score i would need to get for andover

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>andover is my dream school. everything i'm interested in, they offer a course in it. we were meant to be togetherrrr! lol. please tell me what score on the ssat's i should get in order to have a very good chance at admissions. i'm practicing for the ssat's and i need to set a goal for myself. sure, 99 would be ideal, but lets be realistic. please tell me, based on my stats, what would be the MINIMUM score i could get in order to have a solid chance. (andover's average ssat percentile is 93)</p>

<p>white female, age 15, applying for grade 11.
have lived all over the country (counts for diversity? i've met people from all over and lived all over, including new mexico) but currently lives in california.</p>

<p>languages: used to speak spanish (and english of course) fluently when i was younger and lived in new mexico. now the language is very familiar w/ me but i coudln't carry on a conversation, though i could learn quickly. i'm more interested in learning french, which i am beginning to pursue.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.3-4.8 weighted (depending on how you calculate it)
4.0 unweighted (never gotten a b)</p>

<p>the school i go to is an "independent study" school. it's funded by the state but you need to test and apply to get in. it's very diverse.
you go to school once a week for your appointment and hand in all of your schoolwork and homework and test and are assigned work for the next week. therefore, you teach yourself everything. it's for motivated and independent students only. on average, students do 1 semester's worth of one class in 3 weeks. if you're enrolled in college also, it's 4 weeks. i do it every 1-2 weeks. i will soon be finished w/ my sophomore requirements (for this school district) and i will now continue onto my core academic requirements for junior and senior year (US History, geometry, algebra ii, economics, american government, manyyyy electives). so i will be eligibable to graduate, but i want to go to andover and take advantage of the advanced classes for jr and sr year)..again, i do about a semester of work every 1-2 weeks.</p>

<p>i'm enrolled in college classes for the current semester and have all a's
college biology
beginning tennis
"balance & beyond" (strength training class basically)
=20 high school credits; 6 college credits</p>

<p>next semester i will take more because i will be allowed (i had to prove i was competent because as a minor, i have to enroll into college w/ restrictions)
logic
photography
graphic art
intermediate tennis
ballet
golf
kickboxing
college chemistry
ju jutsu (ancient form of martial arts)
possibly lifeguard training
possibly French
=21.5 college credits, 70 high school credits (plus french and lifeguard)
i will def. get all a's and get on the dean's list</p>

<p>extracurriculars (school doesn't offer official clubs or anything, so i pursue all interests and activities outside of school): yoga (10 hours a week and i teach classes), surfing, sailing, ballroom dancing, horseback riding (about 60% of the competitions i've been in i've placed 1st, 25% 2nd, 15% third), tennis (beginner, i'm currently taking college courses in tennis), x-country & track (since i was in 4th grade; andover is the leading x-country school)
volunteering at hospitals, and i'm going to join the national honor society and all of those (for my application)</p>

<p>interests: traveling, cultural studies, philosophy, classics, literature, poetry, photography, art history & appreciation, psychology & psychophysiology, sociology, history, drawing, gardening.</p>

<p>jobs: i babysit my brother all the time (approx. 25 hours a week) because my mother is a single-mom and works full time. he has many behavioral disorders and has been kicked out of every school he's been to (7 by age 11). i have to do my schoolwork during this time. i'm not paid for it, and i don't get allowance or anything. i've had summer jobs in the past (minor, low-paying jobs like saleswoman at a boutique when i was 12 and various babysitting opportunities). i take care of the household when my mother is working.</p>

<p>for the interviews:
in person, people confuse me for a college student because (supposively) i act very mature and poised. i'm very articulate and express myself clearly. i converse with adults well.</p>

<p>for the essay:
haven't begun yet, but i'm a very good writer. just not sure what to write about.</p>

2

<p>I'm not sure why you want to go to Andover as you have so many opportunities in your current situation, but I believe that getting in as an 11th grader (not an easy task - mostly recruited athletes enter this year in school) you would have to take the PSAT or SAT not the SSAT as I believe the SSAT is for 9th and 10th grade admissions only. Check with their admissions for details.</p>

<p>And honestly, as long as you show up in the top 90th or higher percentile for your age on any standardized test, you have a chance. Above that number doesn't really matter nearly as much as what else you can bring to the school (i.e. special athletic/artistic/speech/etc talent) or if you add diversity (URM or unusual location - big city California doen't necesarily count). There are more "grinders" (kids who can grind out college level work) than they can possibly take. They want interesting people who have demonstrated the ability to handle high level work, have interests outside the classroom, and are driven.</p>

<p>As to what to write about (on an open topic essay), I always suggest your strongest passion in life (what you want to do and why it is important) and how the school can help you pursue it (why you want the school).</p>

<p>I'm sorry to hear that you have to take on so much responsibility for your brother. I hope your mother is looking for the right place for him to develop as well.</p>

3

<p>Like goaliedad said, for an 11th grader, you would probably take the PSAT. If you were to take the SSAT, however, above 90th.</p>

4

<p>This "90th percentile" business is nonsense. If PA's average is 93 then a good number of applicants got in with scores considerably lower -- probably lots of 80s, with a fair number of 70s plus a smattering of 60s. I would not be too surprised to hear that even one or two 50s get in. That is how all the top schools operate. An applicant with great qualitative features will overcome the seemingly all-important quantitative ones.</p>

5

<p>Yes leanid, people do get into PA with significantly lower scores, but usually they have an unusual hook that the original poster doesn't seem to posess.</p>

<p>She was also looking for a certain degree of certainty of admission. And to increase that degree of certainty, a significant increase in scores is necessary. And in fact, if she can be easily replicated (outside talentwise) in their applicant pool or needs serious FA, even 90th percentile does not guarantee much. </p>

<p>HYPSM turn away more 4.0 GPAs than they accept from what I hear. It wouldn't surprise me that PA has a similar situation.</p>

<p>That is why I tried to focus on those non-test-score items like the essay and such. I think she puts too much thinking into the test score here myself.</p>

<p>I guess I've gotta remember to remind people that these top schools are not looking for the pointiest of pointy heads (highest test scores/gpa's etc), but looking for sharp people who are uniquely motivated to achieve great things both inside and outside the classroom.</p>

<p>Thanks for prodding me, leanid.</p>

6

<p>The requirements for getting in as an upper are higher than for getting in as a freshman, so a low test score (lower than 85) would hurt her. And as goaliedad said she should focus on things besides test scores because that's what admissions will focus on. I would encourage blairt to find her specific hook because top notch schools don't always like kids who are good at everything, they want kids who have particular strength, some weaknesses and specific goals.</p>

7

<p>Obviously Andover is one of the most desired and selective of schools in the world, and the current acceptance rate is 20%.</p>

<p>Here are some admission stats from the Phillipian:
<a href="http://www.phillipian.net/article.php?ID=2069%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.phillipian.net/article.php?ID=2069&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Having said that, Andover is not all "gear-heads". On a recent visit with my
Daughter, we all noticed an abundance of very normal looking kids (the dress code is casual .. jeans and sweatshirts) .. much more like a snapshot out of an Abercrombie commercial than from an MIT laboratory. </p>

<p>Every school we spoke with this Fall, (including Andover) indicated that SSAT was one of the last components of a students application to receive consideration. </p>

<p>Do the best that you can ... get good recs and write great essays. These probably have equal or greater weight in the grand scheme.</p>

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<p>Someone said that people get in with scores in the 60's? Are you sure? Doesn't seem true, unless they're like a future olympic athlete...</p>

9

<p>Yes, maybe a handful of kids get in with 60s, but they will have lots of other things going for them like sports, ecs, gpa, wealth, legacy, etc.</p>