<p>Since discovering CC, I've read so many posts from students and parents worrying and obsessing about whether they would be accepted to their chosen schools, and now, worrying and obsessing about whether they will get off the waitlists. I feel their pain! During the application process, I did the same kind of fretting and obsessing. My d was far more relaxed about the process than I. Reading some of the posts here made me wonder whether she would be accepted anywhere! In public middle school, her grades were As and Bs, but she had not participated in team sports. She did not have many honors classes or ECs or awards. She is talented and outgoing, creative and artistic and musical. Her teachers seem to like her, so I assume her recs were good. She is poised and fun, and enjoyed her interviews on our school visits. I am told that she wrote a few good essays (I haven't seen them yet-- for both our sakes, I took a step back and was supportive, but hands-off her app-- I was really surprised at how stressful the process had become for me). And the more CC posts I read, the more overwhelmed I became... yikes, those "chance me" posts all seemed to be written by super-genius kids with long, long lists of ECs and awards, etc. etc. So I worried even more. And then... we got the SSAT scores. A bit of a shock. They were truly, truly awful. Normally cool as a cucumber for tests, that particular exam experience had really thrown my d for a loop. I wondered if we should just cut our losses, drop the whole idea of BS and make the best of the LPS experience. Following the sage advice in posts of some wise CC parents (thanks ChoatieMom, Exie, and SevenDad!), we had applied to a wide range of schools we really liked, and hoped for the best. (Our goal was not acronym-only schools.) A few people said "SSATs are just one piece of the app". But still, I worried... there were lots of great candidates in the pool... and we also needed major FA. I figured our chances were very slim, b/c I kept reading about how competitive things were going to be this year, at schools 'across the spectrum'. The first admission decision we received was from the school we had thought of as her "safety school". OUCH -- She was waitlisted! She was disappointed, and I felt sick, wondering how I could have kept encouraging her to forge ahead with this process, when I must have been more hopeful than realistic. I braced myself for a string of rejection letters. But surprisingly, that is not what happened. She was, in fact, accepted to several wonderful Hidden Gems, waitlisted at 2, and accepted at a real "reach" school -- despite the very low SSAT scores, and with what many might consider 'weaknesses' in her application. We were absolutely thrilled (and amazed) to have such happy results. Even better, the acceptances came with offers of the FA we needed. Most of the letters made very specific mention of how her unique qualities and interests would contribute to their school community. I'm sharing this b/c I am sure there are other parents out there who are considering BS for their child, who may be somewhat intimidated by those posts which can make it seem like only kids with perfect scores and impeccable credentials are being considered by excellent schools. Don't believe it. They are looking for other things in applicants, too. And there are LOTS of excellent schools out there. As others have said on CC many times: There is no formula. Don't make yourself crazy trying to figure it out. Different schools are looking for different things in applicants as they build a class. It really is "kind of random."</p>
<p>Your post is very encouraging and I agree with your point. It’s really random. Although, I want to ask what was the ssat score? It’s fine if you don’t answer :)</p>
<p>Cafe, I’ve PM’d you. My d also reads CC occasionally, and she’d be mortified…</p>
<p>I actually meant to start this thread in the Parents forum. But it’s late, and I goofed. :(</p>
<p>Hey, cameo43.I can’t private message eton cuz I haven’t posted 15 posts yet. </p>
<p>Yes, never say never. I got around the 70s on my ssat and i didn’t get into the Gladchemms school that I applied to but I got into another school, Kent, and I’m happy about it. The process surprises me a lot and it’s really random. I think if you didn’t get into anything, you’ll still have an experience of applying to prepare for college! Good luck to you and your daughter :D</p>
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<p>Just quickly visit some other threads and write a token, polite comment, to get up to 15.</p>
<p>What are your SSATs? You can give a range like 60%, 70%, not necessarily the exact score. Are you an URM applicant?</p>
