Hi, I’m applying to for BS for the 2019-2020 school year, and I want to know if my current SSAT scores will let me in. I am currently applying to Choate, L’ville, Milton, Hotchkiss, Loomis, Taft, and Culver. I am an Asian female, USA-born, and specialize in volleyball (but I was pretty vague on my titles in my profile). I go to a quite sincerely competitive school which feeds into one of the best public schools in my state, but also the harshest. I achieved an overall scaled score of 2265, with a 96 percentile overall. I do not have the absolute best grades (I have 3 Bs, in English, Math, and Science). However, I take Spanish, play club volleyball, and except for one of my teachers, am very favorable in their eyes. I read differing statements that say the SSATs are better than grades, or that bad grades and good SSATs = laziness. I am applying for FA, which definitely makes things more difficult. I am retaking the test in January, and will that do any good for the schools I am applying for?
Your SSAT scores are already above the average for those schools I believe. I do not think that scoring even higher will improve your chances, from my limited experience and my recent conversations with AOs. It does not seem to me that schools are admitting people because they have amazing scores. I was told flat out when interviewing that they reject many kids every year with perfect SSAT scores. If you are worried you can have your parents call the AO you met with and get their opinion on whether or not retaking it would matter.
3 Bs don’t equal bad grades, especially at a rigorous school! Congratulations on the great SSAT score.
I think, so long so long as the other pieces fit, you could be successful. However, SSAT and GPA aren’t like PEMDAS; one doesn’t cancel the other out. Don’t worry! You’re doing incredibly well and I wish you luck in the process!
Also—I was previously admitted to Culver, was raised in the area, and have friends who attend, so if you have any questions about it, feel free to PM me!
No one is “let in” on SSAT scores. The scores simply tell a school whether or not you can handle the academics in their program. High scores will not be the reason you are admitted, but scores that are significantly lower than average for that school may be the reason for rejection as that would indicate a poor academic fit. If your scores are at or above the average for a school, it will be the rest of your application that determines the admission decision, not the scores.
@CavsFan2003 Thanks for your comment!
I don’t think I have sufficient grades. I come from a mid-represented state from the West Coast, in an area where many people are known to compete in competitions such as MathCounts and Math Olympiad, at the national level. I go to public school, and as such the teachers don’t really care as much about how much their kids are learning. I admit I am a slow learner, and I don’t do really much else. The area I live in is thought to have countless opportunities, but because I attend public school, there are not really many leadership or club activities that can define me.
@ChoatieMom Yes, I totally agree! Everything matters in the applications. However, my worry is that the admissions officers will not be sympathetic, as I come from a well-known place and I do not do many things besides volleyball and volunteer at the local nursery. It is very possible I will be rejected because of my lack of extracurriculars. My mother dropped Deerfield from my list because she told me the people there were either rich kids or incredibly smart people, and I was the opposite of both.
My aim is to become a well-rounded person. The pool of Asian-American female applicants is rising, however, and as I need full FA, my chances are quite small. Many Asians with perfect scores are not admitted because they aren’t “unique”, and I worry that this label can apply to me. I have no hook; I am not a legacy, take all Honors classes, but mostly get Bs. Will they throw my folder out if the officers see my transcripts? I do not know, but I feel very average in this pool of talented, unique children. There is also the fact that I am already very young in my school (in 8th grade, I am only older than 5 kids) and my friend who goes to boarding school was born in September. And she is the youngest in her class.
The real question from my viewpoint is; how may I become a well-rounded person so that I can be appealing to admissions officers? Must I garner sympathy, like the admission articles I read? We do not have a unique formula to who gets in and who does not. But this is kind of my last chance, and I want to make this count.
My postscript is that my English teacher absolutely hates me. She doesn’t grade on content, she grades on the format, which I and my classmates believe is totally ridiculous. I had submitted one of my best essays yet, and she gave me an 85 just for formatting mistakes like skipping lines or not using the right size font. I am anxious about what she has said, and I have tried to be nice and polite to her; it’s just she keeps interrupting me and is disliked by the entire student body.
I know I sound whiny and complain a lot. But this is a good prospect for me, and I believe boarding school could make me better. Could anyone send me tips that have guided you?
Why?
Schools look to build a well-rounded class, but not all students are well-rounded, nor does the school want them to be. They need/want some point kids too. Don’t try to be anything you’re not - it won’t work.
