<p>The point of these tests is to be able to get a feel for how well the student can handle the work, they use the test along with grades and teacher recs to gauge this. Toombs is almost looking down on people with scores a little lower than her sons. Trust me, their just as “worthy” as your child is, and hotchkiss is just as good of an institution. Don’t have a heart attack if the kid with a 2100 gets into your sons dream college and he doesnt with a 2400. My friends mom almost did ;)</p>
<p>so if you think that the ssat is so important, and your son has such a high score, shouldt you be happy that he’s already one of the top scorers in the school? obviously hotchkiss is all about college acceptance for you, so it should be in the bag.</p>
<p>uggg
overbearing parents</p>
<p>tennisgeek1, Hernandez said that selective colleges typically weigh “70 to 85% of the final decision [on applications]… entirely on the academic ranking [which is] directly proportional to high school achievement and standardized testing scores.” This ranking is called the “Academic Index” by Hernandez and is measured as follows: one-third, class rank; one-third, SAT’s; and one-third, the average of an applicant’s top three SAT II’s. So, as I stated, many selective colleges give standardized tests twice the weight as high school grades.</p>
<p>Imcrazy, I’m not looking down on any student. I’m, however, looking straight at Hotchkiss. If it has lowered the importance of standardized tests, then it is discounting the very thing that many selective colleges weigh the most. Such a move seems like a self-inflicted wound that could hurt Hotchkiss and its students, and I mean all students, including my son, in getting into top colleges.</p>
<p>Maybe there just happened to be some amazing kids with great essays and recs who hapened to have scored an 85. I mean, if you don’t want them to accept the kids that will put your son in the best environment/community to succeed I’m not sure what you want. </p>
<p>I also don’t understand your logic, how is the average SSAT of hotchkiss students going to affect the students SAT in ANY way at all. Going to Hotchkiss isn’t going to get your son a 2400. This isn’t a sign that hotchkiss is going to stop doing the best it can to prepare kids for the SAT. I don’t understand where you’re coming from. No school is going to improve your childs SAT score, Im sure he’ll do great in the SAT without hotchkiss’s help. I really am.</p>
<p>I’d be more concerned about essays, interviews, ECs going forward towards college from personal experience. I think a little more focus on those things might have given your child options at other top boarding schools. Which your focus on numbers I have to assum he was not accepted at he Deerfield, Exeter, SPS …so on(or maybe he didn’t like those schools, which I can also understand). These schools seem to consistently have top numbers. I’ve never really followed hotchkiss. Kafk can comment more on the consistency of academic numbers in relation to Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>toombs61, I just checked BSR. Now, while a 10 point yearly drop of average SSAT is a bit unusuaul, it may not be enough info to draw the counclusion that Hotchkiss is under performed in this measure compaired with all other HADES schools, as only Andover (93%) and Deerfield (88%) have posted the info. Exeter and SPS don’t have it posted. Do you know from other sourcees that theirs are significantly higher than Hotchkiss’?</p>
<p>Toombs61, I am the parent of a child in the Class of 2012 at Hotchkiss who just completed 9th grade there. I speak from experience, and concur with others on this thread suggesting that your myopic focus on SSAT scores is truly unfortunate. Hotchkiss is a wonderful school that offers a warm, diverse community with a plethora of opportunities in and out of the classroom. Whether the average SSAT score is in the 90+ percentile or a bit below is irrelevant. I am a bit afraid that parents sharing your opinion will be sending their children to Hotchkiss, unless of course the children are the more typical teenagers interested in the overall journey that will include bumps in the road, trying new things, taking risks in and out of the classroom, etc. For the most part, the Hotchkiss graduates I’ve met (and I’ve met many over the years) are savvy, well educated, global-minded, happy, forward-thinking and truly wonderful young men and women. This might frighten you, but many of them don’t even end up at Ivy League colleges! O my! </p>
