<p>So I lived in the states for about 4 years now and I currently have 58% on the SSAT. I am in 10th grade and I am applying for hotchkiss, Andover and Groton. Do I have any chances?</p>
<p>What’s your nationality? If it is China or SKorea and u are not a recruited athlete nor development case (i.e. big donor), then my prediction is your chances are zero.</p>
<p>Why are u only applying to outrageously selective schools? Groton is nearly impossible to get into after 9th grade no matter what your nationality is.</p>
<p>Well I’m applying Groton because it’s my second time applying there and I feel like I have a chance there, and Hotchkiss and Phillips Andover are really nice schools and that’s why. Right now I go to a boarding school in NC anyway but it’s too easy so I want to have more challenged materials. </p>
<p>My nationality is Skorea btw.</p>
<p>Because Groton has an 8th grade, it pretty much fills up by 9th grade. Of the 3 schools you’re applying to, Groton is the hardest to get into, period. </p>
<p>To apply only to those 3 incredibly-selective schools is just nuts. Did u learn NOTHING at all about the admissions game after being rejected by Groton last year? You just said u aren’t challenged enough at your present NC boarding school, so u think the only options to get more academic challenge is groton, andover and hotchkiss??? U just bought yourself another year in NC.</p>
<p>well 58 percent is a bit low for schools that have their average ssats around 90’s. But did you take the TOEFL?? If so what was your score? If you are a foreign student with low verbal but strong math and reading and also good toefl, it could be something. However, i suggest contacting the AO and repeating the ssat in feb, if they allow it. And it they do, try to get at least an 80s.
Watch your essays and short answers and stuff and make sure they are the best. And good luck for M10.
i understand why you only applied to those schools. I have done the same with 4 outrageously hard to get in schools.
However, we will know at M10. Best of luck</p>
<p>I can understand applying only to schools like that the first time around. Heck, that’s what happened when GMTson1 applied-- we were clueless.</p>
<p>But after being burned once, there’s no excuse the 2nd time around to apply only to insanely selective schools, especially when your fallback is an expensive BS u are already dissatisfied with.</p>
<p>You can say whatever you want, but I just love the campus of all three of those schools. I’ll probably take the february SSAT though. And since it’s my 4th year, I don’t have to take TOEFL. If the schools count the february SSAT, would it make the worse to apply for another one or just stay this lame score?</p>
<p>Would you apply to Princeton, Yale, and Dartmouth with a 1550 SAT?</p>
<p>Dude, u are in serious denial…</p>
<p>I’m planning to take the feb test and get better scores</p>
<p>yes do that. a great increase on the scores will look good if it is around 80s or 90s. dont lose hope</p>
<p>@ksj,
I am not trying to be mean to you, but to just offer u a realistic assessment of your situation. Do u want people to tell u only what u want to hear, or do u want honesty? </p>
<p>These are the facts:
- u are presently attend a middling boarding school in North Carolina which offers u inadequate academic challenge.
- your present school is no doubt expensive
- u have been in the U.S. for 4 years now, so u no longer need to submit a TOEFLwhich might mitigate your mediocre SSAT score
- your nationality is one of the 2 most over-represented nationalities in U.S. boarding schools
- u are applying to 3 of the most selective BS which have avg SSAT scores at the extreme high end (~90); which admit 1-in-6 or fewer candidates; and which receive hundreds of applications from very qualified SKorean candidates
- u are competing against other candidates from SKorea
- u are applying for the 11th grade which has very few openings
- u have an SSAT of 58% and expect to raise it by more than 30 points in less than 3 weeks time
- u have no strong hook to offset the mediocre SSAT score</p>
<p>These are what I think are your best options at this point:
- retake the SSAT if u really want to. Realistically, u might get a 10 point bump, but 30+ more in less than 3 weeks isn’t going to happen. What u really need is a 40 point bump.
- apply to schools w SSAT scores that are within range of your present score (50-70). There are many hidden gem schools which do not have the instant name recognition of andover, groton or hotchkiss, but can offer u so much more than your present expensive, lame-o boarding school.
- look for schools w a later deadline date or w rolling admissions. NMH comes to mind as a good school w a 31-jan deadline.
- Apply as a repeat-sophomore. There are many, many more spaces for new sophomores than for new juniors, and your application will be more competitively viewed.
