<p>I am an in eigth grade, Chinese and a girl...</p>
<p>Here are my grades!</p>
<p>Geometry (will be taking Algebra2/Trig next year) A
French: A
Language Arts: A+
Social Studies: A-
Accelerated Science (will be taking Biology next year) A-</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:</p>
<p>Mock Trial (I won Outstanding Attorney and Outstanding Witness @ Regionals... will be going to State this Thursday and Friday)
History Day
Tennis
Chinese(I am fluent... was born in China and came here when I was 3)
Track (will begin in spring, should I still list it as an extracurricular?
Also, I will be entering the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Competition by writing a persuasive essay</p>
<p>SSAT:
(I took practice tests)
Reading: 99%
Math: 96%
Verbal: 94%? not sure... but somewhere around there! </p>
<p>On the SSAT, how important it this essay that is written? Is it a big factor in the application process?</p>
<p>Will be applying for financial aid.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>My guess is that the SSAT essay is used as a verified writing sample by you to corroborate that the sophistication of the application essays are in line with what you are capable of writing. I.e. to smoke out kids who submit application essays written by other people.</p>
<p>The SSAT is only one part of the application, they look for much more in the application than just good test scores.</p>
<p>You’re asian, so that puts you in a highly overrepresented group in the applicant pool. To get into any of these schools, you HAVE to show them that you stand out, especially because you are applying for FA. That puts you in an even more competitive pool. Your grades are good, but there are hundreds of students with straight A’s who apply. Your extracurriculars are okay, but rather than starting a whole new sport like track, i suggest really concentrating on tennis. Are you ranked nationally? Either way, really play it up and contact the coaches at the schools. They like QUALITY, not QUANTITY. As for the SSAT’s, those seem like pretty solid scores. It seems like the essay threw you off-me too. But either way, the SSAT’s are only one part of the admission process.
But pshh…what do I know? I’m a prospective student too.
Good luck! I might even see you there!</p>