<p>Having had my own children go through the college application process, I can give you a few tips I’ve picked up…first, the SSAT score of an 8th grader doesn’t always translate into the same percentile SAT score. Sad, but true! Things like scoring curves will have an impact on the raw v. percentile score, and you may want to give the college admissions staff throughout the US (Ivy and non Ivy) some credit for being able to evaluate candidates BEYOND or IN SPITE of their SAT or ACT scores. Did you know that about half the perfect 2400 SAT candidates do NOT get accepted at many Ivy and top-tier schools? </p>
<p>You mention quite often the financial sacrifice you are making to send your child to Hotchkiss, and you almost imply that it should come with a guarantee from the school that your child’s SAT score will exceed the 93%ile 4 years after he takes the SSAT as a 13 year old. You may want to get out while you still can, send your kid to a local school where he can load up on 8-10 AP classes and get the GPA that the Hernandez Bible/Formula suggests is necesary for admission to Dartmouth and other Ivy League schools. I can assure you that your child will NOT graduate from Hotchkiss with the 6+ AP classes that are routine at many fine public high schools in the US. WHY? Because it’s not just about SAT’s! It’s not just about AP classes and scores! It’s not even all about the GPA! You might be shocked to learn that many Hotchkiss kids, come senior, are a bit vague on what their GPA is on the 12 point scale because it is simply NOT IMPORTANT!!! They’re too busy trying their hand at new sports, new activities, new academic experiences, awesome travel opportunities, etc. THAT IS WHAT A HOTCHKISS EDUCATION IS ALL ABOUT - Learning about their world, their peers, the environment, their society in the US and abroad, and YES, on a local level, their own very special Hotchkiss community.</p>
<p>I truly don’t think Hotchkiss is a great fit for you as a parent given your postings on this thread, I’m sorry to say. No disrespect intended, but your focus is so painfully narrow that I don’t think Hotchkiss will deliver the Hernandez formula that has made such an incredible impact on you.</p>
<p>theres about to be a WHAT!?!?!?</p>
<p>PARENT FIGHT!!!</p>
<p>I just spent the summer tutoring a friend’s child for the SSAT and it is HARD! And, tricky! Or, maybe I am just middle aged and losing brain cells. I will tell you that in two of my childrens’ cases, their SSAT scores exactly predicted their PSAT and SAT scores- 94th percentile in one case on all, and 95th for another. Another one of my kids raised their scores dramatically from the SSAT to the SAT. So, you never know. But, the lower the score, the more room for improvement.</p>
<p>Agreed, sometimes there’s a pattern from SSAT to PSAT to SAT, and sometimes there is room for improvement from when a 13 year old child takes his “first” _SAT test. But the point I was making is the Hotchkiss experience goes way beyond the SSAT test score, and that any parent so focused on standardized test scores is perhaps missing the bigger picture when it comes to evaluating the benefits of attending Hotchkiss or any other boarding school. One also needs to remember that there are many children in this world who do not have the benefit of the tutoring that so many of us can afford for our children, and it may not mean that the non-tutored, lower scoring students are any less valuable to the school community or the world at large. </p>
<p>Regarding distribution of the Hotchkiss matriculation list, as a Hotchkiss parent, I’m THRILLED that all that is presently available is a 5-year running list. It’s nobody’s business where my child or any other child attends college, really. Why does it matter? Unless you have access to each college applicant’s application, you have no idea what got them in - beyond test scores, perhaps essays, background, special talents, geographic considerations, alumni ties, etc.</p>
<p>absent confirmation or explanation, the 83 ssat average seems implausible.</p>
<p>Epictitus- not really. This was a very tough year for boarding schools, as many of their endowments dropped by tens of millions of dollars. Like many private colleges, more full pay students with slightly lower scores were admitted. I don’t think it’s a tragedy if it makes the school stronger in the long run. Most people do not pay attention to “average SSAT scores” so I would not worry too much.</p>
