Stingy Parents & SSAT- HELP!

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>(Be forewarned: I'm new on this site.)</p>

<p>Hi there. I am an 8th grader applying to 9th grade at a boarding school, so obviously I have to take the SSAT. Only problem is, my parents are cheap and DO NOT want to pay for anything more than the fee. I already am using very helpful quizlet cards for vocab, but that's all I have to study with for now. </p>

<p>I am taking the SSAT in December, and my question is, are there anough free study resources out there (if so please share) or do I need to convince my parents to buy me a prep book or something?</p>

<p>Many thanks to you. :D</p>

2

<p>The parents you’re calling cheap–are they the same parents who are willing to foot the bill for boarding school?</p>

<p>If I were such a parent, I’d resent that.</p>

<p>On one hand, if I were the parent of a child applying to prep school, I’d probably spring for the $10-$14 that a test-prep book costs at Amazon ([Amazon.com:</a> ssat 2012: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_7_4?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ssat+2012&sprefix=ssat]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_7_4?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ssat+2012&sprefix=ssat)). On the other hand, if they don’t want to spring for the book, how hard would it be for you to earn $10-$14?</p>

3

<p>As I recall, SSAT does have some free test prep materials on their website, but, as far as I’m concerned, whatever they have is not enough. To do this, you need a copy of Princeton Review or one of the other prep books. Cost should not be an issue - you can pick up a used copy online for under $10 . . . so buy it yourself! And don’t worry if the copy you find is a few years old. Makes no difference . . . even though each of the publishers comes out with a new edition every year, there is little or no change from year to year. So pick up that “nearly new” and unmarked 2005 edition you find on half.com or Amazon for $5 and you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>Also, if you look back at prior year’s threads about test prep, you’ll find there are some SAT “helpful hints” books that students here say were absolutely fantastic for additional SSAT help. And those you can often find at your local library. They don’t have practice questions, just lots of helpful pointers on how to approach the test, read the test questions, etc.</p>

<p>By the way - your user name says it all. If you’re actually planning on spending time on this site, you might want to think about selecting a name that exudes a bit more confidence, We’re all here to help, but, honestly, a name like that kind of makes me wonder if it’s even worth the bother. Sorry, not trying to be mean - but it’s not just kids on this site. It’s also parents, and teachers, and admissions counselors!</p>

4

<p>Let me also say that I’m not going to boarding school unless I get FA. </p>

<p>Looks like I’ll have to start mowing lawns and babysitting :)</p>

5

<p>@loserr,</p>

<p>Do you receive an allowance? Perhaps if you spent your own allowance money on a prep book, then your parents would appreciate how seriously you regard attending BS, and they might, in turn, be more financially supportive.</p>

<p>I.e., put your money where your mouth is…</p>

6

<p>Just so you know, you can get waivers of both the SSAT testing fee and your school application fees if you can’t afford them. (And please take another look at my last post, which I just edited.)</p>

7

<p>@GMTplus7</p>

<p>No. I do not. I was planning on buying my own prep book, I guess the real purpose of this post was just to find out if I really need to or if there’s enough free stuff out there. </p>

<p>@dodgersmom</p>

<p>Thanks. Also, I use “loser” in a lot of my usernames for things on the internet! Sorry…</p>

8

<p>I call ■■■■■!</p>

9

<p>@loserr,</p>

<p>If you can’t find an SSAT prep book at your local library, then a fall-back option is to look at an SAT prep book. The vocab list will be similar; howere, the SSAT has a word analogy section, which was eliminated from the SAT years ago.</p>

<p>In defense of you “stingy” & “cheap” parents, BS tuition is a HUGE undertaking. It is difficult enough for parents to plan for college tuition (esp in today’s scary economy), let alone yet the same magnitude of expense 4 additional years and 4 years earlier than planned.</p>

10

<p>I believe there can be enough study materials “out there”. If you can find a book at a thrift store, on a half.com type site or a library, those resources are great and low cost options. </p>

<p>While there aren’t a ton of SSAT study materials laying around, there are many vocabulary fun study sites and resources. For example, there’s one we used that donates grains of rice per each handful of words you practice. Then you can study through Algebra on various sites and see tutorials on YouTube, etc. </p>

<p>You can find sample essay questions, and responses around to get a feel for the types of questions you might be asked and to brush up on tour writing, on your timed writing skills.</p>

<p>Basically, otherwise, the tests test knowledge you should already have. I know of kids that tested w/o studying and did well. Studying can eek you out a few higher points, no doubt. That’s never a bad thing. I think you can definitely have success with the free materials that are out there that are test specific and dont forget anything that’s just topic/grade specific. </p>

<p>My child, for example, took a “pre-test” (the SSAT a year early), and we chose to purposefully not include study on the first attempt. Our purpose was to get a true baseline foundation score and see what needed improvement from there. I know your time frame and budget doesn’t include the ability to double test, but my point is, in our experience, the scores - “test” and the “real” a year later, didn’t deviate far from each other. </p>

<p>So, to answer your question based on our experience and my personal opinion, yes, I feel that free and low cost materials out there, not even all necessarily SSAT geared, can be “good enough” materials or in fact, great materials, to help you for your own test prep.</p>

<p>Good luck through your journey!</p>

11

<p>Cool beans. I’ll look around for said books. </p>

<p>Also I’ll make sure to work on my self confidence and hug my parents every day to show that I love them and they aren’t stingy and cheap.</p>