<p>If a high SSAT is so unimportant to top schools, then why do they have median scores in the 90s? Is it just a coincidence?</p>
<p>Interesting thread from before my timeâŠglad it got bumped.</p>
<p>Of course you CAN get into a selective school with a low SSAT scoreâŠbut the rest of your app better be rockinâ.</p>
<p>Hereâs a point made early on in this thread that I mostly agree with: âA low SSAT scorer will have a very toughâŠexperience at schools like SPS & Groton when the same student could grow in a much more positive fashion in a more suitable academic environment.â</p>
<p>When I see kids here applying exclusively to the most selective schools and NOT cruising through the SSATs, I have to wonder how exactly they determined their âapply toâ list.</p>
<p>7D, personally we donât have the âproblemâ, but thereâs a theory that some academically strong students are just not good at standardized tests, so it doesnât seem to be safe to say students with lower SSAT scores canât survive or thrive in highly selective schools.</p>
<p>Neato, itâs a self-selecting applicant pool, really. They get on everyoneâs âmust haveâ list. But there are kids with lower scores (who are doing fine for the most part) who get in. I see the same with MIT - kids get high scores and suddenly everyone shoves the Institute at them as a possibility. So parents are appalled when schools take students with less than perfect scores but reject many with perfect scores. </p>
<p>It just depends. These days so many kids are coached (not implying that happens with CC kids and parents) the test scores start to look like a measure of who is proficient at test taking than a measure of aptitude. </p>
<p>But - if you examine the applications having weeded out the kids that arenât a good fit (regardless of scores - high and low) there are still thousands of applicants with scores in the 90âs that also have impressive accomplishments. When you average in that âvolumeâ it masks the fact that there are students admitted who are below the 90âs.</p>
<p>Stats are important in guaranteeing that a school garners a strong interest in terms of the best applicants (gets first crack at the best picks), but also are great tools for impressing donors as well.</p>
<p>Still - many kids with less than âperfectâ stats are sometimes thriving as much or more than those who otherwise fit the profile.</p>
<p>Well, itâs not to say that higher SSAT scores wouldnât help. The truth is that in such an intense selection process, any bit of advantage could help. But donât let a lower SSAT scores discourage you either. It is one factor only and other pieces of your application may get you in the door. And if they do select you, it means they believe you can handle the work there.</p>
<p>Donât get me wrong, I am not saying in any way that a high score will get you in or that a low one will keep you out. It just bugs me when schools say that the ssat is not important because obviously, it is. I know very bright kids who would thrive at top schools that donât test well. I also know kids with very high scores who would not thrive at top schools. But to say that they are unimportant when clearly, the vast majority of kids who are admitted have very high scores, is misleading.</p>
<p>@DA: Which is why I hedged by saying âmostly agreeââŠI think there are plenty of cases where a kid with middle of the road SSATs/ISEEs can not only get into but thrive at the most rigorous/most selective schools.</p>
<p>That said, if my kid had been a 60th percentile SSAT student, I think we would have considered a very different (and possibly wider) set of schools.</p>
<p>I agree with the above posts by both 7D and neato completely.</p>
<p>Well this is an interesting thread. I agree with the above posts; I think that a high SSAT can help, but a low one shouldnât hurt a truly qualified applicant. </p>
<p>In reply to zr2012âs question âHowever, I would like to know, did the people who scored a 98% or 99% average on the SSAT study a lot?â, I scored a 99% (2346) on the SSAT this year, and personally, I did not study that much. Last summer, I took an SSAT prep course, and scored 98% (2268). This year, I did not study at all - not so much as looking through my vocabulary book, and somehow improved quite a bit (raw score wise) just by going through another year of school. Hope this helps :)</p>
