<p>do I have a chance of getting into these schools?</p>
<p>OldFields
Garrison Forest
Kent
St. Paul's
Dana Hall</p>
<p>My average at a top private school is an A-, I have really good teacher recommendations, and amazing interviews... but I am horrible at standardized testing, so my SSAT scores were not top notch...</p>
<p>Total Score 2064
(Personal Score Range: NA, SSAT Percentile 58%)
_________________________________________________-
I do have a hook at St. Pauls because my grandfather went there and donated a TON of money after he died.. but I'm still very nervous about getting in. </p>
<p>I would have to know more about you to chance you but I think the 92% is good, the 62% could be overlooked if you overall was high, but the 20% is really going to kill you. I think it’s going to effect your chances a lot. If you have the chance try to take them again because if you could get the 20% up to a %60 or %70 at least and get the 62% up a little I think those would be sufficient scores for those schools assuming you really do have great recs, EC’s, etc. (except maybe SPS but you’re a legacy so that’s going to help your chances a lot)</p>
<p>Well, you may be an exception and you may genuinely be bad at standardized testing (most people who want BS are not bad at it and low scores reflect something else–maybe sickness, unwillingness, or lack of competence) and the admissions officers may realize that. With a 58%ile SPS seems brutally difficult, if not impossible. Kent also seems like a major reach.</p>
<p>
Maybe your grandfather going serves as a minor hook (though I do not think it is enough to reconcile the effect of your SSAT) but I don’t think the money has any impact. Not only has the BS world become far more meritorious since your grandfather graduated, but also because a missing generation ends the loop, so to speak, of that money. I may be wrong, I am taking a shot in the dark. </p>
<p>What is a “TON” of money? Development cases may have tens of millions (maybe I am embellishing, I don’t know) of dollars worth in donation. 700 grand is still a lot, but not a write-in. Do you get what I am saying?</p>
<p>Maybe your teacher recs from your top private school will influence the decision. You certainly are not the common case of low SSAT.</p>
<p>What kind of help are you looking for from here, lovelybone? Get good recommendations from your teachers, and tap on the hook you have with SPS. Good luck.</p>
<p>I’m not sure the exact amount that was donated… but I’m I believe it was somewhere around the 50,000 mark. I was ill when I took the test, but that’s not really an excuse… </p>
<p>I am looking to retake the test in January to see if I can get my scores up… because I only took the test once without any outside tutoring or help (which I probably should have had).
Thanks for your help, Principal IV</p>
That’s an incredible sum of money, an unfathomable donation for most of us. Unfortunately, I don’t think that would move the needle enough for you to consider SPS with effect of the scores. </p>
<p>If your math was so much below the others, it may be that you mis-bubbled. If not, you need to genuinely ask your self, “are you skilled at math.” If not, how do you hope to get skilled. The SSAT is different from most tests, especially math tests, you will have taken. It is highly skill oriented as opposed to knowledge based. You can solve a Millennium Equation (million buck unsolved equations set by Clay) and do poorly. </p>
<p>Work diligently. I don’t think the move from 20th to 50th will be all to difficult with some deliberate studying. From 50th to 70th will need a lot more work and, to be honest, a 85 and above seems unlikely if it was not a result of a mis-bubble (you can only gain skills so quickly).</p>
<p>My guess is that you will get accepted at all of them except for St Paul’s. If I had a student in your shoes, I would recommend some math tutoring----just go way back and review some of the basics. The 20% score suggests that you may have missed a few things along the way, and it’s better to catch up now, or in the summer, so it doesn’t become a road block in high school. Your reading score is fantastic!</p>
<p>It is an incredible sum of money. I could be COMPLETELY off on the numbers… but when I asked my mother, she estimated it was around there. </p>
<p>I am skilled at math, but for some reason the math on standardize test ALWAYS gets me.
I think I am going to withdraw my application to St. Paul’s since I know I will not get in and why bother stressing myself out even further? But thank you so much for your help, PrincipalIV.</p>
<p>Did you use an SSAT study guide before you took the SSAT? I used the Kaplan and Barron guides and it helped prepare me a lot. If you did, then I’d do what someone above said and look into a tutor. Both will bring up your scores a lot, I’m sure!
If you’re not ready for the January test this year but still want to go to BS, there’s always next year! You’ll be more prepared and ready. There’ll be less seats, though.</p>
<p>Many candidates are better in one area than another. </p>
<p>However, admissions officers have told me that they expect higher SSAT scores for a candidate from a competitive pre prep vs. an average school.</p>
<p>Study hard for the math and retake the SSAT would be my best advice.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that for some reason, SPS has a higher legacy rate (I think it was 32 or 26%) than other schools. Just retake your SSATs, try to bring your math score up to at least 50 or so. </p>
<p>I think that you still have a shot at Dana Hall, if you don’t need FA. Good luck!!</p>
<p>I would not recommend that you withdraw your application to St. Paul’s. You should retake the SSAT, though, and focus on math preparation for the test.</p>
<p>Definitely not. Kent’s average SSAT score (according to boardingschoolreview, anyway) is 70th percentile.</p>
<p>As for your SSAT score, mylovelybones, definitely retake them. Study plenty and when test day comes around, totally don’t be nervous. If you can get your scores up enough, your grandfather having attended SPS and donating money will function as a hook, but at the time being, I don’t think it will - remember that today $50,000 is little more than a year’s tuition at SPS.</p>
<p>MaterS, My school is a top school… but its also different in its way of teaching. We’re not taught to a test, its more of a free learning place. You might have heard of the school, its called The Ross School and its curriculum is quite different from other schools.</p>
<p>Definitely. I know plenty of people who did exceptionally well on their second taking of the SSAT after not doing as well on their first. Just work hard and it’ll show.</p>
If you did, then I’d do what someone above said and look into a tutor. Both will bring up your scores a lot, I’m sure!