<p>How did people do in the recent (October) ssat? What would you consider a low score? Can you still get into a school if your result is lower than the school's average? 8-X </p>
<p>My advice (as someone who has gone through the process before) is to just retake the test in either November, December or Early January (which does go through in enough time to be sent to schools) In that time, target what you had trouble with on the test and see where you did well. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done if you did well on one section or look into what you struggled with. These types of things are crucial if you want improve (which I’m sure you will!) :)</p>
<p>@HistoryGeek40 Thanks for the advice! I actually have two more exams scheduled so I guess I don’t have to worry that much about the first one… but results always make me nervous 
#:-S </p>
<p>And remember this little tidbit of advice: Your scores are one part of a whole picture. A number on a piece of paper doesn’t define you, and as long as you aren’t in the 1st% (Which would be an impressive feat, really), I’m sure that any school would be lucky to have you! </p>
<p>With the Oct SSAT results rolling in and a few new posts revealing the anxiety surrounding these tests, I wanted make a few points:</p>
<ul>
<li>The question “Is XX% a good score?” is very difficult one to answer.
As noted above, the scores are just one part of a larger picture. If you are the underwater tuba player that school X has been looking for this app cycle, the fact that your scores are lower than the even the 25%-75% range of accepted students may not matter a whit.</li>
</ul>
<p>On the flip side, even if you are one of the lucky few who scored in the 99%-ile range…don’t buy the bumper sticker for that ultraselective BS just yet. Many of the most selective schools turn down 99%-ilers every year. Don’t believe me? I can (and have) shared my older daughter’s story of getting flat out rejected (not even the pretense of a waitlist) by Choate despite her 99%-ile scores, strong transcript, and “good enough” ECs to have been offered admission to other selective schools.</p>
<ul>
<li>It’s probably not a bad idea to use your scores to help shape your final “apply to” list
I truly never want to talk people out of applying to any specific school, but IMO, if your scores are well below some “dream” school’s average score and you do not have some sort of extraordinary skill/talent/genealogic birthright that your “dream” school prizes, then your chances for admission are most likely not that high. This is no different counsel than I’d give my own kids.</li>
</ul>
<p>Additionally, consider that, if your scores are dramatically lower than the average scores for a given school, you may not be a good candidate in terms of handling the workload/academic rigor of that school even if you are admitted. With many people looking to selected “name brand” schools as some sort of portal to Ivy college admission…consider what happens if at School X, you are merely in the middle of the class grade wise.</p>
<p>And yes, I was told by AOs at two schools often mentioned here that a certain threshold of SSAT scores shows that “you can do the work”.</p>
<ul>
<li>I’m always surprised when people (students and parents) are surprised at their scores
My question for these folks is “Exactly what kind of scores were you expecting?” Casting aside that one season when they changed the test and it seemed to be harder (and not just the normal variation from test form to test form) for everyone…I don’t understand the surprise expressed (generally of the disappointed variety) by people after test scores are reported.</li>
</ul>
<p>After all, there are sample tests available to take via the prep books…so if you want to know how you might do on the real thing, you can take one of the sample tests under real world conditions and get your answer. Barring a bad night’s sleep or other anomaly, I bet the scores on test day will be in line with the practice test scores. I for one, was not surprised with my older girl’s 99s nor her younger sister’s slightly lower percentiles. Both are in BS right now…and I think the right BS for each of them.</p>
<p>Again, going back to “use your scores to help shape your list” advice…if you are exclusively targeting schools with average SSAT scores in the 90s range and your results are in the low 80s…maybe that’s a sign that you should be thinking about other schools.</p>
<ul>
<li>I think the logic of taking any standardized test more than twice is questionable
Having been through many standardized test cycles with both kids, I am of the opinion that one’s test scores will generally be what they will be. Meaning, that I have seen little variation from sitting to sitting…with the SSAT, the SAT, and the ACT. Sure, some sittings will have a segment that’s higher and one that’s lower than another sitting…but unless you have taken some dramatic steps (like a hardcore prep course), I don’t think most kids will see much of a change from test to test. Over 2 times, and IMO, it looks like you are chasing something that may be out of reach.</li>
</ul>
<p>A final word of advice for now…as a wise man on the forum once said (many times): “Don’t fall in love with a school until they fall in love with you.”</p>
<p>I hope this will encourage people who didn’t have an ideal score this time.</p>
<p>Last year when i took the SSAT, it was a disaster. I got a 40%-ile with a score around 1950, which is abysmal. But studying real hard remembering the vocabularies and being familiar with the poems, I got a 97%-ile on this October test. So even if you didn’t do well this time, don’t worry! You’ll be alright.</p>
<p>My daughter got 97% verbal, 96% reading and 70% math. Overall, it worked out to a 92%, but she is very disappointed with her math score and will retake in November. If she is applying to schools with average SSAT around 85%, will the lower math score be a big factor? Hoping she can get that score up on the next one!</p>
<p>I got a 99% verbal, 85% Reading and 82% Math. Overall I got a 95%. I am very happy but think I can do a little better on the math and Reading so I will take the November test to see if I can do any better. But I am not going to stress out too much about my November score. Also can people please check out my question about super scoring.</p>
<p>@bschoolsearcher - the SSAT does not allow super scoring. From their website FAQs:
Can we choose which individual section scores are reported to schools?
