<p>To everyone who thinks SSATs aren't the important in the application: they definately are. I was rejected to one of the HADES schools because my SSAT wasn't high enough.</p>
<p>What was your SSAT?</p>
<p>obviously it’s important, but once it passes a certain threshold (say… 85, 90), it becomes irrelevant. it’s just to prove that you’re academically admissible (along with your grades), imho. it’s a way of equal comparison against other applicants, since grade inflation kind of distorts grades…</p>
<p>I agree with Dive Alive. Please note that the “posted” averages are just that - averages. </p>
<p>And when admissions officers say it’s because an SSAT isn’t high enough it’s sometimes true - or - it’s sometimes a polite way of letting someone down easy.</p>
<p>I got an 89 overall. That isn’t too low, is it?</p>
<p>Sooo not true about over 85 comment. When I first took the ssat this year I received a 95. With a 75 in math. My grades weren’t spectacular but I had football. I met the dean of admission at a school (won’t say bc I feel I gave too much info before) he told me to retake it nd do better on math or pass the 95 mark bc there r so many applicants with the same ssat scores. He said since m.y grades r mediocre nd ssat r essential. I retook it got a 96. I was accepted</p>
<p>I’m not saying everyone has these scores though but def passing the 85-90 comment not true. Tere is a reason andover has a ssat average of 94 Exeter 92 Deerfield 88</p>
<p>Did you get a really uneven SSAT, like 99 99 and 3? that could have been it. if it was consistent and you got rejected because of THAT… i doubt it. anyways, ExieMITAlum’s theory could apply in this case. Seems strange, but i’m not an admissions officer so i wouldn’t know for sure…</p>
<p>@ jyun: consistency matters. if you got over 85 in each category, schools wouldn’t be concerned. if they were… then 
if your grades were mediocre, then you had even more to prove, thus making the SSAT more vital…</p>
<p>but honestly if you got over 85 in each category and they said your SSAT was too low, then i’d be confused</p>
<p>The schools that I talked to said that the raw score mattered more so than the percents
For example I got a 770 out of 800 but was in the 79% idk how that works but the ssat does matter a lot more then people think it tells the school about your academic potential. But scoring (percentage wise) works differently for your gender and grade level so a 99% for a 9th grade girl could be more difficult to obtain than a 99% for a 8th grade boy
I’m sorry I’m rambling</p>
<p>Additionally,</p>
<p>It depends on what classes you have had. If you had not had Algebra 1, but only scored 75% in math that is different then a student taking geometry and getting an 80%. The geometry student should have scored at least a 95% on an algebra focused test. They do look at your classes and what your interest are.</p>
<p>I know of quiet a few students who scored 96%-99% and did not get accepted into the tier one schools. </p>
<p>SSAT’s are important, but they don’t tell the entire story…it is very much about the package when you get above the 85% average.</p>
<p>i got over 85% last year on all sections of the ssat and 2190 (89 percent overall) but was still rejected.
choate told me that my ssat was too low.</p>
<p>this year i brought it up to a 2378 (99 percent overall) and was admitted by choate?
dunno what happened there.</p>
<p>swampedwithwork: Are you FP or FA? Do you feel that was an issue with the admissions?</p>
<p>On an otherwise stellar application, and with an 89% SSAT total, I am thinking my D’s 70% in math is what killed her chances at several schools. That, needing full FA, and no known “hook”.</p>
<p>SSATs are important because, well i’m no expert in admissions, but this is just common sense, so if there were two applicants who the school were considering, but with only one place to offer, and if by chance the applicants’ interests, and extra-curriculur things were just as impressive, the only way they could decide was to just accept the one who had the higher SSAT score, right?
but then again, it is not the MOST important thing, there are many factors to an acceptance. i got a 98%tile but i still only got accepted into 2 schools (andover and choate for those who are interested xD) waitlisted at 3 (hotchkiss, deerfield, SPS) and declined at 2 (exeter and lawrenceville) yes. i applied to 7 schools. my parents are overachievers like that. and also i was told that smaller schools (e.g groton, milton, deerfield, hotchkiss) decline student who have applied to a lot of schools because they, unlike larger schools, cannot afford too many accepted students who dont go.
wow ive written an essay -.- hope this helps ;)</p>
<p>To everyone who thinks SSATs aren’t important …</p>
<p>They aren’t important. </p>
<p>That is my observation. It just can’t be too low, that is all.</p>
<p>“I know of quiet a few students who scored 96%-99% and did not get accepted into the tier one schools.” </p>
<p>Yeah I know plenty of students like that. Those high scorers probably appear as nerds/no social life to admission people if other parts of their applications are not strong.</p>
<p>Yep - there are some “general” guidelines but beyond that - it’s going to be your application that puts on you the admit list, not scores.</p>
<p>to be honest at tier 2 schools there not important. I got 45 percentile and i got waitlisted at williston and the only reason for that was because i was applying for FA. People please do not use the essays that people post on here do not use them, they can give you ideas but do not copy them flipping word for word. your essays and interviews can either make or break your application. focus on down to earth essays and kick ass interviews.</p>
<p>No student will ever get rejected because of the SINGLE reason of an SSAT score being 89. There were other factors.<br>
We ALL know students with 99’s who do not get accepted and those with 70’s who do (and who are not legacies, etc). It is ONE factor among MANY. Just as SAT’s are ONE factor among many when applying to college.</p>
<p>My scores were around 80-90 on all of the sections, and I’m in Geometry for math.</p>