<p>Can someone from Loomis, Choate, and Hotchkiss please share with me there thoughts about a 66%. This would be really appreciated and thank you in advance.</p>
<p>It is going to be very very tough with a 66% but if everything else is really good and the ssat is an outlier of your application, schools will accept you.</p>
<p>Like baseball said, it’s going to be really hard. The SSAT is not the biggest part of the app, but you might get thrown out of the pool just because of that score. WIth stellar everything else it’s a crapshoot.</p>
<p>Thank you, also what would be a score to aim for these 3 schools?</p>
<p>90+ is favorable</p>
<p>Does anyone know of anyone with a score around 66% who has gotten into one of these schools?</p>
<p>Even if someone does know somebody who got in with your SSAT scores, it does not make your chances any better. There may have been hooks that the applicant themselves did not know about. You may even have hooks that you do not know about, so it is impossible for anyone to actually say your chances. The problem with your score is that the schools may assume you cannot do the work and not even consider your application. hopefully that does not happen, but geeting low SSAT scores makes your whole entire transcript not look as impressive.</p>
<p>Why would a school eliminate someone who was able to do the work at there previous school? So are you trying to say that all these prep schools have work based solely on the SSAT. This wouldn’t be the case because I am sure the schools have much more challenging work. The SSAT isn’t the work that all these schools give there students if that was the case then nobody would want to go to any of these prep schools because they all have the same curriculum</p>
<p>Actually, I think >80 is a good score for these schools. However, don’t worry too much, I believe if you have a good applications, transcripts, rec letters,… You will have a pretty good chance to get into these schools ( with Loomis being the most likely)</p>
<p>How come? Are Choate and Hotchkiss more focused on SSAT Scores?</p>
<p>@Math557: It sounds to me like you are just looking for someone to give you an answer you like as opposed to taking the input people have given at face value.</p>
<p>Regarding your comment “Why would a school eliminate someone who was able to do the work at there previous school?”…keep in mind that unless your school is a known entity in which AOs have confidence regarding rigor, getting As at a public school (or even a private day school) could be meaningless. A+ work at one school may be B+ work at another.</p>
<p>So the schools can use the SSAT to do more of an apples to apples comparo. Yes, it’s just one component, and yes, some people do not test well…but I agree with wavyboy2017.</p>
<p>Im sorry I just thank you for your inputs and I now see that what you the two of you are saying is right, but how can a test really be equivalent to workload?</p>
<p>@Math557: All I can do is relate what more than one AO told us a few years ago when my daughter was applying to schools…upon hearing her scores (high 99%-iles) “Well, that shows she’ll be able to do the work.”</p>
<p>The same AOs told us that they like to see high 80s and up…once you hit that threshold the scores are a non-issue. Keep in mind that even with near perfect scores, she was flat out rejected from Choate…so really, scores or no scores, it’s all a crapshoot.</p>
<p>math557</p>
<p>Here’s my take on ssat scores. I really don’t think high scores help. Once a kid crosses whatever threshold makes the admissions people comfortable it just doesn’t matter any more. None of us know what that threshold is, and it isn’t some hard and fast number for each school.</p>
<p>I think they expect some kids to score higher than others based on their academic preparation. BUT, if a kid that comes from a background where they are used to seeing lower scores happens to score at the 99th percentile, it doesn’t help them - doesn’t hurt, but also doesn’t help. They might expect a kid from a well regarded middle school in a suburban area to score at 85+ and a kid from an urban or rural public school to score lower. If the rural kid scores higher they don’t care. Say they’ve got a kid who goes on and on about how much they love to read. You would expect that kid to do very well on the verbal section, right? If they don’t, they might question the quality of literature the kid reads or wonder if they’ve really understood all those primary sources they claim to love. If they get an 800, it just makes sense - no brownie points for proving it. If a kid declares a passion and high aptitude for math, it would make sense for them to get an 800 on the math. Again, no brownie points, just what would be expected.</p>
<p>So while a higher than expected scores does not add anything to an application, a lower one might simply make the committee look a little deeper into the transcript to see if it’s just an anomaly or if there is an issue with the rigor at the current school. </p>
