For a little context, I’m applying to top boarding schools and I got an 88th percentile on my SSAT. I’d say that I did a little worse than what I wanted but it was to be expected because I spent a lot more time on my application essays, trying to make them unique and deep, and just plain different.
So, as the title says I’m just curious as to whether one is more important than the other, or if they carry equal weight. Just anything you may know.
Thanks!
Essays trump ssat scores— according to what I’ve learned from this site and admissions officers at Exeter and Andover.
Essays are meant to be a reflection of your personality and are very subjective. They are not like the SSAT where one essay is “better” than another essay. Having a unique essay is just the start - if they don’t reveal anything about your personality, it doesn’t matter how different or unique it is. Keep in mind they look at your application as a whole. That being said, an 88th percentile will not keep you out. If there was one spot left in a class, and one applicant had an 88th percentile SSAT but a personality that an AO felt fit perfectly with their school, and an applicant with a 99th percentile SSAT but thought their personality is not a good fit for the school, they would obviously accept the person with the 88th percentile SSAT. Essays and the interview are probably the most subjective parts of the interview, but will also help the AO determine whether or not you are a good fit.
That score should not keep you out of any school.
The admissions team is not comparing by score. Once your scores indicate you can do the work at a school, they are then looking at which bucket you fit into and how you compare to others in that bucket by other attributes:
Male/female
Day/boarding
Domestic/foreign
Instate/out-of-state
Full-pay/financial aid
Legacy/non-legacy (where that matters)
Hooked/unhooked
Talents/sports, and all the rest…
@ChoatieMom, @skieurope. what’s a good thread to read to learn more about these “buckets?” I’ve got a kid with a 99 percentile SSAT score, but I feel like the kid is lacking a hook, smh.
SAT’s are essentially used to ensure the student is capable of doing the work; clearly the higher the score the better, but there are diminishing returns. A 97 is not grossly different from a 92 as both show that the applicant has the ability to do well academically, but special talents and other desirable attributes are very important factors once a certain SAT threshold has been reached.
@Prepx3 , thank you!
The buckets are self-explanatory (see list above). Each applicant fills one or more buckets. If a school says they admit 200 freshmen in a given year, your child does not have a chance at 200 slots. Chromosomes split those slots in half, then the other buckets/institutional needs come into play. For example, our son was an unhooked, no-sport, non-legacy, full-pay, domestic, male, out-of-state, border. The year he entered Choate, he was actually vying for fewer than 20 seats that were allotted to the profile I listed (based on the admissions presentation given on revisit days). SSAT scores don’t even come in to play after they indicate that the student can handle the academics for that school. And hooks are not something you wonder about. If you aren’t sure your child has a hook, s/he doesn’t. A hook looks like this:
THOSE are examples of hooks. Niceness, top grades, stellar test scores, amazing LORs, outstanding interviews, hundreds of hours of community service (U.S. and third world countries) and most of the rest are what everyone else is bringing to the table, too.
You can’t control these things at this point, so stop worrying about them. Applications are in and done. You will have your results on M10. Until then, don’t waste a single minute second guessing or trying to read signals that aren’t there. Enjoy this time with your family and child because, if your child does end up at BS in the fall, you will regret any minute you spent otherwise.
Good luck to everyone. Go out and play.