<p>hotchkiss has lots of endowment. unlikely that investment losses would so quickly compell a dramatic change in admission criteria. if ssat number is correct, indicates a reduced emphasis on ssat for this schools process. neither bad or good, just different.</p>
<p>Hotchkiss was hit fairly hard by the economic downturn, but had one of the largest endowments among boarding schools to hit with, so the school is not planning cutbacks of any sort (that I know of) for the upcoming year.</p>
<ul>
<li>will be a Senior</li>
</ul>
<p>“Hey. I got perfect on the SSAT coming into Exeter. I am a senior now. Trust me on this; I know kids at Exeter who got in about the 85% isle who make me look like an idiot on a regular basis and are two grades below me.” - Alex Paczak, Facebook</p>
<p>So all of you believe that the fact that the AVERAGE SSAT dropped from 93% to 83% says nothing about the quality of the admitted class? Well, the way I see it is that when it comes to an individual, he or she may have a high GPA but not necessarily a high standardized test score. However, standardized tests like SSAT have been recognized as a tool to level the playground for people from different background - whether you come from a school with huge grade inflation or from an academically rigorous school where a B is a considered a success. That’s why it is a mandatory test required by all “serious” schools. SSAT is not a particularly hard test. An academically capable student should be able to achieve a decent score. In other words, IN GENERAL, SSAT test results should be consistent with your academic performance and/or intellectual ability. It’s true that for an individual, a 95% and a 99% are not much of a difference in telling the person’s academic ability, but a group of students with an average of 83% (which means some of them may likely be in 70’s), is a student body of different quality than a group of students with an average of 93%. I know many of you disagree, but it’s my personal opinion.</p>
<p>too bad your opinion is wrong</p>
<p>I agree…with tennisgeek. How would you know how hard the SSAT is? Have you ever taken it NoDrama? ALso even with the average is 93%, there will be students in the 70’s…even 60’s. Thats why its an average lol.</p>
<p>The fact that you think the student body QUALITY will change over 10% points is disheartning. You don’t know these kids personal stories, personalities, talents…etc. But their test score will decrease the overall quality of the student body. Wow…thats all I can say is wow.</p>
<p>I can somewhat understand the frantic nature of a parent who has just paid a lot of money for their student to go to the school…somewhat. But not you really, but then again everyone is open to their own opinion and I respect yours.</p>
<p>DAAANNNGGGG</p>
<p>i thought i was gonna get eaten alive for my last comment!
hahahaa</p>
<p>That’s OK. Let me clarify a couple of things. First of all, when I say “quality of the entering classa”, I am talking about quality in terms of academics or “scholastic aptitude” as they put it, which is a most important consideration when the top boarding schools make admission decisions. The students may still ha e great personalities, talents, stories, etc. It is not contradictory to what I have said. Secondly, with a student who has the above mentioned qualities, a lower SSAT score shouldn’'t stop him/her from being admitted. However, exceptions are exceptions and for most students the norm is still well rounded academic excellence consistently demonstrated in grades and tests. Take a look at top college admission. It’s true that each year some students with special talents or an exceptional life story but significantly lower grades/test scores get admitted, but the majority of admitted students are academic stars with good grades, high test scores plus meaningful extracurricular activities and an intersting story to tell. A significant lower AVERAGE of SSAT scores is an indication of a class of lower academic achievement (not necessarily proportionally significant though) is all I am saying.
p.s. I shouldn’t have said SSAT is not “hard”. No matter how hard or not hard it is, the percentile score just tells you how you performed compared with your peers.</p>
<p>there may be qualities ,other than ssat score, which hotchkiss has determined are better correlated with academic achievment. if so, hotchkiss may be ahead of the curve in its admission process. </p>
<p>if fewer high ssat kids applied or applied, were accepted, but chose to go elsewhere (read low yield) then an arguement can be made that the average intellectual level is diminished.</p>