<p>I know it is likely that nobody will read this because I am about a year and a half past the last post but I had a absolutely terrible SSAT score and got into 3/4 of the schools I applied to. Andover rejected me but in the interview I was pretty much guaranteed a spot by the director of admissions, until they saw my SSAT score. I got 35 overall the first time i took it. 20 in math, 45 in reading and 65 in verbal. It was pretty ugly. I retook it and got 78 I think 88 in verbal and 70 in the other two. The SSAT really puzzled me because I always scored the highest in verbal, even though english has always been my weakest subject. I have always had straight Aâs but english is still not my best subject, anyway I took it a third time and got pretty much the same score as my second time. I thought I was an automatic âinâ for Andover because that is what was implied in the interview with the director of admissions. Even with my horrible scores I got into Kent, Taft, and Cate, which are all top 30 schools and Cate is easily top 10. I donât think anyone should be freaking out about their scores because there are no âdeal breakersâ unless you are talking about Exeter, St. Pauls, and Andover, maybe deerfield or hotchkiss. Donât stress about a bad score, you can get into a top 10 school with an embarrassingly bad score.</p>
<p>I know this isnât an answer to the original question, but I just wanted to say that it IS completely possible to get into a school like Andover, Exeter, etc. with a low SSAT score. I took the SSAT last year and scored in the 50-70 range. When all was said and done, I had been accepted by one of the above schools and rejected by the other. So for anyone reading this, never let anyone tell you that it isnât possible - various other factors play into the admissions process aside from SSAT scores :)</p>
<p>If your score does not improve dramatically , I would recommend that you change your list now (while there is still time) and apply to different schools. Your score (even with an amazing hook) is way, way out of range for all three schools . </p>
<p>FYI- Your SSAT score should be in the high 70âs ( MINIMUM with an amazing hook) to have a decent shot at schools with a 39%- 50% acceptance rate. Even if your SSAT score does improve significantly, those are the type of schools you should be applying to - NOT the ones you listed above. </p>
<p>And, please know Iâm trying to help without hurting your feelings 
Let us know how you do. Good luck!</p>
<p>I am dad for a boy who took ssat test. His native language is Korean, and his score for ssat reading comprehension is really bad. Is there any boarding school he can attend? His math score is pretty high 80 percentile. Please help my son and me.</p>
<p>hi, thank you so much for your reponse because i was totally encouraged by your comment. I got a terrible score in reading comprehension because my native tongue is not English. My math is pretty good. I am so scared by some schools telling me âyou are wasting your timeâ with my horrible score. Tell me please what other factors play into the admission process for average boarding schools in the US. Would you recommend some?</p>
<p>@peter, your son is unfortunately in a VERY competitive applicant pool. There are a great number of international applicants from SKorea, and your sonâs application will measured against them. Without a compelling âhookâ (i.e., an elite talent) it is unlikely that the most popular schools will compromise on test scores w so many high-scoring SKorean applicants to select from.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend u expand your list of schools beyond the usual half dozen popular names. There are many wonderful boarding schools that offer a top notch educational experience in a supportive and beautiful setting that would welcome a bright student that your sonâs strong math score indicates him to be. Use this websiteâs Search function to look up âhidden gemsâ:
<a href=âSearch results for '' - College Confidential Forumsâ>Search results for '' - College Confidential Forums;
<p>I know kids from both S Korea and China who got into very good schools with high math SSAT scores, low verbal scores-- who then took the TOEFL and did very well, essentially making up for the low verbal SSAT. Check with individual schools to see how they look at the various tests, but it is possible. It also depends on your list of schools: even 80th percentile in math would be considered high for some schools, but not so high for others. </p>
<p>Hi, I got a 57% on my SSAT, but I recently just took it again,although, not quite sure if I did better. In the reading I got a 71% but on the maths I flunked, I am applying to Choate, Taft and Miss Porters school. I honestly have no idea if I got better this timeâŠbut they liked me a lot in the interview and my essays were spot on. Do I have a chance?</p>
<p>On a side note, if your extracurriculars are ridiculously amazing, it doesnât really matter what your SSAT score is. </p>