sure that it was because he wouldn’t fit at the school - among other things, he is not all interested in the usual team sports. Given RL’s modest size, given the sports league that they are in, I think that they need all the kids to be at least fairly sports-minded.</p>
<p>Our son is a (very fortunate) student at RL. He scored in the 90s on the ISEE. </p>
<p>I got the feeling when he went through admissions, though, that good board scores weren’t enough . A more experienced RL parent sums it up nicely when he said that RL looks for: 1. Smarts, 2. A strong work ethic, and 3. Good character. </p>
<p>That parent’s comments have come back to me as I’ve gotten to know some of my son’s classmates. We’re in a carpool with a number of them. I’ve been very struck by how polite and nice all the boys have been. I mean, a surprising lack of arrogance and showmanship, given how talented each boy is. Confident, but not brash.</p>
<p>I think #1 and #2 come across from the teacher recommendations, report cards, and ISEE scores. Regarding #3, I’m still not sure how the school screens for that. However, I recommend that interested parents read “With Love and Prayers,” a collection of talks the previous headmaster, Tony Jarvis, gave to the boys over the years. The school is serious when it says things like: “honesty is expected in all dealings,” “we care most about what kind of person a boy becomes,” and “from to whom much is given, much is expected.”</p>
<p>It is an amazing school. Worth the effort to see if there’s a good fit between a boy and the school.</p>
<p>I found this older thread while searching “ISEE,” and want to challenge the idea that any school sees (let alone turns away) many applicants with ISEE scores in the 99th percentile, especially any single-sex school. Here’s why (though I hope you’ll correct me if my math is faulty): </p>
<p>Approx. 45,000 individuals take the ISEE each year. (Am basing this estimate on an unreliable online search; the actual number could be lower and is unlikely to be higher given that 60,000 take the SSAT, which is much more prevalent. I have seen estimates as low as 26,000 for the ISEE, which would just strengthen the argument to follow.) The top 1% therefore make up a group of about 450 people. For the sake of argument, let’s purposefully exaggerate that number by assuming that the top 1.499% can be categorized as falling into the 99th percentile. There are therefore about 675 such applicants nationally. Roughly half should be male and half female, but let’s exaggerate again and say that 2/3 are male, meaning about 452 males, nationally, score in the 99th percentile. These high scorers are distributed across grades 4 through 11, with probably disproportionately many in 5th, 6th and 8th grades. (It would probably actually be pretty straightforward to check how many openings there are for males in each grade across the country, and how many applicants for those openings, but I don’t have the patience to try right now.) </p>
<p>Let’s intentionally exaggerate again, and say that fully half the boys taking the ISEE are in 6th grade. It’s probably fair to assume that very high scorers are no more prevalent in any one grade than another, so that leaves us with 226 6th-grade males scoring in the 99th percentile nationally, which is unquestionably a gross exaggeration. What percentage of those males can reasonably be expected to be applying to schools in the Boston area (or any given area, for that matter)? Let’s again exaggerate wildly and say that 20% of them are applying in Boston, and 90% of those to Roxbury Latin. That leaves us with 41 6th-grade boys in the Boston area, applying to Roxbury Latin and scoring in the 99th percentile overall on the ISEE. But we all agree that to score in the 99th overall does NOT mean scoring in the 99th on each subtest; in fact, some have speculated that 93rd-plus on each is sufficient to be in the 99th overall (though we don’t know). Certainly perfect scores on a subtest are not required to score in the 99th on that subtest; that we know. So there are gradations within the 99th percentile (and perhaps as extreme a range as 99.0 through 99.9). Perhaps 1/10 of 1% of test takers score in the 99th on all four subtests, and even fewer (if any) make no mistakes at all on the entire test. But let’s exaggerate again and say that 1/4 of 1% get all 99’s. That means that 10 6th-grade boys with all 99’s apply to Roxbury Latin each year, which in and of itself would call into question the idea that they turn away kids with perfect scores “all the time,” or that one “needs” all 99’s to be considered there. Even the original figure of 41 applicants in the 99th percentile overall renders that idea suspect. </p>
<p>But my estimates are RIDICULOUSLY exaggerated. I would guess that only about 7,000 6th-graders take the ISEE each year (we might be able to determine the number by calling the ERB), that half are boys, that boys and girls achieve high scores in equal numbers, that the top 1% of 6th-grade boys therefore number about 52 nationally (using the 1.499% idea), and that the number who achieve all 99’s number 5.2 nationally. Statistically, it is unlikely that even one of those resides in Boston AND is applying to Roxbury Latin. It is exceedingly unlikely that the school turns away anyone with “perfect” scores, or even anyone who scores in the 99th percentile overall (and I do realize the ISEE folks do not release an overall percentile). There just aren’t enough such kids nationally. I DO, however, agree that scores should be among the least important considerations in admissions, and that it should be fine to turn away the highest scorers if they do not otherwise fulfill admissions criteria. Q.E.D.???</p>