<p>DD is a very bright. Her IQ is in the "exceptionaly gifted" category , her scores on the SSAT are very good. She does very good interviews as she is very articulate. </p>
<p>The caveat is that she is the classical underachiever. She gets bored and doesn't turn in her work in school. Her grades do not match her potential.</p>
<p>When she did the summer program at Exeter, she excelled. She did her work and did it well. She left in very good standing. The teachers commented that she was always prepared and led the class in discussion points when the class was silent. </p>
<p>She is looking at several schools, two are safeties and I'm sure both of them will accept her. Their average student's SSAT is 70%. I am afraid that if she ended up at a school that wasn't challenging or interesting, she will continue to be an underachiever.</p>
<p>She likes one of the schools because it is an all girl school. It may mean that with her grades, we have to consider a 70% average because that is all that will accept her. But then I have to decide if I should send her. </p>
<p>Should you rule a school in or out based on their average students SSAT scores if everything else was equal.</p>
<p>Have you visited/interviewed at the prospective schools yet? Do the “safeties” stream their students, or do they put kids of different abilities in different classes? </p>
<p>It would be good for you parents to have a session with the admissions office to discuss how your daughter is not being challenged in her present school and how she performed well in the summer session when she was challenged. I would bring her WISC-IV (or whichever IQ testing results you have) with you to support your arguments about her intellectual potential.</p>
<p>Should I call the AO and ask about submitting the WISC-IV? The test was taken a few years ago, but the numbers don’t change that much. We’ve already interviewed.</p>
<p>Regarding streaming students… I never thought to ask. I will call back and ask more specific questions about this.</p>
<p>I don’t see how it could hurt to supply the WISC-IV results. At worst, the schools could just ignore them. At best, the test could put your D’s underachievement in perspective.</p>
<p>I’m inclined to agree with GMT about sending the WISC-IV, but I wouldn’t bother to ask first. In your parent narrative, I would definitely mention the Exeter summer experience, as it speaks to rising to the challenge.</p>
<p>BTW, I have a daughter at Emma Willard, who was also accepted to Exeter and a couple of other schools. </p>
<p>BTW, I wouldn’t use SSAT averages as the main criterion when comparing schools, or consider your daughter a “shoo-in” just because she is very smart. Even many of the schools out there with 70% average SSATs accept only a third of applicants. Which is not to say that your daughter won’t be one of them. But being extremely gifted is not a guarantee that she will be, either.</p>
<p>There are several threads from this year that address issues of “fit”, among them:</p>
<p>Rose2014, with respect, it’s too early to worry about this. The first step is the application. Your daughter will need to put her best foot forward on the essays. After March 10th, you can compare academic programs of the schools which have accepted her. At this point, you’re really lucky that she feels drawn to a school which you regard as a “safety!”</p>
<p>A school with a 70% SSAT score will have students with a range of abilities. As classes are small, it is easier for a teacher to keep all students challenged. Students come into the schools at different levels of preparation, so it’s not unusual to see a Freshman taking a more advanced class. Students can usually pursue independent studies if they outstrip the curriculum (do ask each school for examples!) </p>
<p>At revisit days, you will have the opportunity to sit in on classes at each school. I feel the impressions you gather from witnessing the teachers and students are much more valuable than trying to guesstimate what a 70% SSAT really “means” for a school’s intellectual climate.</p>
<p>I dont want to diminish or discourage in any way but I thought I would mention what was brought to my attention. My daughter is also HG and applying for 9th grade. When I brought this up to a consultant, he said to keep in mind, boarding schools will have a higher percentage of gifted students than anywhere else and its almost a given.</p>
<p>So, as opposed to relying on a test to show your daughters unique talents and gifts, I would encourage her to show them through her essays and interview skills. The test is a nice addition to the impression she makes on the AOs.</p>
<p>Thanks all. I needed reminded not to put the cart before the horse.
Having said that I will turn in her WISC results along with Exeter teacher’s comments. She writes extremely well and has several pluses going into boarding school aside from her grades.</p>