Although I mentioned I was not doing well on SSAT previously, I have increased my score on the official practice test to about an 85-89th percentile. Assuming I score this well, I will submit it to all the schools where this is average to above average. I’m torn on a few of the schools such as these:
Andover
Exeter
Hotchkiss
Choate(leaning towards submitting)
Lawrenceville(leaning toward submitting)
Keep in mind. 7th and 8th grade have had stellar grades. all A’s. Quarter 1 in 9th grade: not so great. All A’s, a B+ in social studies(Honors, but we use AP textbook and all) and a B in Algebra 2 Honors(11th grade course)
If I happen to do as well as I am on the practice tests, would submitting such grades be beneficial? or hurt my chances…
Aren’t your practice scores right at Hotchkiss’ average?
Their previous Dean of Admissions told me a difference of a few percentiles (e.g. going from the 83rd to the 86th percentile) did not matter at all – it did not make one bit of difference for their admissions decision. They just want to see you are in their range.
Their current Dean of Admissions told me that he realizes there isn’t a big difference in the actual scores between a range of percentiles. E.g. there isn’t a huge difference in the underlying scores between the 75th percentile and the 85th percentile.
The ostensible reason the schools are not requiring the SSAT this season is unequal access. With that in mind, here is a question for you and anybody else who would like to comment:
If you have access and take the test, isn’t it more moral to submit the scores than not?
I think that’s a good point, but if your ability to take a test through a computer is much worse than your ability to take a test on paper, it would be fair to not submit it then as well.
I disagree with this reasoning completely. If the schools are going test optional it is entirely up to you whether you take the test and whether you submit the results. You should only submit the results if they are going to help your application, i. e. if your results are within or above the school’s range. If the school wanted to get the scores from every applicant who took the test, they could easily ask whether you took the SSAT/ISEE or require results from any testing you have done like some colleges do. Alas, they let you pick and choose, and put the best foot forward with your application, and that’s what everyone should do. There is no moral reason to submit scores that will hurt your application.
“I have increased my score on the official practice test to about an 85-89th percentile.”
The verbiage makes it sound like you re-took the official practice test and are now at 85-89th percentile. If you did indeed re-take a test, that is going to overestimate your actual test scores on a fresh test.
It’s unclear to me that you can take the SSAT now, even if you wanted. I know there have been problems and that proctors aren’t always readily available. Have you actually signed up for a test and was it possible?
@floating123 I took a different official test. I have already taken the SSAT and it went well tech wise. I am already signed up for a Dec 20th test. (i am retaking it)
417, thanks for your perspective. However, not considering any moral question, it’s possible submitted scores might be the better path even if they aren’t going to help one’s application. If many applicants in one’s geographic area and of similar demographics take and submit the SSAT, but the applicant doesn’t submit, the admissions committee might think the applicant did not submit because the scores were truly bad. Then, notwithstanding any public statements to the contrary from the schools about being completely test optional, the absence of a score could be worse than one that is somewhat below the school’s mean, but close enough not to sabotage the applicant.
This raises an interesting question that I’m curious about. Hypothetically, IF a school normally had an 85th percentile average score, and this year forced everyone to submit SSAT’s, what would the averages look like this year?
I would think lower - at least in my area, schools have not been in-person since spring.
Hi there, “lilyesh.” Yes, I would submit an 89th percentile SSAT score to any U.S. boarding school, including Andover and Exeter. That’s a very good percentile ranking. If I were an admissions officer, it would help an applicant pass a threshold of whether or not they were likely gifted enough to handle the academic work and contribute well in class. As you know, there are posters on these boards whose children got in to Andover et al. with percentile rankings lower than 89%.
Lilyesh, are those from a real SSAT? If so, I would definitely submit unless your next set of scores are even better. Though of course I can’t say what admission officers believe or how they weigh things, if I were one I would consider “Verbal” the least important of the three sets. Verbal on the SSAT is mainly just a matter of improving one’s vocabulary, which is easier to do than to achieve improvement in reading comprehension or quantitative reasoning.
Those are from an official SSAT practice test I did at 11 PM, so not my best work. I’m confident my actual score will reflect the practice test, possibly be even better.
Practicing and self convincing is a great way to maintain confidence. Feel free to share your progress here, we will be rooting for your success. Stay confident and positive, You can do it!