It looks like SSAT will be optional again this year at many boarding schools. Anyone have any insights on whether admissions were really test optional this year? Did AOs really not draw any inferences when kids who obviously had the opportunity to test did not submit scores? Without test scores, how does the kid from an unknown school show they can do the work?
from what I’ve seen/heard, if you had a valid reason to not take the test(like being international) it did not impact you. However, if you clearly had the resources and didn’t submit scores, it seemed to hurt you. I had a 79th percentile. I submitted my scores even to the “tippy top” schools. I still got into 4 schools, WL 5, rejected at 2.
This year, I’ve seen people who didn’t do great on the SSAT who submitted it still have better results than those who did not submit it at all.
2 Likes
In my review, it looks like applicants who submitted scores did better in admissions. Because really, the SSAT was widely available online.
(I know the stats, also, on a group of outstanding applicants and many did not choose to submit scores. And the application pool was very surprised by reduced acceptance outcomes.)
Thank you for your helpful replies. Congrats lilyesh – 79th % seems darn good especially given the competition!
1 Like
I think this really depends on the school. Some AOs have been weighting SSAT scores very little even pre-Covid and feel confident in how they evaluate candidates . At these, I think you can take them at their word when they say they are truly optional. These schools may ask for more info about your math curriculum, for example, or have you produce a written sample when you go to interview.
At others, the option is much more for students who really couldn’t get a test. Remember that the rest of the application has to be strong enough to carry the missing score, so it’s not necessarily a boon to not have a score.
I also take them at their word. Schools did let us know last year if they really preferred having the tests or not. FWIW my daughter did not take SSATS and she had 10 admissions + 2 WL +0 rejections, and a number of merit scholarships. Her grades were good but not stellar (like 3.75). Also she did not apply to any of the tippy-tops.
(My other DD the year before did get into a number of tippy tops and had 80 SSAT score, before Covid.)
I don’t think schools hold it against you if they say they don’t.
3 Likes
I’m applying for 2022-2023, and since I’m only applying to Exeter/Andover, I’m wondering whether or not to go out of my way to take tests? I am international so I have a plausible excuse for not doing them, but I feel like since I’m from an overseas school (albeit a very reputable one) it might hurt my chances?
1 Like
A school my son is applying to is test optional. He is not planning to take the SSAT. I noticed that they have also added the PSAT as a test the 9th grade applicants can submit. He took it last Spring and his score was 96th percentile. I am assuming he should go ahead and submit that score?
1 Like
The current test optional is not the test optional of pre covid. I have heard from both prep and college AOs that when they say test optional they really really mean it.
Before covid happened many of the tippy top schools were already weighting test scores less than people want to believe.
Kids always think they know why each kid did or did not get in. I think kids severely underestimate the importance of teacher recommendations and they continually over-estimate how good their teacher recs are. Many teachers see and understand so much more about these kids than the kids give them credit for. They see the kids who are immature despite being academically advanced and, when they indicate that on a rec, schools may not take such a kid despite perfect grades, etc. Same goes for kids who are super smart but unkind and unhelpful, or the kids who don’t apply themselves. Most BS are looking for a community of kids and teacher recs are their window into this.
Kids getting into the tippy top schools are the kids whose teachers say “they are whip smart AND they always take time to help classmates AND their maturity shines through in the classroom AND they make classes better through their participation. If you have two/three teachers writing recs like that do you really think a skilled AO needs ssat scores as well?
If you want to apply test optional just ask your AOs if they are truly test optional.
4 Likes
Yes. He should include it. In our experience last year, kids who submitted test scores did significantly better with admissions. Last year my kid had eight SAT cancelled. But he still managed to take the SSAT without issue and yes, IMHO they want to see those scores.
1 Like
Have any AOs indicated this to be the case? Kids who had parents willing to schedule the 10th ssat probably have so much more support at home and significantly better applications regardless of the ssat. There’s really no basis for you to say it was the ssat that got those kids in unless you’ve spoken to schools that said that.
And I ask because I have spoken to several who have said they were already barely using the ssat and they really don’t care and didn’t miss it.
