<p>But only as a preliminary tool. After that, we look at your total package. Some of the brightest kids suffer from test anxiety. Sometimes SAT and SSAT test “test taking” skills.</p>
<p>And even when my own daughter was going through prep school interviews, my “parent interviews” with admissions officers confirmed what I know from the college process. That a significant number of kids who look good on paper have spent years prepping and skew the tests. Which is why you see schools reporting averages instead of ranges. Because someone will cry fowl if a kid with 99% scores gets rejected while someone else with a 75% gets accepted.</p>
<p>Scores - for schools - are brag points. But ultimately, it’s about the kid behind the scores and what mix of student the school is trying to fill that specific year. Doesn’t mean the lower testing kids that get in are not as good, just as it doesn’t mean the higher testing kids would have been a fit if the slot were available. Applications are very complex beings which is why some schools reject applicants their equally rigorous competitors accept readily. </p>
<p>Hence I highly recommend personal interviews for BS and for college.</p>