- Consider defecting and applying w North Korean nationality.</p>
<p>Your present strategy of applying only to groton, andover, hotchkiss w your profile/stats is a sure fail.</p>
<p>That part about defecting to a N. Korean nationality made me laugh so hard! Also, this is a great way of spending my first post. :)</p>
<p>@GMT I understand how you could be frustrated by people applying to only big name school with avg ssat of the OP and asking for a chance me when let’s be real, he probably doesn’t have one unless he can play tuba underwater. I think your comment was rude about North Korea though. NK/SK is a very sensitive subject and not something you would say in real life if you where giving advice to the OP . Now again, being an OR M with no hooks and a 58 SSAT asking for an Andover chance me can be agitating. I respect you and your advice on this forum has helped me but I think that was very rude of you to say.</p>
<p>I have been a frequent visitor to the CC Prep School thread having a child currently in a boarding school and another in the admission cycle this year. This will be my first post and it is because I feel compelled to respectfully suggest that GMTplus7 take a break from CC posting. I agree with squashisawesome that GMT’s comment above was very rude and extremely insensitive. I also have noticed an increase in the snide comments from GMT in general and think that maybe a little time away would be appropriate. The vast majority of posters on this site are still children and I think no matter how frustrating their posts may be at times it is up to the adults to council with tolerance and compassion, thereby acting like the adults.</p>
<p>Sorry mommybean, but I agree with GMT. This kid is seriously in denial. His situation can be compared to an Asian with a 1600 SAT trying to transfer from a community college to Princeton or Harvard. </p>
<p>If someone like that thought they had realistic chances, then I would say they were crazy and to maybe check themselves in at a mental hospital. And then if they still insisted that they were going to get in, I would just say they were stupid, and don’t even belong in college.</p>
<p>I know I’m being harsh mombean, but I think you were being rude. GMT was perfectly right in every single comment he made, and you’re the rude one. It’s people like you (the ones who think everyone deserves an award even if they’re terrible) that are making he modern world suck. Sometimes people need a reality check, like the OP.</p>
<p>Sorry mommybean, but I agree with GMT. This kid is seriously in denial. His situation can be compared to an Asian with a 1600 SAT trying to transfer from a community college to Princeton or Harvard. </p>
<p>If someone like that thought they had realistic chances, then I would say they were crazy and to maybe check themselves in at a mental hospital. And then if they still insisted that they were going to get in, I would just say they were stupid, and don’t even belong in college.</p>
<p>I know I’m being harsh mombean, but I think you were being rude. GMT was perfectly right in every single comment he made, and you’re the rude one. It’s people like you (the ones who think everyone deserves an award even if they’re terrible) that are making he modern world suck. Sometimes people need a reality check, like the OP.</p>
<p>I agree with GMT.</p>
<p>There are very few SKoreans who would take NK/SK joke seriously. </p>
<p>I find asking someone take a break from CC very inconsiderate and a sensitive subject.
We lost a valuable level headed CCer Exie during personal flame war and I do not want to see that again.</p>
<p>I helped a relative with visiting/interviewing schools last week.
All the China/SKoreans have extremely high test scores > 90%.
His SSAT was 59% with 80% reading and way low verbal.
At Berkshire and NMH, we were told flat out that he is well below school ORM average and doesn’t stand a chance.
Other consultants in the reception we met said he doesn’t have a chance at The Gunnery nor Suffield.
He will probably go to Brewster Academy or Tilton School due to his low scores.</p>
<p>I would recommend OP taking TOEFL and show >100/120 to mitigate his/hers SSAT scores.</p>
<p>My relative by the way is in 8th grade and is applying to 9th grade. We met many international ORM students at the schools as tour guides, etc. Many had repeated 2-3 years to enter as sophomore so they were quite shocked to meet a prospective freshman, six years younger and from another century!</p>
<p>OP, if you have taken them, you can send PSAT or ACT scores. You can also send any SAT II tests and AP tests you’ve taken. Many ORMs take SAT II Biology and Math 2 and a couple APs during 9-10th grades. I suspect ORM average at the three schools would be pretty high because they were good takers to begin with. I won’t be surprised if the average is 200 for PSAT and 30 for ACT for freshmen and sophomore takers (not juniors.) If you are in the range, you will be considered.</p>