I got an 88 percentile overall, 87 gender. The thing is, my verbal was 74/75 percentile for gender/grade and my reading was 82/80 for gender/grade. Is my r/v ok? I am quite worried. Thanks guys. The schools that I am applying to are Cate, Choate, Deerfield, Exeter, Andover, Groton, St. Paul’s.
@badminton4life remember that you are so much more than your test scores…your scores and overall 88 gives a good snapshot of skills, but the big picture includes many strengths that you have shared with us before on CC…including grades and many accomplishments. Best wishes and bee confident :bz
Ok? Yes. Retake? Only if you think you can do better AND not take away from the rest of your application, including good grades this trimester or semester. 2-3 weeks of Quizlet got my “math kid’s” verbal from the 70s to the 90s.
@Altras which quizlets? and did they study roots and vocab or just vocab?
There are many SSAT upper level lists. He just chose a 500 word list and studied it. Just vocab.
They’re fine, but try to see if you can get them up in the 90s unless you are in a sought after cohort like Varsity athlete, North Dakota family, alumni or other.
@preppedparent what is your definition of “fine”
My take on it is that, based on your scores (I haven’t been on BS forum much to know the rest of your app profile), you will have only an average chance of admission to the schools you have targeted — unless you have a “hook” like one of those described by @preppedparent.
Years ago when we were just getting started with our older girl, we were told by AOs at a few selective schools that “Anything from mid-80s on up and we know you can do the work”. That said, the admission rates at the schools you are targeting are very low. So even an average applicant, stats-wise, is not going to have a very good chance of getting admitted.
And even if you have 99%-ile sores, that’s still no guarantee of admission. As I’ve shared before, my older girl was one wrong question away from a perfect score (which, IMO, is very different than being in the 99%-ile) and yet she was REJECTED from Choate (but accepted to SPS). So who knows what goes on in the selection process.
FWIW, if attending a boarding school is important to you (and not just the seven you’ve listed above), I think it’s a better approach to target schools based on your scores…meaning replace some of those super selectives with schools where you are going to be a rockstar applicant and not just an average smart kid. Pretty much all of the schools discussed on here with any frequency will offer a great education and prepare you for college. Keep in mind that NONE of them is a magic bullet for the selective college application process.
For Andover and Exeter, your scores are a bit too low (unless you have a strong hook). Consider re-taking as usually the bottom bar for these schools is 95%. Your current R/V could be better. You should retake.
@AndoverKid257 that’s not necessarily true depending on the student’s profile. We would need more info to even make a guess, and that’s really what it would be. The one thing that is clear to me is that OP needs several additional schools that have a higher admit percentage on the list.
@AndoverKid257 @MAandMEmom @SevenDad @Golfgr8 if you could take a look at my info here and leave some thoughts that would be really appreciated, I’m not really sure if I would like to add schools as it puts a burden on the family, my teachers etc and maybe parents just wouldn’t let me. Also, does my ssat be the reason of my rejection due to low verbal scores? Thanks guys! http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-chances/2113366-finally-some-info-would-i-be-even-considered-for-these-schools-im-asian-so.html
@badminton4life …I think you are limiting yourself with the schools you have mentioned…I will PM you more info, but for now, I would like to share with CC that there are many fine folks here that will also tell you to think about applying to a wider net of schools - not just the cluster at the top a rankings list or endowment list. A couple of the schools on your list are really small and have very limited space for 10th grade. You have a lot to offer and apply to a wider variety of schools. Hang in there and stay positive! :bz
Your scores are about average for all of the schools except Andover and Exeter. I think their averages are in the low 90’s. As others have posted, being average is fine if you have a good hook. Otherwise getting up a few points won’t hurt.
Scores definitely don’t mean everything though. I know kids from my son’s boarding school who were admitted with scores in the 60’s. These kids were athletes or mega-rich though. The average unhooked applicant will need scores at or above the 50th percentile to have a decent chance. If you need financial aid then the score threshold will be even higher.
@sgopal2 if you take a look here do you think my SSAT will hurt? http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-chances/2113366-finally-some-info-would-i-be-even-considered-for-these-schools-im-asian-so.html
I suggest that you consider adding at least two schools where you would near the top of the heap academically. We employed this strategy a couple of years ago to ensure that we had options. My daughter’s testing profile was in your range but she has a couple of aspects that might be considered desirable. For us the schools that fit this category were Suffield, Loomis Chaffee, and St. George’s School.
@MAandMEmom do you think I will have the same opportunities being towards the top? Wouldn’t this be just the same in a public high school where I am probably around the top as well?
@badminton4life , it depends on why you want to be at BS. Most of these schools have quite a few very high-achieving students and are more than able to meet their needs. You are misguided though if you think that you’d be a standout at any school besides the ones on your list.
With that said, your scores are good enough to put you in the running at those on your list. SSAT scores tend to keep a student out rather than get them in (and some schools also are able to spot the students who will excel in spite of their scores.) And you are also smart to be thinking of LPS as one of your options - it’ll certainly win on price!
@badminton4life I’ll reply separately on your thread
Those are very competitive schools and the scores are ok. They look at your whole package however. There will be kids with top scores and kids with other interests and strengths. I don’t think they are low enough to “knock you out” nor do I think they are high enough to push you forward. Remember that if the average score at a school is 80, there will be kids with 60 % and kids with 99%. If you are coming from outside NE, your chances are better, likewise if you have some other hook (legacy, URM, sports) that will help also. I believe that the interview is really important ( more than the scores even). The schools want a fit and you should too. Have you thought of doing 20% of schools above your scores, 40% at your score and 20% below your score. The rest of the ones you could play around with depending on your interests. Honestly going for only the hardest to get into might hurt you. I’ll bet there is a great school out there for you. For my kid, the final choice wasn’t the initial top choice at all. But after the visits it was all about fit and some just didn’t fit. You’ll know it when you have found it.
@Happytimes2001 my parents wont let me apply to that many anyways, and if Im going to a boarding school, I want it to be the top