Low ssat score, do I still stand a chance of getting into top boarding schools?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

Hi I’m a grade 10 female student from Hong Kong top high school applying as a repeated sophomore.(Because my English sucks)

Here’s my ssat:
Q: 99%
R: 94%
V: 35% (yes it’s bad)
Overall: 78%

Toefl: R: 29 L:26 S:24 W:23 overall 102

My grades are decent especially in STEM subjects such as math, further math, physics, biology. I received academic scholarship from my current school.

My EC’s
-participated in a few science related inter-schools competition and won several awards.
-been playing piano and violin since the age of 7.(ABRSM grade 6 and 4 respectively)
-ice skating for 6 years with freestyle 2, 3 qualifications.
-public solo verse speaking for 6 years and won 5~6 inter-school competitions.
-joined choir for 7 years, won international competition (Grand Champion), and was a soprano leader.
-studied French for three years.
-community services
-committee in art club

I would say my recommendation letters are pretty good, cuz I showed my passion towards learning and got good grades. My essays should be great cuz it’s proofread by my sister (who studies law) Haven’t had my interview yet but I’ll surely talk about my love towards math and science.

A point to add is that my mother passed away this summer so this might be related to my bad results recently.

I applied to 12 schools, (PA, PEA, Hotchkiss, Middlesex, Athenian etc)

Please help and thanks!!

2

I would guess that some schools may worry that your English skills may not be good enough for you to keep up with the work.

Others, especially ones that may have ELL support, may not care as they will have the opportunity to help you improve in that area.

Hopefully, the schools you didn’t list are a bit less selective.

3

May I know what is ELL support??

4

English Language Learner. Some schools have specific classes and resources for students who submit TOEFL results.

Overall, BS require a lot of reading and writing and participation in the classroom. That can be hard for a non native speaker.

5

Thanks!! How do you know if a school provides ELL support?

6

You should be able to find it on their website. Some schools may still refer to it as ESL (English as a second language. )

7

I don’t think these acronym schools provide that… I think you have a chance but if your score increased by 10 percentiles you would have a much greater chance! It is not too late to sign up for the February SSAT that PA accepts!