Since this thread popped up again, maybe I can provide some anecdotal evidence of the value, or lack thereof, of SSAT scores. Twin daughters, both applying for 9th grade, both play the same sports at similar levels though different positions. Both attended a public middle school and had all As. G is a musician (average), E tutored kids in science. G was in Honors Geometry in 8th grade, E was in Algebra I. No other significant academic or extracurricular differences.
SSATs: G scored a 81%ile with much stronger math score, worse verbal and reading in between. Nothing special about that SSAT score but respectable for a number of schools. E did not submit scores, her results were poor.
Interviews: E much more outgoing, animated and upbeat … though not as articulate as G
References (speculation): E got a stellar recommendation from her science teacher and a coach. G’s were likely good but not glowing
E is attending a boarding school this year and is a slightly above average student … she gets by through sheer time and effort, not by making rapid intellectual connections. My goal for her is to learn how to find and make those connections and she knows that an 89 isn’t going to make anyone upset.
G is at a public high school having been wait-listed everywhere. I can’t be sure why she didn’t get an acceptance but I think her lack of enthusiasm (and lack of “bragging”) during her interviews, along with references that didn’t “glow” enough, were her downfall. She wasn’t very “spiky” either. Solid kid, with solid academics but nothing that stood out.
Additional note: We are partial FA, not clear on how that played into the decision process.
I’ve spoken with several AOs regarding their decision processes and what @one1ofeach says is quite true. If a kid has solid grades, references that support those grades, and a personality that’s “additive” to the community then SSAT scores aren’t going to count for much.
3 Likes
In your case, a score like that helps support your app. Submit it. If you didn’t have a score, you’d have no choice. If you had a great app but a meh score, it probably wouldn’t help your case. But this one does, so send it in.
Know that nobody is admitted because of a test score.
1 Like
We applied last season to many tippy top schools and the general consensus on this board was that test scores improved acceptances to those schools. Early in the year most schools we spoke to still wanted them. It wasn’t until later in the fall that they cracked. IMHO grades don’t mean much unless the particular school is known well.
I don’t think we can compare this year to last. For domestic students, what is the barrier to taking the SSAT this year? You can take it at home and they will even mail you a computer on which to take it. I feel like schools may look at kids differently this year who don’t submit because of the accessibility. I’m curious if they ever ask in interviews about SSAT status and/or reasons for not taking. I would make sure I knew how to answer that and have a good reason why I wasn’t submitting scores.
In our case we are submitting PSAT scores taken in the Spring- un-studied for. Applying to BS was a recent decision and from what it sounds like kids practice ssat for months. My kiddo doesn’t have the time or need the stress on top of a heavy academic schedule.
He is applying to one school (his sister’s) and it lists PSAT as acceptable. He is fine with the local school if he doesn’t get in. I wonder if other schools have added PSAT as an option?
Most schools we have looked at want the SSAT, but others were more flexible about which test was acceptable. We had an SAT from last year, but for 9th grade it wasn’t accepted by some so we just did the SSAT. My son certainly didn’t study for months, just reviewed vocabulary for a couple weeks and it was fine. I bet lots of kids don’t study as much as this site may make it seem.
1 Like
We also literally just decided. My son goes to a school that has a semester schedule so he is prepping for midterms for some classes and finals for others, on top of music/internships etc. It’s a madhouse. I just had the prep book ordered on Amazon as he has never even seen an SSAT. Not sure how he will fit in testing. Can he take it and not report the score if it’s not stellar? Worried not to have him take it but know our 11th hour decision isn’t going to help him with prepping.
May I ask if your daughters were in a well known school (private or highly rated public) when you applied? Wondering if that also makes a difference.
I really think prepping for the SSAT is over emphasized. If your child does well in math and reads a good deal, they are already “prepping”. No amount of prep replaces reading comprehension naturally gained from reading high level books and math skills from taking above grade level math classes. I really think the verbal section is the one where prep/memorization can help as well as learning how to answer those types of questions with a strategy. And if the score is bad, just don’t submit! The school will not know if you took it or not.