Hello:
For those who have successfully got admitted or those who have experiences prepared SSAT, can you share what study materials you have used and how you prepared for it? Did you self study or hire a tutor? Any advice is appreciated!
My kids K-8 had a tutor come in and offer a group prep class. In addition, we bought one of the test prep books (Kaplan). I know many people who hired private tutors, and while at the time I thought it was too great an expense, the end result was that their kids scored very high on the tests. Good luck!
I bought a used Barron’s SSAT book off Amazon (think it was $5?) and skimmed through that a couple times. I had taken the SAT just a few months prior and that studying really wore off on me so I think that helped. For my SAT study, I did some Khan topics and worked through my Barron’s book, so maybe that’ll help with your SSAT prep?
for me at least, the best study took was the SSAT official guide because those questions are as close as it gets to the real test. Out of all of the test books I tried to attempt (Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc.) this is definitely the best option.
Also, learning root words is EXTREMELY helpful for the vocab section because it narrows down your choices in this multiple choice section.
best of luck!!
I bought a used Barron’s SSAT book off Amazon (think it was $5?) and skimmed through that a couple times. I had taken the SAT just a few months prior and that studying really wore off on me so I think that helped. For my SAT study, I did some Khan topics and worked through my Barron’s book, so maybe that’ll help with your SSAT prep?
Jr used the Official Guide (parts), Barrons (entire book) and Princeton review (parts). To improve your vocabulary read as much as possible. Jr also used Quizlet on and off for about 3 months before he took the test. Finally, we did spring for a hand full of sessions with a tutor. I am not sure how much the tutor helped with technical things that increased his score. The tutor kept him on track and focused for the final few weeks leading up to the test (had to do the “homework” despite ECs and school chewing up most of his time), increased his confidence, and acted as an insurance policy that allowed us parents to know we did what we could.
I say read about the test (types of questions, penalties for wrong answers, etc.) and take a practice test cold (don’t study) under test like conditions (timed, few breaks, etc.). If you score decently, do not pay for a tutor. We did not plan as well as you so we were a bit in scramble mode so we grabbed help. In retrospect the tutor was likely unnecessary. Study on your own and try to time it so the end of the studying happens a week or two before the test.
Jr took the test once. I get the impression others take multiple shots. You can take the test early in the cycle and adjust later if you do not like the score.
Certainly take the advice from folks who actually took the test.
In our family, no prep materials whatsoever were used for the SSAT. Scored in the 90s. Admission results were outstanding.
While I do not recommend going into the SSAT without any preparation, the type & amount of prep depends upon the individual student. Some students put too much pressure on themselves if testing results receive too much emphasis by parents. It is more important to be well rested & calm during the test than it is to be too prepared & nervous.
I had been historically quite bad at test taking, so I used a tutor to help with strategies. I also used Princeton Review on my own, and the official guide. I ended up scoring in the 90s
I think it also depends on the school you’re coming from. Some schools prepare their students better for exams like this than others. If your child attends a school where many of her classmates end up at BS for their high school years, they will probably be better prepared for the exam. I think only seven or eight kids in my LPS class took the SSAT – we all scored about the same on the English/Reading, but our Math results reflected your eighth grade class level. If you’re depending on financial aid for BS, a tutor might be a good investment, and the quizlets are a big help with vocabulary.
Don’t take it lightly. The test matters.
I got 98th percentile, accepted to Phillips Exeter. My biggest help was getting an SAT Power Vocab book and memorizing almost everything. Ended up just missing 1 question on vocab. Carried my score.
Think of the test as a marathon. It is an endurance test.
When my son took his first practice test using a Princeton Review book he scored in ~ 70 percentile. During the review of areas to work on we realized that he knew the material but was becoming mentally fatigued by the end of the test. The majority of the questions he was getting wrong were near the end of the test. I would recommend taking an entire practice tests each week for at least 6 weeks prior to the exam to build up the stamina to stay focused for the entire exam. Practicing in sections is good for remedying areas of deficiency but make sure you can stay on point for the entire time of the exam, it is a long process (3 hours). We over week, we saw gradual improvement in his scores. In the end he scored in the 98th percentile on the actual test.
In addition to the Official guide and the online questions, kiddo did a brief online course through Test Innovators - this was a webinar with @ 4 other students from around the country. This way, the kids could interact and see that they were not the only ones being tortured by their parents to study for the SSAT. Since we come from an area where few (if any) know @ the SSAT, this helped turbo charge at least a minimum of practice for the test. The practice analogy questions we did on our own (an online prep game) were of great help. Did this each morning on the way to school. The toughest section and the one that needed more attention was Reading Comp…even so, we ended up getting scores in the mid 80’s through mid ‘90’s %ile and got into the “alphabet schools”. As someone noted above, the test is long and timing is important.
The only section that I had an issue with was the reading section. I actually scored the 50th percentile on that section on my first try.
Test-takers are allotted 40 minutes to read ~250 word passages and answer 40 multiple choice questions. Essentially, you have less than a minute to answer each question.
On my first try, I carefully read the passages and answered the questions, not taking into account the little time I had and because of this, I was forced to omit 10 questions.
On my second try, I took the advice of a CC user here. I read the questions first, then skimmed their respective passages for the answers. I saved a lot of time and actually had ~5 mins leftover to daydream. I scored in the 90th percentile in that session. I recommend that you do the same to conserve time (unless you’re a fast reader ofc).
For what it’s worth, I got into both Exeter and Andover. I sent in both sets of scores because they super-scored, meaning that they did see the 50th percentile I initially got on the reading section.
Don’t stress on the test.
And it’s different for everyone! In my experience, the reading and verbal sections were much easier than the math, and that was reflected in the scores of practice tests I took, and eventually in the actual test. I spent much more time on the math. I would definitely recommend a practice test to see what needs to be worked on.
Can you specifigy the parts you used from Official Guide and Princeton Review?
There are so many options on Quizlet Vocab. How do you choose which one to do? Any recommendation?
This was the book I used, but an older version:
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Vocab-College-Test-Preparation/dp/0804124566
Honestly every word on that test will show up in this book. But you probably don’t have the energy/time to memorize everything (I’ve trained in memory competitions so that’s why I did so well on the verbal section, as mentioned above). On Quizlet, it’s hard to choose but honestly any extensive one will work, as there is almost all overlap. Some of the words on the verbal section in the official SSAT practice test site will actually show up in the exam (at least, from my experience). I would take the time to memorize those.
Keep in mind you don’t need to do well on all sections to get a high score. As I mentioned above, I got 98 percentile in one sitting (December) with 99 math 99 verbal 83 reading 
I always did really well in reading in practice tests, but I guess I rushed through the actual test.
I used the Princeton Review books from the past couple of years. Borrowed them from the library. I recommend them because I like the strategies they outlined for the reading section. A tool I highly recommend for studying vocabulary is the website Vocabulary.com, it’s free to make an account. I went through their SAT lists (they’re called “100 SAT Words that start with (insert a letter here)”). Completely self-studied and ended up getting a perfect score.
Thank you so much for the additional details! How many words are included the Power Vocab book?
Are you in Exeter? I wanted to send a private text, but am not allowed to. (fewer than 15 posts). Could you drop me a message first, if that is okay with you?
I sent you a quick pm. Ask me whatever question you want; I’ll respond to them in the morning.
And no, I’m not in Exeter. I’ll explain why to you later.
So, did you see lots of words you studied on vocabulary.com when you took SSAT?
Do SSAT and SAT overlap in verbal sections?