<p>I don’t believe any school would simply toss an application based on SSAT scores. That would be stupid. All it would do is perhaps make them look a little closer at other parts, which is not a bad thing, especially if they are strong.</p>
<p>Thank you so much Seven Dad and Neatburrito I also want to know what is classififed as a “Hook” and do you guys think that if two applications are similar, but the school can only admit one will they look at the SSAT Scores and accept the applicant with the higher score.</p>
<p>Neither one of us could answer that question. I am inclined to say that the ssat is a hair they wouldn’t split, but I have no actual knowledge of what happens at the tail end of committee meetings.</p>
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<p>Provided that the scores meet the school’s “secret cutoff”, I seriously doubt they will pick the higher scorer. Likely the school will look at other factors like extra-curriculars & geographical/ethnic diversity.</p>
<p>Math557- You are trying to reassure yourself that your 66% doesn’t matter. Let me come out and say it, “Your 66% doesn’t matter.” I promise you there are not “two exact applicants, with the exact same package,” whereas one has a higher SSAT score than the other. Everyone is different, and it’s all based on what do “YOU” bring to the school? What makes “YOU” unique… and do they need “YOUR” unique qualities? You are trying to beat yourself up for your 66%, when the truth is “You will get into a school because they wanted YOU and whatever it is that makes YOU unique, and they needed one of whatever it is that makes YOU unique.”</p>
<p>If you really want to beat yourself up further, look at it this way:</p>
<p>About 90,000 kids take the SSAT. That means there are 9,000 kids who scored 90% or higher or 18,000 kids who scored 80% or higher. All three schools you mentioned are for the most part on almost everyone’s list. With your rationale, there is no way anyone who didn’t score 90% or higher will get into Loomis, Hotchiss, or Choate. Or how can they possibly accept anyone below 80%, when there are 18,000 kids who scored higher? Think about it. Assume each school offers on average about 300 acceptances, and there is going to be a lot of overlap. So if your three schools are in the top 20 schools that everyone else is applying to then you don’t stand a chance, right? Afterall, 20 X 300 = 6,000 and there will be a lot of overlap, so only 3,000-5,000 kids are going to get acceptances to the top 20 schools that kids apply to, right? Wrong!</p>
<p>Trust me when I tell you all three of these schools will send out numerous (maybe not a staggering number, but numerous) acceptances to kids who scored below 80%. Why? Because they fit exactly what they were looking for. So you see, it really doesn’t matter if you scored 66% or 79% or even 89% for that matter. What you should be asking yourself is “Does my application reflect my unique characteristics, and am I extremely strong in something that they need?” If the answer to that question is yes, then you will get in whatever schools “need” whatever it is that stood out on your application, assuming it is something they just have to have. On the other hand, if there isn’t anything on your application that you are extremely strong or talented in that they just have to have, then it really doesn’t matter if you scored 66% or 96%. One way or the other, you will get in or not get in because of what you bring to the table, not your 66% or 99% for that matter.</p>
<p>Math557: To answer your question about what constitutes a “hook”…it could be any number of things…like URM status, legacy status, geographic diversity, some exceptional musical, sports, academic talent/achievement, etc. But keep in mind that sometimes it’s more a question of what the school is looking for/needs the particular year you are applying.</p>
<p>For example, say a kid is a nationally ranked underwater tuba player, but the school already has the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th underwater tuba player in the country…then that national ranking isn’t going to matter very much. But it might matter a lot to a school that just graduated the 5th ranked underwater tuba player, and you would be able to fill his/her slot.</p>
<p>But as many people say, we really can’t guess about how any school builds its admission class year to year. So it’s probably better not to worry about it. You put your best self down on paper, and now it’s out of your hands.</p>
<p>That said, I still find it flabbergasting that kids (and the parents that advise them!) seem to apply to the MOST SELECTIVE SCHOOLS (sometimes exclusively) despite having lower (sometimes grossly lower) than the schools average for admitted students. For anyone who is set on going to BS, this is an extremely high-risk play…</p>
<p>What the SSAT designed to do? Also it seems that sometimes SSAT Scores contradict a students performance in their previous grade why does this test make a student sometimes look bad? Why do school use percentiles when they can just look at the percentage you scored out of 2400?</p>