No she doesn’t.
This is good experience for HS and beyond. Instructors (and in later life, your bosses) will expect instructions to be followed. If the chem exam says round to 2 significant figures, it does not mean 3 significant figures (more likely, you are supposed to know how many significant figures are in the answers without being told). If the Russian exam says write in Cyrillic script, it means don’t print. Instructors will deduct points, and the opportunities for regrades/retakes/extra credit don’t exist.
@sonamoo8 you remind me of myself. I currently attend a very good public school on the East coast and have 3 Bs in math, English and science too. I take all the honors my school offers for my grade level and my English teacher is a grouch too. In my two previous years I have almost always had one B+. I want to tell you as a person applying to Lville and schools alike, that Lville and schools alike really look at the person you are, and you seem like an incrediblly humble person. Btw, I know kids who have been accepted with legit 40th and 50th percentiles to top schools with quite bad grades, and let me tell ya, they weren’t rich nor were they legacies, rather they were just good kids (and you seem like a great kid). Have some confidence!
Now let’s get into some tips. You HAVE a hook by being a humble and mature kid (or at least you seem like you are), especially at this young of an age. If you want to become/are a well rounded person, which I think you are just by reading your comments, display it in your essays and most importantly interviews. Also, in interviews just display who YOU are not what you think they want to hear, that’s what I did and I have deeply connected with all my interviewers. Your grades are still quite good especially in honors (seriously, kids lie about their grades, your probably doing better than most in your class). You have great SSAT scores that you are going to try an improve. You play volleyball which is good, but it comes down to awards achieved or I suppose in interviews or essays you can say what you learned from being on a team and stuff like that. I hope this helps!
If you are set on going to boarding school, you need to add other schools to your list, especially since you need financial aid.
Consider Berkshire, Millbrook, Gunnery, Governor’s, Brewster, Pomfret, George. Try girls’ schools like Emma Willard, Ethel Walker, Madeira, Chatham Hall.
Girls schools are particularly eager to attract girls with high SSATs to boost their stats and use financial aid to do so.
Are you planning to continue playing club? This will be hard at Hotchkiss and Taft. I hope you’ve sent videos to the VB coaches. I don’t know what your position is, but you may want to look at rosters to see who is graduating this year and what positions will be opening up.
@GoatMama I think I’ve seen you, or others, mention looking up rosters before. Where does one find roster info? I have looked at the school sites (of schools we are interested in) and I can’t find roster info.
@dogsmama1997 Look for the specific sport under Athletics. Typically, schools have the schedule, scores, roster, and coach info there, at least for the Varsity teams. See for example Exeter’s Varsity VB: https://www.exeter.edu/teams/volleyball-girls-v/18fa. You can tell they’ll need to fill in defensive positions.
Ahh, ok, schools we are looking at don’t have rosters. I thought maybe there was a special website that complied info like that.
You can find the rosters by looking at each team’s website or find last year’s roster - you can see who is graduating by their year, as well as team FAQ’s. PM me for more details on your sport, maybe I can help.
@Golfgr8 Not all schools post their rosters online, which is the point @dogsmama1997 was making. e.g. good luck finding a roster at Kent:
https://www.kent-school.edu/athletics/team-pages/varsity-football
Oh wise @skieurope, we respectfully tell you that we used MaxPreps to find rosters last year if none were posted on the official site…we also were able to find the previous spring’s roster last winter for a certain sport when we were applying. It’s interesting - we also looked at videos on YouTube to assess talent at different schools… Hope this helps :bz
BTW you can find last year’s Kent roster for lax on MaxPreps [-O<
Your current SSAT score of 96% is more than adequate for all prep boarding schools.
Do you believe that your SSAT section scores reveal a weakness in a particular area that is unjustified ? If not, then no need to retake the SSAT.
Because you are seeking full financial aid, you may want to add three or four schools to your list.
Why do you want to attend boarding school is a good starting point when trying to decide on additional schools to apply to.
I don’t think those grades are that bad at all considering the rigor of your school. This is also a fantastic SSAT score. O applied to a lot of the same schools and the biggest thing you have against you is FA. Have you considered applying to Peddie? 
Good luck with your school search!
Just keep in mind that for boarding/private schools, MaxPreps can be wildly inaccurate and unreliable. At least that’s the case in my daughter’s sport.