<p>A high score won’t get you in, but I still think that a too low score in the absence of something remarkable can keep you out. But an 89 is certainly “high enough” for any school out there.</p>
<p>Panda, were you told by admissions that your scores were too low???</p>
<p>pandapandaa, how are you so sure that your score was your reason for your rejection?</p>
<p>I called the admissions office and that’s what the dean of admissions told me.</p>
<p>Quite simply… I don’t buy it. I don’t mean to be impolite at all, but 89th percentile, if that was your score, is not too low by any means. There are PLENTY of kids here at Andover who scored lower than that. The fact that the average is 94 here doesn’t mean kids with scores lower than that don’t get in. Would you care to share which school it was? To my knowledge, the highest SSAT average of any of the schools is 94, held by Andover, and other “HADES” schools have average scores as low as 85, according to BSR. Exeter’s is 91 (or was last year).</p>
<p>BELIEVE ME when I say that kids DO NOT get rejected because their score is >5 points lower than average. To assert that is absolutely ludicrous, and I don’t care what the admissions person you talked to said (if they even did say it). Otherwise, how would kids who speak English as a second language get in? Think about it - it’s not rocket science. If the admissions officer told you this, maybe it was his or her attempt to find an explanation for your denial when there may not have actually been one. Unfortunately, there is often no real reason for denials. As admissions offices say, there are FAR TOO MANY INCREDIBLY TALENTED APPLICANTS to admit them all. Often, it’s the small things that make the difference. SSAT IS NOT ONE OF THOSE THINGS.</p>
<p>I am reluctant to saythat the school was Andover. I just don’t understand why the Dean would tell me something like that. She gave me the impression that SSATs were a big factor in admissions.</p>
<p>Haha, you’re funny. Jane is way more professional than that. My roommate got an 80 on the SSAT and another kid on my hall scored in the seventies (and no, neither of them were athletic recruits).</p>
<p>I’m sorry but that’s what she told my mom. I know you go to Andover, but I’m not making this up.</p>
<p>Okay. I can’t argue with the veracity of your statement…</p>
<p>But it’s still wrong - even if Jane Fried said it (which I still can’t believe she did - if she did). You understand why I’m still in disbelief, I’m sure, because it’s just not right. At all. 89 is more than fine.</p>
<p>I agree with you, although I’m trying to score higher next time. My mom is convinced that in order to get in I need at least a 97 overalll.</p>
<p>I’m gonna delete this thread. The admissions officers might figure out who I am…</p>
<p>Haha, soooo wrong. You need a well-rounded application, not a ridiculously high score. One thing you’ll notice about Andover is that while there are people who do ridiculously well on standardized tests, almost none of these kids are purely academic.</p>
<p>Good luck with deleting the thread. And trust me when I say there were probably plenty of people who had 89s and got rejected, I’d say you’re fine. And at this point of the year, trust me when I say that admit officers have better things to do than browse CC</p>
<p>i dont like the way that andover handles “our” applications. look at this [Phillips</a> Academy - No Table Big Enough](<a href=“http://www.andover.edu/Admission/DeansJournal/Pages/NoTableBigEnough.aspx]Phillips”>http://www.andover.edu/Admission/DeansJournal/Pages/NoTableBigEnough.aspx) . they put them on the ground for christ sake</p>
<p>I completely disagree! I got a 54% on the SSAT, and applied to several schools for my junior year, and guess what. I got accepted to Northfield Mount Hermon, St. Mark’s, and Putney. I also got waitlisted at Choate Rosemary Hall and Middlesex. So, I don’t know, but don’t you think getting a 54% would have completely hurt my chances at Choate or Middlesex? Well, it didn’t. :D</p>
<p>Do you have a hook ?</p>
<p>
You can’t really be offended by the fact that they neatly have them on the floor (not ground) in an office.</p>
<p>Swissbrit, not really! The only hook I had was that I lived overseas my entire life (lived in 7 countries –> speak 3 languages). But, that was it.</p>
<p>My what a lucky duck you are Josh! :)</p>
<p>SSATs are important, but they don’t take the cake. I know someone who got a 61 the first time and then got a 81 the second time, and ended up with a full-merit scholarship to a HADES school. It is more important to be well-rounded.</p>
<p>hahahhahahahahahaha, thanks Rad-in-Plaid96…I’m not sure if you were being sarcastic or not, though -.-</p>