Hello, I am currently in seventh grade and have recently taken the SSAT middle level, which I know does not count towards the application process. I scored a total 90% with perfect scores in all but math, in which I scored a 60%. I accredit this to the fact that I had not learned much material included but nonetheless, I was understandably disappointed. It also helped assuage my sorrows by remembering that I had not studied at all, and this was the first standardized test besides an ERB that I had taken.
This got me thinking about my chances for school next year. I am only interested in top tier boarding schools, as that is the only way I can convince my mother to let her child leave the nest, by showing her I am getting the best education possible.
Without further ado, here are my stats.
Race: White
Location: Upstate NY
School: Private K-8
Academics(Grades)- All As and A+s, except for one B+ in math during the third quarter (my first and hopefully last b ever)
Sports:
Captain of cross country team for 4 years. Going on 5
First year playing Basketball. Was putting Varsity team, am valued player and am often starting.
Tennis, In the Top 3 players, for 4 years
Extracurricular:
Basketball team outside of school also, started this year.
Solo at NYSSMA, to sing Danny boy
Model UN- Most experienced member, won an award last year (my first year)
CTY- a Johns Hopkins program, I made it in with High Honors.
CTY online writing course, completed with excellent teacher comments, only one late assignment due to visiting grandparents in Canada.
CTY summer camp for Model UN
Regional Spelling Bee- placed for past 3 years
Went to County Science Fair, won School science fair
Volunteer Work:
2 hours a day, the first Sunday of every month.
Dog walking around my neighborhood
Volunteer babysitter at school, for teachers children
Leadership:
Student Council Member
Teachers’ opinions of me:
Glowing reviews, say I am an excellent student, a joy to have in the class, and a great influence, a leader
I would appreciate any feedback on what I could improve and What I should work on, as well as what my Chances are as of now.
I also forgot to mention that I am in the advanced math class in my group, and I am friends with a member of the Andover Board( a friend of my deceased father’s). I read often at home. And I paint. If any more information is needed, please feel free to and don’t hesitate to ask.
I want to understand this… you are saying that you have been the captain of the cross country team or on the cross country team since 3rd grade??? I was not aware that CTY had high honors>
@solargem Sorry, I meant that I had just finished my fourth year of this, and that I am currently the captain. cty, if you score above the 95% I think, gets you in with High Honors, and.you attend a ceremony. Mine was at Columbia. You get a little Johns Hopkins pin.
FYI if you are new to this board and that user name is (or is close to) your real name, I suggest you start a new username that doesn’t identify you. It would be easy to do so now before you post any identifying details.
If the user name is an alias - keep it!
Good luck.
PS this sort of question belongs in the Prep School Chances sub forum. Spend a bit of time reading through the threads, you may get some questions answered just by reading other people’s posts.
@mrnephew@solargem, Both of my kids qualified for CTY, but only one got High Honors and was invited to the ceremony. There is a threshold score to qualify and a higher threshold to get an award.
I’m fascinated that anyone went to that CTY ceremony. My kid got the high honors distinction too, but why go? All it means is that you did well on the test. Which is great if you want to take the classes (which I found underwhelming frankly). Also it didn’t occur to me to mention that on applications. I figured based on the SSAT score it was clear that test taking is a strong suit, you’ve already shown yourself to be in the top of the test taking pool, what difference does it make to the AO’s, or how is it additive to say you did well on another test?
I’d disagree with above and mention CTY High Honors especially if you had High Honors in Math since your SSAT math may not be strong.
In our case, one kid got High Honors in Math only, and the other kid got High Honors in Reading/Verbal only.
If you want to take classes, you may need to requalify for CTY by taking SAT or ACT. If you get above 700 in either reading or quant, you get in SET that’s another thing that can be mentioned.
Going to the CTY ceremony is one’s choice.
All the schools ask the counselor/principal to send the transcripts and standardized tests. The state standardized tests will be sent by the school.
In that case, you sound like a solid candidate. Start researching schools that appeal to your goals. Begin with boardingschoolreview.com. There is a lot of information there to help you narrow down your choices based on your own interests. Good luck!
In addition, since you have time: begin with the earliest posts on this board and read as much as you can. Later in the process, you will have narrowed down a list of schools to which you want to apply…then you can re-visit the boards and search for specifics on each school. Do not underestimate the value of school web sites. In addition, see if there is a boarding school fair near you which you could attend and gather further information.
I would add that you should use the time you have to do some ssat math work. The test you take next year is going to be harder than the one you took this year. You have plenty of time to figure out the concepts you need to bring that score up.