<p>Hi, I know this might be a reach, but I'd like to get a 95% at least for the SSAT. I'm goods t math, but my reading comprehension and verbal skills need to be worked on. However, this is a thread where those that might know how to succeed on the SSAT can give tips for students currently taking the SSAT and want to ace it with flying marks.</p>
<p>So please, write anything you can that could help someone raise their SSAT scores even just a bit. :)</p>
<p>P.S. if anyone doesn't have a tip, but wants to ask a question, feel free to post it, so others, like me, can answer them, because my last SSAT grade was a 95%.</p>
<p>I scored well in the Dec. SSAT, and some stuff that helped me in verbal were word roots. Even if you only learn a couple, they can help.
For reading, I don’t really have any tips besides making sure to read the whole text carefully</p>
<p>Reading.
Well, in the SSAT there are like 6-9 passages with 5-7 questions each, for only 40 minutes time. So, first of all, you have to find out by practice tests which passages you are best on. Do the passages you are best on, because many ppl don’t have time to finish all of them.
Secondly, ACTIVE READING. Don’t spend your time reading, spend your time answering the questions! they give you points. So, read quickly, and form the main idea in your mind. Then, the questions. At each question you can come back at the passage.
But if you really want a good score, you have to work with some prep books. I would suggest Princeton review and Kaplan. And lots of practice, because the reading passages all have the same kinds of questions…</p>
<p>Now, about the Verbal. Myself, I have been studying a lot of words, because Verbal is my weak point(not native American)…
Flashcards. Extremely helpful. Do flashcards on every single word and keep them in a box. Take the box with you. In school, trips… idk
Study the SSAT hit list. Quizlet also has really good sets. Don’t be afraid to study SAT words too. Kind of the same.
The Princeton Word Smart book. I really liked it and it was very helpful. </p>
<p>And please study WORD ROOTS! It will help you a lot, a lot, in words that you dont know.</p>
<p>jane: Your post makes no sense. If you scored 95%, why are you asking for tips on how to raise your score?</p>
<p>Here’s how to ace the SSAT: Answer all the questions correctly.</p>
<p>This question is asked over and over and over and over and over again. There is no magic bullet for acing this test or any other. You can use the books that are mentioned here (over and over and over and over and over again) to prepare. Use them to understand how the test is structured, learn techniques for answering questions you are unsure of, how unanswered questions are counted, and take practice tests (over and over and over again). Then, get a good night’s rest and have a good breakfast the day of the test. You know what you know and some prep can help you become familiar with the test and point out areas where, if you have time, you can focus some additional study, but there is no magic here, just common sense, a bit of prep, and a sharp #2 pencil.</p>
<p>yes, I know a 95% is really good! but I’m applying for top notch boarding schools like Exeter and Andover. If I were to be accepted into these schools, I would go on full financial aid, because my income levels are less than $75,000. My schools grades are all A’s, my interview went really well, and I have good extracurriculars, but I’m just worried that’s not enough to get into these schools when I’m applying for full financial aid.</p>
<p>So, now that you know this is my situation, think I can get in? I know no one can be sure, but what’s your opinion about it?</p>
<p>And thanks for the tips. I know a lot of people on this site ask this question, but, just wanted to know for myself. Other questions are structured differently, so I wanted to ask one more fit for me.</p>
<p>No one but the admissions people at the schools to which you are applying know your chances of admission. Period. There is no decision-making difference between a 90% and a 99%. Why can’t you kids understand this? The hair’s difference between those scores is not what will keep you out of any school. Go worry about something else.</p>
<p>I can relate to the OP… If the score was 95 overall but less than 85 in one particular section or something, then I think preparing to retake would be smart. But if he OPs scores are all in the 90s, then it would be a waste of time and money to retake. 95% is above the average accepted anyway. (94% for Andover)</p>
<p>I understand you are nervous about the financial aid and you may be tempted to raise the score further. But 95% is already a good score. There is no difference between 95 and 99. Not many people can excel in every subject. </p>
<p>So invest your time more on something else such as writing a good essay with a good, truthful story of what experiences instilled inside yourself would make you a good fit with the specific school.</p>
<p>I think a lot of kids inherit this SSAT panic/hype from their parents as well. </p>
<p>My son got 90s in all three sections (not 99s, but a range, and we were very YAY) and over break a parent we know (A PARENT!!!) whose son goes to an area prep school asked him if he was going to “try again for a perfect score” - what the what?! I was so furious that she planted that seed in his head. As if he’s not stressed enough. </p>
<p>She went on to say that AOs look for applicants to have a perfect score in at least one of the three sections because it demonstrates a particular strength. Because she knows this. grrr.</p>
<p>I will try to remember to comment on this after we know the results of March 10. However, right now it seems that my son, who does have one “perfect” score to his credit, has received more positive attention on school visits than has my daughter, who is taking the SSAT Saturday. Some schools look at scores before the interview and some don’t. But there are other factors at play, of course, so I can’t be sure that my perception is accurate.</p>
<p>I don’t know, maybe I’m naive, but I can’t see a school affording too much difference between a 96/93/94 and a 99/92/86. I mean, really? </p>
<p>But even if I knew the inner sanctum workings of the AO, who the hell in their right minds would be telling these kids with overalls in the 90s to try again? I agree with GMT that it is unnessary stress for these kids. If I were an AO and I saw a retake after a high score I would read it as crazy parent.</p>
<p>@twinsmama, ire not directed at your comment.
You don’t strike me as falling into the same category as those I was referring to. I can’t see you telling your daughter she <em>has</em> to get a 99 this week, or else she’s screwed. </p>
<p>It just gets my goat when I see parents contributing to, rather than ameliorating, their kids’ anxieties.</p>
<p>@janeli,
If u need full FA, perhaps the money for the registration fee to retake a 95% SSAT result would have been better spent applying to another school in addn to E & A.</p>
<p>This may come as a startling revelation to u, but there are actually other excellent schools in existence besides E & A, which have generous FA budgets.</p>
<p>EXACTLY…my son, who did do well on the SSAT (only took it once though), was lucky and got in where he applied. A good friend of his had good grades, good ECs, got a 99th percentile on his SSATs (also only took it once), and got congratulatory letters from the directors of admission at 2 HADES schools. He was later rejected at one of these and WL at the other. He did get into a hidden gem with a lot of FA, where he seems very happy. The point? Two-fold: first, once you have decent SSATs, stop obsessing-- they don’t, in themselves, get you in (as so many have said on these boards). Second, as GMTplus (and so many others) have said, cast a wide net.</p>
