<p>Any advice? Any strategies? When would be a good time to start studying for this? Any good prep books other than PR, Kaplan and Arco? (also vocab lists, practice tests, etc)</p>
<p>I recommend studying over the summer because of homework and hobbies o.O; whatever you do. Just relax don't panic too much. Bring a treat with you so you can eat it after the SSAT and feel better for kicking the SSAT's butt. ^__^</p>
<p>Take it early in the year so you can make it up if you screw up?</p>
<p>I attended a private school where we were required to take the SSAT in seventh, eight, and ninth grade. In eighth grade, when it actually mattered, I found that taking the test was easier than when I took it in seventh. I would reccomend trying to register for it early, if possible.</p>
<p>Also, I believe that are practice books, though I got mine through the school, so I'm not sure where you can find them. But they give practice tests (much like SAT books) that will show you where you need to work to score well on the test.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the essay topic is almost always a cliche...though they have really stupid ones thrown in there. One of my friends got something like "pigs are smarter than dogs" one year. USUALLY, they'll give you something you can write a strong paragraph about.</p>
<p>When you get your scores, don't even bother to look at the "national percentiles." They are there to boost your ego, nothing else. They mean nothing and admissions officers aren't going to care about them, so neither should you.</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend doing any more than 4 paragraphs on the essay portion. That was my big mistake-I did 3 really sucky examples instead of 2 great ones. When I took the SAT, I got an 8 on the essay by doing this. In practice, I realized that all of the essays with 3 examples sucked, so I think it really helps to do one less.</p>
<p>Plus, you don't have much space to write it.</p>
<p>SSAT- Secondary School Admissions Test- not SAT :)</p>
<p>The SSAT only gives you a page to do a single paragraph...not 4.</p>
<p>I did 5. Your point will most likely not be well-established in 1 paragraph.</p>
<p>dooit- The same should apply for the SSAT. I hated my essay for the SSAT, but didn't realize what I was doing wrong until the SAT (about 3 months later).</p>
<p>How did you do 5? We received a single page to write on, were given only about half an hour to write, and were instructed to write a single paragraph.</p>
<p>Tell the staff at your school to go to hell. You should do more than 1 paragraph considering that you have 25 minutes, which is WAY more than enough to write a single paragraph. It is difficult do fully develop your point in one paragraph. You shouldn't elaborate too much on one example; just elaborate until your message is clear, then use one more. And you need an intro and conclusion, which means that it should be more than one paragraph.</p>
<p>And they are not required to say "only write a single paragraph." That's probably what they think a middle schooler is capable of, which is untrue.</p>
<p>My essays both times consisted of one paragraph, with an introduction/thesis, three examples supporting my thesis, and conclusion, and I scored in the 90's both times.</p>
<p>Would you like to tell me what I did wrong?</p>
<p>The essay is not graded. You can't score in the 90s.</p>
<p>Then why did my academic advisor tell me I scored in the 92nd percentile for my essay?</p>
<p>I'm very confused now...but I know for a fact that one paragraph was fine for the essay, and I really don't see how you could fit 4 full paragraphs, introduction, and conclusion, on one sheet of paper, to tell you the truth.</p>
<p>Ya the essay isn't graded.. photocopies of it are sent to the schools that you are applying to</p>
<p>Also, please don't say the staff of my old school should "go to hell." Especially since they are sending 81% of their graduates to prep boarding schools next year and another 12% to excellent day private high schools in the area.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing...</p>
<p>Apparently, your paragraph was larger than every one of my 3.<br>
You can't score 93rd on the essay. You can on the verbal, however. The SSAT consists of one reading section, one math, one verbal, and one UNSCORED essay. However, the essay will be sent to schools.</p>
<p>About the same go to boarding schools from my school, but that doesn't mean it's good. Not all boarding schools are extremely selective like A/E.</p>
<p>No...the 92 apparantly had to do with something completely different regarding my essay...I just assumed percentile. It's kind of complicated...sorry for that mix-up.</p>
<p>I never said anything about my school being "good." But I believe the faculty know what they're doing when they tell us what to do on the SSAT and you shouldn't judge them simply by the way they prep us for the SSAT and tell us to do something different from what you do.</p>