Hello!
I am a current 8th grader in New jersey and I am applying to Lawrenceville.
I took the ssat two times and my scores were
average: 73
verbal : 65
Quantative: 81
Reading: 65
and the other one was
average: 75
verbal: 88
reading: 65
Quantitive : 55(oh lord)
My academics are above an A and my interview went farily well
My extracurricular activites are horebackriding(4 years), swimming(10 years), golf(8 years), violin(8 years), piano (8 years) and ski (10 years)
I did ABRSM level 7,8,9 and got distinction for al
I competed for finals for horsebckrdiing and regionals
And I am the contremaster for two orchestras
My essy is fairly good; I got help from a college family friend
I really want to go to Lawrenceville? What are my chances for getting in and do you think my ssat scores will affect my chances?
We know, from an incredibly reliable source, that Lville wants a minimum of 70% in each SSAT category, so they are certain the applicant can handle the tough academic rigor. And while there are likely a small handful of students accepted with scores below 70%, I’m certain those applicants have a pretty strong hook.
Will you be applying to any other schools? Are any of your applicable sports (swimming or golf) strong enough to appeal to Lville coaches? Alternatively, if you feel your musical ability stands out, reach out to the head of orchestra at Lville.
As is the theme on here…your best chance at having success on March 10th is to apply to many schools with varying acceptance rates. Best of luck to you.
Hi, thank you so much for replying. I’m only applying to Lawrenceville and I’m not really sure if my extra curricular activities can really hook onto Lville coaches. I did the swim team for 1 year but i discontinued. Also, in your opnion which one of the ssat tests do you think would be better to hand in?
you can submit both since a lot of schools superscore and will consider the best score from each section.
I don’t think they allow to submit two test scores.
One place you said you swam for 10 years and one place you said you swam for 1. Which is it? It’s going to be important to get your story straight and not add fluff that the AO can smell for a mile away (ie. founded an international non-profit when I was 12 
).
Yes you can. You just mark both sets to be released and the school will take the highest mark in each section. In your SSAT portal you have to specifically release each set of scores though. You can release just one or more than one. In another thread, if I recall, no one had come up with a school that will not superscore so it would benefit you to release all your scores so the schools can compile your highest outcome.
I am far from an expert on this subject, but based on advise we received for kiddo2, who had similarly erratic SSAT scores, I’d probably submit the first set. We were also told that Lville puts more weight into the quantitative score, which again, would favor the first set of scores. I don’t remember if there is still time to take the SSAT again…(for some reason I think there may be a mid Jan test date that works) but if there is, I would suggest trying a third time and hopefully you’ll get that higher quant and verbal score at once!! I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Lville is an incredible school, but you seem like a very accomplished student who will succeed wherever you land.
Just remember when you do this, they still have access to all the scores. So while they may in fact superscore, they’re still seeing all the numbers, and that can work against you. We were advised not to send both sets of scores for kiddo2 for that exact reason.
Exactly. We were lucky that my son’s scores the second time he took his test were all higher so we just submitted the one test. I question though if schools can see the dates tests were taken (like when they access data from EMA) but not get the test score? It would be interesting to know just how much info they get that we don’t know
Oh, haha no I swam for ten years and I did the swim team for one
Ohh, thank you. I didn’t know that.
Thank you so much for your advice and words. There’s not a lot of time to take another one so I have to settle for the ones I have now. :((
But what do you mean you swam for 10 years but only on a team for 1? I don’t know that they care about recreational swimming if not could you imagine the amount of students putting on their applications that they spent 13 years playing video games (not e-sports teams), spent 10 years posting Tik-Toks (not social media influencer with 1.2 million followers), etc. There is a big difference in presentation and if a AO calls you out on it, you need to be able to support what you are saying. This mis-match would send a red flag (as it did) if I was going over your application. There is a fine line of listing worthy activities and listing fluff.
If you’ve only been on a team for 1 year what have you done the other 9 or 10 that is significant? Taking lessons, going to swim training camps, building skills? I don’t know if swimming for a week every summer at your uncle’s cabin constitutes “swimming for 10 years”. Define what it is you do because there is quite the difference in your explanation that doesn’t match vs (this is coming as a swim mom) who’s son has been on a swim team since he was 6, and currently practices 18 hrs a week in the pool all year in addition to trains in open water in New England from March until November. What kind of swimming have you done for 10 yrs if it isn’t team related? Don’t get caught by an AO questioning what you put on your application.
I listed that I have been swimming for ten years and 5 years on thes swim team.
I didn’t mean for it to sound like fluff and I just stated that I have been swimming for 10 years. Thank you for your concern too.
I’m sorry now you have been on the team for 5 but you’ve been saying “one”. And again, what are the other years of swimming if you have not been on a team. It may be an activity to list but so is coloring, doing sudoku, watching TikTok’s, etc. There is a different level when a 13-14 year old is listing 8-10 years of doing activities, MANY activities, but defining your level of commitment says much more to an AO than just a mention. Even in your listing of horseback riding when you competed for finals, did you make it to finals in a single show? Are you consistently making it to finals, or was this when you were 10 years old? Not sure what a contremaster is, but what 2 orchestras (school, regional, national), was this for a single concert or a whole season, what are your responsibilities, are you conducting? Is there a reason as to why you are in the US and tested for a British music theory exam, and how do you earn a 9 on an exam when the highest is grade 8?
Again, I would look long and hard at your list of activities because AOs will see through contradictions and errors that are like a beacon of light when students exaggerate these lists they concoct for their applications. It won’t bode well for a decision that you desire.
Just a reminder that CC is supposed to be a friendly and welcoming community. Point made to this OP about exaggerating ECs.
Hello - my son went to Lawrenceville. He had plenty of peers with SSAT scores in the 80th and 70th percentile. These scores would be fairly typical for international students with less access to English teachers, and for athletes.
I think your score will be examined closely. If there is another opportunity to take it, then do so. The decisions come out March 10, and then the waitlist starts. So if you can raise your score it might help later.
The bigger factor on whether or not you are admitted is financial aid. Do your parents need financial aid ?
I thank for your concern and everything I listed is true.
I did swim team 1 year at foby and 4 years at another and swimming for 10 years in total
I made it to finals consistantly this year and a concertmaster is a first chair in an orchestra. I’m doing two orchestras; one for my middle school and one outside of my middle school and I’ve been doing it for 4 years I listed all of this on my application.
The ABRSM is a exam that is conducted in the US but people in the british score.
and the 9 was a typo, I meant I did the ABRSM as a 6th,7th,and 8th grader
Hello-
No, my parents do not need finacial aid they are not too wealthy like most of the people attending there we are just middle class.
I want to take another test but Im not sure when the deadline for the ssat is. I think Im supposed to hand it in the my application which is due on January 15