<p>Cameo, thanks so much for posting this, it really helps! Given my somewhat obsessive personality, I have turned almost immediately from being happy for my oldest child that he got into a BS that he really likes, and am already now worrying about my daughter, who is 2 years younger. Having gone along on a few school visits with my son and having watched him go through the process, my daughter is now absolutely dying to go to BS. As it was, my son didn’t get into quite a number of schools that he thought he would (no matter how many times I cautioned him), and my daughter is not as strong a student as he is. Like yours, she will have good grades but poor test scores, and good teacher recommendations but not a lot in the way of team sports or extracurriculars. I’m already trying to gently manage her expectations, but also dreading that it would turn out to be a disappointing experience for her. Thanks for offering some hope!</p>
<p>I think cameo’s post is trying to expose the very uselessness of the chance-me data that pwalsh is asking for. Knowing her daughter’s stats would only give some people a metric to compare themselves against, and that is her point – you can’t compare yourself to anyone else. Her daughter’s stats are irrelevant to you. It is sufficient that she is telling you that her daughter’s profile was not the typical uber-achiever profile you see posted so repetitiously here. Just rejoice and take comfort in the fact that there IS a place at the table for all types of students.</p>
<p>Thank you for your story cameo; I think it is more common than many here believe.</p>
<p>@soxmom: Similar boat for younger child. What I think it underscores is the need to make the consider and “apply to” sets of schools appropriate to the child.</p>
<p>Yes, for some, H.A.D.E. and S. ARE the appropriate schools…but I’d hazard that the group of kids for which this is true is extremely small.</p>
<p>Which is another reason I encourage to ALL folks new to BS and the app process to look at some of the schools in the “hidden gems” thread (though many are not all that “hidden”!..just not the ones everyone’s heard of).</p>
<p>@cameo: Interested in which school your daughter chooses…feel free to PM if you’d prefer to keep that on the DL.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your replies to my post… and here is a little update:</p>
<p>We just returned from a couple of revisits. While there, I had a chance to chat with the AOs who had interviewed my d, and I decided to ask them: so just what was it about her application that landed her in the “accepted” category? And they both told me the same thing. It was her interview. One said “Although she didn’t have the strongest numbers, she’s a hard worker and her character and natural personality really came through in the interview. It was one of the most enjoyable talks I’ve ever had with an applicant”. The other one said “I had so much fun talking with her. She’s really interesting. Right after our interview ended, I went to the AD and said “We have got to admit this girl. She’s really special.”” (I think so, too!) 
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<p>Now, before anyone goes looking for an interview coach:</p>
<p>It’s worth noting that early in the process, when I attempted to coach her for her interviews, she adamantly refused my help, saying " Mom, I don’t want to practice. It feels phony. I just want to be me. If they don’t like the real me, then I don’t belong there."
Turns out she had it right.
The best part of being a parent these days… is learning from my child. :)</p>
<p>@Cafe23 - Congratulations on your acceptance to Kent! It is a wonderful school.</p>
<p>+1 to cameo. </p>
<p>This is an unusually gem-like post!</p>
<p>So after the revisists, has she decided where she’s going to go?</p>
<p>I am an eighth grader, and I got in the 60% range on the SSAT. Despite this, I still managed to get into 6/7 schools that I applied to. Several of these schools were among the GLADCHEMMS. It shows that even if you don’t do particularly well on the SSAT, you can still get into some great prep schools.</p>
<p>@prep1919: Well done! Congrats on your acceptances. This is exactly the point! Maybe we should start a thread called “who had low ssat scores and still got into great schools?” !! ;)</p>
<p>^ I second that. Like your daughter I think the thing that made the difference for my app was the interview. I had a low SSAT(high 70s) score as well and got into a school that I really like. I was a nervous wreck mainly because I had to compete with kids who earned a 99% on their SSAT, yet somehow they saw past my score. Maybe it was because they saw potential or realized that a percentage can’t define what your capable of.</p>
<p>confusedonhades: I’ve read many of your posts, Congrats on Hotchkiss! We live nearby and have friends on the faculty. You will have wonderful opportunities there! It’s an extraordinary place.</p>
<p>I disagree with the idea of starting a thread called “who had low ssat scores and still got into great schools?” That would create a false impression to people that they should not worry about their SSAT scores, which is not the case.</p>
<p>It’s not random at all, the schools know what they’re doing. It’s just different people using different systems that we don’t understand.</p>