<p>I was just wondering whether anyone out there got a really low score and still got accepted. if you did, what was your score and what school/s did you get admitted to?</p>
<p>yo 27%, 31%- accepted st. pauls, exeter. rejected-andover, groton. i go to exeter.</p>
<p>Yankees, i'm sure you had a very "standing out" hook. do you mind telling us what it is?</p>
<p>he's a laxer</p>
<p>Yankees - how are you finding the work load at Exeter??</p>
<p>Yankees, I thought you went to Middlesex. Did you change your mind or are you a different person?</p>
<p>He said he goes to middlesex and exeter. This is dope, i doubt any one is going to exeter with a 31% thats equal to better than 60% in national percentile rankings. correct me if i'm wrong</p>
<p>Last year there was an unhooked applicant (and regular poster here on CC at the time) with a low 60s %ile score who was accepted at St. Paul's. She claimed she was unhooked and, if I recall correctly, someone else kept insisting that she had to have a hook and there was some sort of silly debate that went on first as to whether the applicant was hooked but didn't know it or was lying about it; and, then, as to whether it even mattered.</p>
<p>The person who claimed that there was a hidden hook insisted that, yes, it did matter because the information might be shared this year and it could be misleading to future applicants. I said "hogwash." Some people are so silly. That could never happen.</p>
<p>I've noticed and heard that anything under 50% is a cause for concern, but I do have a former student at Choate with a 38% who is doing really well. </p>
<p>There are a variety of hooks that you all know about or can imagine. What that I have noticed that you probably haven't thought of is what I call the "nice kid, nice parents" hook. If the parents and kid are both very socially comfortable, nice people who the admissions officers grow to like, I see them having an advantage and getting into top schools with a high 60's-80's SSAT. Of course this hook doesn't work if you are applying for financial aid.</p>
<p>If you go to Boarding School Review's advanced search screen (<a href="http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/searchschools.php)%5B/url%5D">http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/searchschools.php)</a>, you can search for schools that don't even require the SSAT. I have to assume that for these schools, SSAT scores are not important.</p>
<p>Kids with low SSAT scores get accepted all the time - you just may have to go beyond the top 10 list of schools that tends to dominate this forum.</p>
<p>I've mentioned this before, but at my son's Jr. prep school about 15 or so Prep schools come on different days and meet with the 9th graders. It is informal and a chance for the kids to ask questions that they might not in a "real" interview. The SSAT question is almost always asked. What is the average SSAT score needed? IF the school told they all (but one) said, "it's really not a very important part of the application." I repeat, **all **but one said that. The one that didn't? MILTON. They started the SSAT conversation by telling them the average is over 90%.<br>
Now, yes, Milton was the only of the "top tier" schools to come. But the rest were not bottom feeders. They were schools like Governors, Gunnery, Episcopal, Hawaii Prep, Trinity-Pawling, Canterbury, Loomis, NMH, Westminster, Suffiled, etc.</p>
<p>Linda, it is interesting to read Milton stressed a high scoring SSAT. </p>
<p>Last night, I was researching a different school in the CC archives, and came across a boy who was accepted into Milton this year for 10th grade. </p>
<p>According to his post, his SSAT scores were: "... 46 verbal, 32 math and 50 reading comprehension." </p>
<p>He did have other hooks: Full paying student, Plays basketball for Milton, and is Mexican.</p>
<p>"He did have other hooks: Full paying student, Plays basketball for Milton, and is Mexican."</p>
<p>I could probably call up a friend i know at Milton, and he could give you the exact name of the boy. Thats quite exact, hes in gr. 10, plays basketball for milton and IS MEXICAN....</p>
<p>first post ive made in a while...</p>
<p>You know, here's a question about a low SSAT score. If you received a low score, do you think you would still apply to a school where the average SSAT percentile is 93% or higher? If my daughter had a low score, I would probably encourage her to apply to schools where her SSAT results were more in line with the other students. The SSAT's aren't in the most important factor in the admissions game (in my opinion), however, if you don't have scores within the school's parameters, you probably aren't going to be considered (not withstanding other extenuating factors, i.e. extremely well-hooked candidate). </p>
<p>The SSAT results show the schools that you can do the work--it doesn't provide insight into your personality, work ethic, moral integrity, how much you will contribute to the schools community, etc. I think the SSAT score is just a checkmark for the schoolHe received an 91%, so we know he can do the work. Now lets look at his recommendations, academic history, interview, and so on I dont think they look at the SSAT score again. </p>
<p>However, if a child has a low score, even if she has great recommendations, interviewed well, and has a high GPA, the score becomes a red flag. The admin committee will probably wonder if she has the ability to keep up with her peers. Unless there were significant reasons why the score was so low, I think the school would probably put that students application in the rejected, or at the very least, doubtful pile.</p>
<p>Its all about finding the right fit. Your job is finding the right school for youthe schools job is to choose the students they think are most likely to thrive in and contribute something valuable to their community.</p>
<p>thanks everybody! that helps a lot.</p>
<p>jennycraig - at one of our recent visits to a top school, I was told that they do exactly what you said. If a student has an 85% or better they move on to the rest of the application. If the score is lower then they investigate. They want to be sure that the kids that they accept can handle the work load.</p>
<p>yankees, what were your stats? I'd really like to know</p>
<p>Part of the problem is knowing what a school considers to be a "low" SSAT score. We might know what the average score is, but not how low they will accept. It seems to be a big mystery. Aren't there any posters out there who have ever worked in admissions????</p>