This is referred to as “super scoring” and students cannot do this on the SSAT. Ex: You cannot select a verbal score from one test and then a quantitative section from another test. You can send as many full score reports for each test to as many or as few schools as you wish. </p>
<p>JoJoSwan from what I have heard some Bschools will super score your SSATs if you send them both.</p>
<p>Couple of thoughts:</p>
<p>@mstars — The thing is, some kids would be totally fine with at 1950, so maybe not such a great idea to call it “abysmal”. Also, I caution people to take your story with a grain of salt. I have read many about many cases of kids “flash carding” with minimal lift in scores. I am of the opinion that you can’t build your vocab overnight. That is something that starts the day kids learn to read.</p>
<p>@JoJoSwan — You already have a Nov. test scheduled, but my advice would have been to not sweat the 70%-ile in math. To paraphrase those AOs from two SELECTIVE BS from a few years ago: “Anything in the mid-80s and up [I assume they were speaking about overall score] and we know s/he can do the work.”</p>
<p>DS just got his scores, 95 math, 80 Verbal, 82 Reading, total score 91. We are pleased. </p>
<p>DD’s scores - 94 Verbal, 99 math, 98 reading, 99 overall. A nice validation that we’re “in the ballpark” with the schools she’s looking at.</p>
<p>My son just took his first SSAT score this Oct and his score is quite low (72). Vocab and reading are his lowest! What are the good online SSAT practice website? He needs to get over 90 by Dec so any tips and advice are super welcome! </p>
<p>@Rinette23: Can I ask why he “needs” to get over 90 by Dec? Are there some target schools he is aiming for?</p>
<p>See my post #4 above…perhaps you can use the results to adjust your list of schools under consideration…</p>
<p>While some have reported double digit gains due to prep, IMO, vocab and reading are the hardest to have an impact on…after all, a person’s vocab and reading skills are built over time. Tough to make up in a few weeks what other kids have built up over years and years. Sorry I don’t have a rosier picture for you.</p>
<p>@Rinette23 For vocab, couple years ago I downloaded every vocab app in App Store, several Quizlet, SAT vocab apps, etc, into my kid’s iPod and had him do the quizzes or vocab games in the car rides every day. That seemed to help. With my younger kid, he is a big reader so vocab was the easiest. Get many (used) SSAT prep books from amazon, etc, and do as many practice sets as possible. The same for vocab, math and reading. Score and Mark the incorrect ones and redo those questions in a week. </p>
<p>From a post regarding SAT testing on the college forum:
“She put substantial work into preparing for this test and came out with significantly worse scores.”</p>
<p>Putting pressure on kids to hit some imagined “magic number” via extensive prep on top of their no doubt already busy lives seems like a bad tradeoff to me…</p>
<p>I don’t quite understand how the overall score is calculated. I thought the overall percentile came from the average of the three separate scores on math, verbal, and reading, but it doesn’t look that way. How does someone with a 94, 98, and 99 get a 99 overall? Or someone with a 97, 96, and 70 get a 92 overall? I thought the averages from those scores would make the overall a 97 and a 88?</p>
<p>I’m not certain but I think they add up the scores and then get the percentile of the total score, e.g. 2100 or 2200, etc. </p>
<p>The total percentage is not the average. Most kids get high percentages in only one or two areas. Different kids get high percentiles in different sections, math or reading with significant disparity in sections. Thus in the first case, getting high percentiles in all three sections puts one in a very high total percentage. Similarly for doing well in two areas pushes the total percentage higher than the average. </p>