We’re helping our DC prepare a list of boarding schools for this year’s 9th grade application season. DC has great grades, good (but not spectacular) ECs, and will have strong recommendations, but practice SSAT scores so far are barely reaching the 70th percentile.
We’re struggling to identify good “likely” or “safety” schools for a student with this application profile (we have quite a few “reach” schools in mind) and would appreciate any suggestions. DC would prefer east or west coast, secular, co-ed, with a substantial boarding population.
There are A LOT of schools that fit this criteria. I would encourage you to look at the school profiles on Boarding School Review website, and read through some of the threads on this forum … there has been a ton of valuable information shared here during the past few admission cycles.
I think if you do some basic research first and come back with more specific questions, you’ll get more responses from others here. I would encourage you to definitely read the admissions results threads for the past few years… those posts are sobering, as far as the high profile, reachy schools go. Casting a very wide net is always a good idea. Good luck as you begin this adventure!
Berkshire, Suffield and Tabor have average SSAT scores in this range and meet your criteria. As @cameo43 mentioned, there are many more out there; this is just a start!
Lawrence Academy is another. My DD had similar SSATs and we looked at Tabor, Lawrence, Governor’s Academy and Brooks (she got into those, although we thought most were a reach) as well as St. Mark’s and St. George’s and Concord Academy (didn’t get in to those). She starts at Governor’s on Friday!
I would have to disagree that Loomis is a match. Though it’s percentile is in the 80’s, it is still an extraordinarily hard school to get into, and apart of TSAO. However, I would like to note that all of these schools are amazing, but as someone who once did that: considering many of these schools as safeties or places like Loomis as such is something that can be crushing. But good luck in your search! One school I’m looking at possibly is Kimball Union
For a school to count as a “safety,” it should have an SSAT average that is well below your child’s score. Any school that has an average SSAT score that’s roughly the same as your child’s score, I would consider a “possible.”
