SSAT Scores, Help!

Prep School Admissions
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<p>I think it is somewhat misleading to say that they don’t matter or that they aren’t that important. It might be more accurate to say that after a certain point they aren’t that important, but that even if you fall below that point, it doesn’t mean you are out of the running. Everyone says that there is no minimum score requirement and I believe that is true in that there is no score that will immediately knock a candidate out of the running. But it is likely that they don’t want to box themselves in and be in a position to have to “make an exception” when a kid that they really want to admit (for whatever reason) comes along with a lower score. I don’t blame them for insisting on that kind of latitude.</p>

<p>But WHY do AOs like to tell people about the 2400s they turn away? I’ve heard several representatives say this with almost a sense of smugness. I mean, 3 out of 200? Is there some kind of stigma associated with that high of a score? It is probably just because they don’t want to discourage a kid with a lower ssat score to apply because, after all, they might be an otherwise wonderful candidate and to underscore that ssats are not the final word, so to speak. But I still don’t like it. Why don’t they mention how many kids with a 60 that they turn away? I mean, would you ever hear an AO say, “We had 500 kids apply last year with below 50th percentile on at least one section of the ssat. We admitted 3!” ? Never.</p>

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<p>Exactly, neato. The school can’t have it both ways. On the one hand, you pretend that you don’t care or even don’t like high scorers in SSAT, and on the other hand, you sell your high SAT scores to the colleges and to the prospective applicants. In Andover’s case, they try to highlight the strength of their incoming class by the impressive average SAT scores of 94% and then turn around and tell prospective applicants SSAT is the least important. Why can’t they just simply say - just do your best on grades, SSAT and everything else, that they don’t have a cutoff on SAT just like they don’t have one for grades, number of EC’s and how many positive words are in the recs. Or, is it a more effective way of soliciting more applicants than they need?</p>

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<p>AO at one school we went to told us that kids with very high scores but lacking a fit with the school are not accepted. She explained that they want kids to contribute to the school environment and not keep to themselves, locked in the dorm room studying all the time.</p>

<p>Let’s see: there are ~600 kids with 99 percentile, ~600 with 98 and so on. Most of these kids will apply to exeter. How much difference is between a 99 and a 95? Not much, in my opinion. Between a 95 and a 90? If half of 90 percentile and above apply to exeter, that’s 3000 applicants. So other things like ECs have to make the applications stand out. </p>

<p>And finally there is the issue of FA, which could be a deal breaker.</p>

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<p>

I don’t think so, neato. I suspect that most of those 200+ perfect scoring kids, while extremely bright, may also be largely one-dimensional kids. Exeter, like other HADES schools, prefers bright kids who have also demonstrated some strong non-academic achievements and passions, i.e., well balanced, well adjusted bright kids.</p>

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<p>Another thing: please keep in mind that everyone who claims to have gotten a perfect score (99 percentile) may not have gotten it. Take the claims of perfect score with a grain of salt. I know from my personal experience that many people guard their SSAT scores more strictly than their most prized possesions, and will exaggerate them to keep their (false) pride.</p>

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<p>I’ve been following this thread with some interest, despite it having departed from the OP’s initial vector…</p>

<p>Here’s my take: If the SSAT didn’t matter at all, why would they even ask people to take it? OTOH, if the SSAT was the only thing that mattered, Exeter would have admitted all 200 of the 2400s (or statistical equivalents ;-P) who apply each year. And apparently they don’t.</p>

<p>When I queried the importance of the scores directly with one AO, they told me something like “While it’s not the only thing that matters, it is an index of how ready a student is for the challenge of a school like [INSERT HADES SCHOOL HERE].”</p>

<hr>

<p>One note that I made a few weeks ago about the forum as the app deadlines approached is that chatter on “what’s the magic bullet” went up a bit. There is no magic bullet, people. I’ll say it again, there is no magic bullet.</p>

