hHHHHhH I’m having a brain buster because of preparing for the interview. I feel like I’m unnecessarily stressing myself out.
@mondaydevil Hi! Welcome to the Freakout Thread lol! Anyways, to answer your original question, I’ve told probably 3 of my close friends, and since I didn’t tell them not to tell other people, half my grade knows now haha. I stressed about the SSAT and the app in general to my friends and stuff. They’re really supportive though.
@SolarJ GOOD LUCK!! have confidence in yourself. they just want to get to know you and be prepared to have a conversation with them. hope it goes well!!
@eekeek thank you! that’s great that you have supportive friends 
@SolarJ hHhHhhH stop stressing you’ll do great ahhh
what school is it with?
Okay, so I decided to add Taft and Loomis back to my list. @lightningqueen12 I need your blessed knowledge now for sure, hah.
also, can we just applaud me for scheduling 3 interviews in one go like wow didn’t know I could do that
@Mercurrii AYY NICE JOB CONGRATS
on the other hand im borderline on a mental breakdown bc of an interview tomorrow and ssats the day after
anyone else taking them saturday?
@mondaydevil me actually but im not stressed lmao
Im sure you’ll do great!
@Mercurrii, my blessed knowledge is available! What do you want to know?
@lightningqueen12 h ah ah, everything :0
but like, what were your interviews like? how about your essays? and what is taft like now that you are in? like your dorms etc etc
sorry im rambling
So I’d say that Loomis was my best interview. The AO was super nice and we shared common ground on certain things. A common question that I noticed was “What do you like to do in your free time?” Taft was also really good, and its funny because now that I’m here I see what role my AO plays in everyday life. She asked about my SSAT, btw. I don’t really remember my essays, but I think Loomis uses Gateway and Taft uses SSAO? On SSAO theres a lot of questions but they’re a little bit shorter than the ones on Gateway.
As for Taft now, I love it, and I’ve never been happier. I actually feel like I’m learning for once, coming from a mediocre public school, and I have a lot of friends. And something else I love, all the upperclassmen are super nice. No seniors bullying freshmen, they all say hi in the hallway and are happy to help. I live in the basement of one of the dorms, but it’s really nice and the rooms are big, even my triple. The dorms are separated by class, so freshmen and sophomores together but not in the same rooms. This is how I’ve come to bond with those in the class above me. There’s a lot of cool activities in the dorms, during the week and on the weekends too.
Sorry thats a lot lol
Anyone else taking SSATs tomorrow?? Break legs!
Anyone that has knowledge about this or if you’re a student/parent, feel free to answer!-
I’m applying to all the TSAO schools as well as Peddie and Mercersburg(I know it’s a lot but most of it is on SAO and I want to get into a school really bad.)
Anyways, I took my SSAT in October and got a 70th percentile. I didn’t study, but I’m retaking it in January after I study.
I go to a bad public school in a state that’s ranked in the bottom 25% for education. I don’t think it’s realistic for me to be getting the same scores as a kid that goes to a school in MA or the New England area, since there schools are leagues above anything where I live.
I wanted to know if schools consider your education/where you come from when they look at your app and scores.
I’m aiming for 85th percentile or higher, but it’s a BIG stretch.
@ens2006 yeah of course! I mean, the schools KNOW what economic diversity is…
As for scores, don’t stress! My score went from 1867 to a 2187 so don’t worry lol. You’ll do great! And for kids testing tmrw, me too!
@Mercurrii wow! That is really an amazing jump! I didn’t realize you had taken it before so thanks for sharing that awesome story of hope and hard work paying off!
@ens2006 , schools that are genuinely committed to having economic diversity know that some kids will come in less well prepared and they will have the resources to help them out. Some schools are not set up to do this even though they may value other kinds of diversity. You need to trust in the process and make sure you have schools on your list that will meet you where you are. So yes, many schools will see your scores in the context of your current school but not all will be comfortable guaranteeing your success given the way they are set up.
Im sorry this is not on topic at all but I have a few questions about interviews.
- What did you wear?
- What were some recurring questions and a question that caught you off guard?
- How long did it last on average?
If you guys could answer these it would be very much appreciated! Thanks!
- I wore casual clothes going by their dress code which probably wasn't a good idea
- "Best qualities?" "What did you summer look like?" "How have you been helpful?" there were more, I just can't think of all off the top of my head
- 30-45 minutes I think