<p>They might share their stories, but keep in mind that there are many variable that go into getting an acceptance letter, so there’s not magic formula. GemmaV posted some good advice about this issue last year; you might search for her posts. As I recall, one of her points was that they make more allowance for low scores if students come out of schools where they wouldn’t have much test prep.</p>
<p>@flatstanley, it would be best for you to ask the admissions officers, not us. The AOs may not be able to give you an accurate estimate of your chances, because so many factors come into play, but I would hope that they would tell an applicant whose scores were very, very low that he had little chance of admission. </p>
<p>Remember that an average, or median, SSAT score doesn’t give you an idea of the range of scores. A school with an SSAT average of 90% could have a distribution which clusters closely around 90%, or a distribution which ranges from very high to very low scores. Don’t freak out about your chances if your SSAT score were around 87%, if the school’s average is 90%. Do freak out about scores at such a school if your overall score were around 25%. </p>
<p>Also, in the overall picture, I’d estimate an applicant’s grades are more important than the SSAT score, particularly if he hails from a school which has sent students to that prep school before. High grades with a middle-of-the-pack SSAT score is much better than low grades and a stellar SSAT score.</p>
<p>I agree. Scores are only a tiny part of the application and growing less significant every day. Many students are admitted to schools with scores that fall outside of the range. Sometimes a good score accurately implies a strong student. Sometimes it just implies a good test taker. </p>
<p>The real substance is what the student does with the rest of the academic and personal lives. That and the submitted recommendations form the bulk of the application that matters most.</p>
<p>Take the hardest classes you can, try your best, show leadership in and out of class, be passionate about something over a sustained period of time. The rest will fall in place.</p>
<p>Exie, Periwinkle, Classicalmama, thanks for the input.</p>