@PhotographerMom Oh, wow. What schools are considered the Top 35? I’m applying to Exeter, Andover, Choate, Groton, St. Mark’s, St. Paul’s, and Concord Academy and I need financial aid. I should probably broaden my net of schools, right?
@PhotographerMom similar question as @mondaydevil .
I need full FA. I’m applying to 11 schools: Choate, Exeter, Deerfield, Peddie, Mercersburg, Loomis Chaffee, Taft, Hotchkiss, St. Paul’s, Lawrenceville, and Hill.
staying home/going to my LPS isn’t a viable option for many reasons.
oop, that’s good advice, but too late now i guess. Just gonna hope for the best, ABC wouldn’t let me add any more schools at this point.
in the (very likely) scenario where i don’t get into any schools, i’ll just attend the local public school. i think i’d be able to make the best out of any high school but, meh.
@PhotographerMom thanks for the info though!
It is what it is…
Good luck, everyone!
Just to add…the AO’s are looking for interesting kids who do interesting things - not just stats. Be authentic in your interviews and in your essay. Show some creativity, also. Robots are not reading, people are reading (so far, at least).
Long-time no see since I was last on here!
So, just a quick update:
- Got my official SSAT scores. 2277, 96th %ile. A lot higher than I expected, but I don’t think it’s high enough for the likes of GLADCHEMMS. How does it compare?
- I’m not really sure whether to send in everything before scheduling interviews, or to get those done before writing essay answers. What’s your experience so far?
Anything above 90% is absolutely high enough to get into any of those schools. For some of those anything over 85% and you are safe. I feel like the adults say this over and over again and no one listens. Schools are not choosing applicants based on SSAT score. No one is sitting down and comparing your score to someone who got a 99% and picking the 99% over you JUST because of the score.
Here are two anecdotes for you about SSAT scores.
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one of those acronym schools reads applications and makes initial decisions without the ssat scores attached. Then they go back and cross-reference the yes pile with scores to make sure there aren’t any kids in the yes that can’t do the work.
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a bunch of kids with “perfect” math ssat scores have dropped out of honors math at my son’s school because they couldn’t do it/weren’t prepared. meanwhile, my son got a 100 as his math mid term grade (+ a 100 on his midterm exam) and is being moved up to honors. His math SSAT was his worst score. SSAT scores don’t mean everything and schools know that.
You should have scheduled interviews already. Slots fill up and you may not be able to get an interview at this point. I suggest you call every school immediately or have your parent do so. Interviews and tours are a way for you to figure out if you want to go to the school. Those should be the first thing you do if possible (obviously some kids can’t do in person interviews and tours - that’s another matter). No school expects your application to be turned in before you interview.
I just thought about this more. Aren’t applications due in less than a month? Essays need to be written already and you should be editing now. I strongly suggest you sit down with a parent and go over your timeline.
@ThePhoGuy - mom of fellow applicant over here so voice of the trenches not experience.
But I wouldn’t freak out over the essays assuming you are planning on writing applications and essays like it’s a full time job over holiday break. A lot of work but doable.
But if you haven’t scheduled interviews, really CALL NOW. The good news is I remember getting emails last year in January from top schools (we were on the interest list even though DD was not applying yet) saying “hey it’s not too late to interview! “. So don’t stress. But get into action on the interviews today, IMO. You control your own essay writing — that’s between you and a computer. But interviews require someone else’s schedule to align with yours. Your scores are fantastic so don’t let a little hard work and hustle stop you from getting in. You got this.
@ThePhoGuy – fellow applicant here. What the frick is GLADCHEMMS? (tbh it sounds like a terrifying new overpriced drug from big pharma, haha.)
Also, bro, congrats on your ssat! So many ppl have great scores on this site, I’m just hoping that my mid-high 80s score’ll be enough sghsagsk.
i think its
groton
lawrencevill
andover
deerfield
choate
hotchkiss
exeter
middlesex
milton (?)
st pauls
By popular demand, I am reposting the “Golfers Guide To Applying to Prep School” thread from last year. Not sure if there is anything new to add…other than hoping the Class of 2024 would expand the list of schools they discuss on CC! Good luck to everyone as you move into the final stretch of writing those application essays. DO remind your teachers (before you leave for break) to submit their recommendations.
ok, ok @ThePhoGuy its ok, breathe dude, you still have time. go ahead and SCHEDULE THOSE INTERVIEWS, because, yes, it would be nice to have them all in by January 15th, but if not that’s ok too. I interviewed at schools as late as January 18th of last cycle, you will be f i n e and this will not sink your chances. go ahead and call right away but DO NOT PANIC. you got this
@TheHappinessFund its origin is as an acronym representing the “best” schools in the BS community - the ones @mondaydevil so accurately listed off. it should really have never existed in the first place and is mostly used to either idealise the “top 10” BSes or put down other BSes. I wouldn’t pay much mind, if I were you.
also, I will remind you both that SSAT scores come in percentages. y’all scored at least 85 percent better than other applicants who took the SSAT in the classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024. Not something to be sniffed at or taken lightly. The SSAT is just a check to make sure you can handle the work. it’s not an actual representation of your skills, and the AOs know that.
Merry Christmas you guys!! If you don’t celebrate Christmas, then happy Wednesday!
@RedLioness Personally, I find it helpful to say “top 15% of all SSAT takers” because I feel like it just makes me sound better than “at least 85th %ile”
hey,
so they released SSAT scores today, and I’m kind of conflicted.
in the November test, my overall was 2202, with verbal at 749, Quantitative at 737, and reading at 701.
However, while my overall for December rose to 2223, my quantitative was only at 713, which is apparently the 69th percentile. (my verbal and reading rose to 785 and 725 though!)
So here’s my problem. Do I send in the November test, the December test, or both? I don’t want to get super scored, but I guess I have to.
Hey @Mercurrii — can you translate to percentiles? If I recall you had such solid first scores I’m inclined to say just submit those but it would be helpful to see the full percentile info in one place.
@Mercurrii dont the schools superscore? I remember Andover saying they do (i.e. take your highest scores from different tests). so you may be ok submitting both?
the november test I received an 84 in V, 83 in Q, and 92 in R. 89 Overall
for dec it was 97 in V, 69 in Q, and 92 in R. 91 overall.
@IntTraveller yeah, but I don’t know for all the other schools ahh, math has never been my strong suit and i don’t want it to be the reason for my waitlists come M10
@Mercurrii If that green score scaler table is accurate, then superscored you’d have a 95%ile so I think you should send both.
@mondaydevil dude, im not worried about my overall. I’m worried about my Math score.
@Mercurrii Do you do math elsewhere? For example something like Mathcounts or AMC? This could show the AOs that you are proficient in math and that the test wasn’t a good reflection of your abilities. If you’re still deciding on which to send, maybe you should consider the essay part, too.