<p>As a parent who has gone through the search/test/apply process for the first time this cycle, I really appreciated eastwest21’s point: “Given your interest in east coast boarding schools, and being a good student at public school, there are many other boarding schools besides HADES that are challenging that may suit you.”</p>

<p>Periwinkle’s related statement that “…every ambitious family in the Northeast applies to Andover and Exeter.” is also telling (and I think fairly accurate).</p>

<p>My advice to everyone is “Try as much as you can to separate your consideration of any school from its name or reputation. While that is part of what you are buying, it isn’t everything. So, if Exeter wasn’t ‘Exeter’, would you still like it based on facilities, kids, educational philosophy, location, service requirements, etc.?”</p>

<p>I’m thankful for listening to/gleaning suggestions from other CC BS parents over the past few months. Had I not listened to the “the universe whispering” to me, I don’t think I would have been open to the range of schools we ended up considering for our daughter. And I think that would have been cheating her out of applying to schools that seem truly right for her.</p>

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<p>7D, I think you are taking this thread a little too far (as far as “the universe whispering” :)). It is just one aspect of A & E’s operation that draws some criticism (from me mostly), but they are - IMHO - still among the few best prep schools out there. While I don’t like some of the strategies the schools take to attract applications, I do think that the highly academic and intellectual kids who are ready for BS should have A & E on their list. There are many good BS out there, but it’s fair to say that few can provide similar experience than what one gets from A & E.</p>

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<p>@DA: Hah! Okay, okay, so maybe they were PMs!</p>

<p>The point I was trying to make was that A & E aren’t right for everyone. Maybe even some of the highly academic/intellectuals you mention…</p>

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<p>Not only are A & E not right for everyone, but they are not the be all and end all.
There are some equally bright stars out there, Choate, Hotchkiss, Milton, Groton, just to name a few.</p>

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<p>^^^agree agree agree</p>

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<p>The AOs are looking to build a class, not award prizes to the kids with the best scores. </p>

<p>Maybe I hang with a different crowd, but I would say that undoubtedly there are kids who would blow the doors off of standardized tests who could not function in a boarding school environment. There’s a level of intelligence and preparation which is sufficient, but more is not always better. </p>

<p>One of the examples of not “nice” Jane Fried cited last week at “A Day with Andover” is the kid who’s ahead of everyone else in his class, and makes sure everyone around him knows it, in a rather arrogant way. If Andover turns down an equivalent percentage of 99th perentile kids, the AOs of both schools are in agreement about the limits of test scores.</p>

<p>Think of it another way. If your test scores show you could start at Harvard next fall without missing a beat, how well will you tolerate the required elements of high school? I think it may be harder for kids with stratospheric test scores to get in because some of them are accustomed to being handled as isolated stars at school.</p>

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<p>my friend at a hadeS school has a girl on her dorm who got a 30% on the ssat sooo
but not doing well on the SSATs does affect you but it wont prevent you from getting in</p>

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<p>Was the capital S being suggestive that it was SPS or was that just a typo lol. And yes you’re right SSAT scores are only one part of an application.</p>

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<p>

I just want to highlight this statement. Both Andover and Exeter, as well as other “equally bright stars” do feel like they are giving and asking a lot more than sufficient! And I am not talking about admission process any more.</p>

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<p>Swissbrit-Hah, thought that too!</p>

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<p>hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm maybe…</p>

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<p>I’ve been reassured now, and I can finally sleep again, haha.
The only problem is that for one of my schools I found out that nor my transcripts or principal recommendations have been sent in!
I hope I can get them to the school in enough time…</p>

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<p>Thats a bit late now…</p>

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<p>Well the website said that we couldn’t call the school about missing items until after the first of February so I’m assuming that everything has to be sent in by then.
I think the things that are primarily due by the 15th are the candidate profile and essays.</p>

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<p>WAIT A MINUTE! How did you get your 1/8/11 scores? Did you pay to have them sent early? I haven’t seen mine.</p>