<p>Basically right now I'm focusing on getting a perfect SSAT score BECAUSE:</p>
<p>My EC's are not good at all.
All I have are:
Chinese 8 yrs., grade 8, 2nd in some speech contest (school)
Fencing 2 years
Piano (8 Yrs, NYSSMA Lvl. 6 which is Final)
Tae Kwon Do (5 Years, Black Belt Dan 1)
Tennis (Level 3, 3 years)
Swimming, level 1 1 yr.
Japanese & French 1 yr.</p>
<p>Right now it looks sort of like quantity over quality.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>PS I'm new to this forum, so please don't use any forum/blog lingo. =)</p>
<p>You should probably get in the 85th percentile minimum but dont let testing scores hold you back if you think you excel in other areas.
I’m just letting you know that you decided to apply to repulsingly selective schools with SSAT averages around 93%.</p>
<p>What did you get a 755 on? Overall on SSAT? What was your SSAT percentile?</p>
<p>I got it overall. The prep book I had gave me some sort of little table. It said “If you want to get this score (one column) on this percentile (second column) then shoot for this score (third column)” I got 99 percentile reading, and 92 in the others.</p>
<p>If you got in the 96th percentile average why even ask?
You are obviously have a fair shot at all your schools. I mean…you got a friggin 99% in READING. Like, woah.
But, you said SSATs will make up for lack of EC’s and they probably wont. In my perspective all components count the same (so being a whiz at standardized tests but not participating out of school, you might have a disadvantage.) Grade wise, your excellent, though so in that field, dont sweat it.</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d talk to LindaS or Burb Parent. Or D’yer Maker. They’re used to answering this sort of thing. Best of luck. PM me if you want.</p>
<p>Oh and I forgot to mention. My family has some connections to some of these schools (board members, large sums of money kindly donated to the school, etc.) If recommendation letters came from these people, would that make an impact?</p>
<p>I do not think that they would allow you to snag recs. from board members
They need to be your teachers except for the personality recommendation and you should pick someone who knows you well and who sees the best side of you possible. They will be more impressed if they see your fab personality, not who Mom and Dad are buddy-buddy with.</p>
<p>Your ssat practice test scores are good. Rather than trying to perfect your scores, you might want to spend some time thinking about how you want to position yourself. You appear to have a strength in languages, and you might want to talk to the heads of the language department at your schools. Some schools are phasing out Japanese in favor of Arabic &/or Chinese. If you plan to continue the study of Japanese, you might let it be known that you are interested in it. They will need to fill the class. Here is my guess on letters of recommendation: You can ask board members to write letters of recommendation for you, but I don’t think this is a good idea unless they know you very well. A generic letter will, most likely, not carry much weight. Good luck!</p>
<p>I have been in business with E. Pompous Vaizard for lo these past 25 years and it has come to my attention that his son, Chip Vaizard, is applying to my dear alma mater. I am writing, as a dedicated member of the board, and at the request of my friend “Pomp,” to request that you give young Chip Vaizard’s application all due consideration. Pomp tells me that Chip is a real go-getter and that’s just the kind of young person we need to see more of at our fair school. I’m also told that Chip is quite bright, so please take that into account. Keep up the good work and go Horned Frogs!</p>
<p>Ribit Virescit!</p>
<p>Pugsy Rockefeller Lodge IX
Senior Member, Board of Trustees</p>
<p>Well, obviously, everyone is shooting for the highest possible score. I don’t think you can really compare the practice test scores to the actual test. My son scored in the 95-99% on all practice tests, but couldn’t break 86% on the live test. Nerves? Different testing group? I am not sure what it is. In any case, I would think it is one of the least important indicators (unless it is very low, say less than 60%). How are your grades? Interview, recs, and essay are also of higher importance. I think your EC’s look good, btw.</p>
<p>Does it strike anyone how disingenuous some of these posts are? When this kid says his "EC’s are not good at all” one would expect to see 1 or 2 years of summer sports, nothing else. Instead, we get a kid who is so well rounded; he covers all the EC’s: Language, Music, and Athletics.</p>
<p>He supposedly has had 8 years of Chinese (which means he started studying Chinese when he was five or 6). If Chinese is not enough, he added both Japanese and French last year. Also when he was 5 or 6, he started studying Piano and mastered it enough to become a member of NYSSMA—an extremely competitive music association in NY—and has already achieved Level 6 (the highest award given). </p>
<p>He is also very athletic, achieving a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, and has time to play tennis and swim. </p>
<p>His comment about his EC’s was *“Right now it looks sort of like quantity over quality.” *</p>
<p>Then, to top it off he states “My family has some connections to some of these schools (board members, **large sums of money kindly donated to the school, **etc.)”</p>
<p>Even if Vaizard is for real, to state that he needs to get a Perfect Score on the SSAT because he has terrible EC’s (but his family has supposedly **donated **large sums of money), seems very insincere. Did anyone else notice that Vaizard and Nexgen – both new members each joining a few days ago, come from families that have *donated large sums of money ** <a href=“even%20buildings”>I</a> and they both know members on the board of the schools? Seems fishy to me….</p>
<p>Obviously you should strive for the best SSAT score that you can achieve. A better question might be what SSAT score do I need to get a serious reading of my application. The answer is that it depends upon a number of factors including, but not limited to, your profile, special talents and abilities, communication abilities, what a particular school is interested in to “build” a class, whether or not you are seeking financial aid,etc. Try to achieve at least a 75 SSAT if you do not need financial aid, an 85 if you are a non-recruited athlete, non-URM seeking financial aid. Be skeptical of those who suggest an “average” SSAT score in the ninties is needed; but, also, be aware that even a 99 SSAT does not assure admission to many of these elite boarding schools. Most schools speak in terms of “median” SSATs in my experience. Every school on your list has many students with SSATs in the 60s.( I cannot help with info. regarding Dalton). To Jennycraig: I believe the posters you mention, simply because I know so many just like them, especially from the NYC area. I know many trustees, several of whom have made substantial financial contributions to schools, and I don’t even live in the NYC area. Again, be wary of those who toss around “average” SSAT numbers in the nineties as there are many different methods used by schools to calculate numbers designed to impress, rather than to inform.</p>
<p>Icy–You may be right–this kid may be for real. I just find it very coincidental that two children, both in 8th grade, from supposedly well connected, extremely wealthy families (that surprisingly—have already donated large sums of money to boarding schools) come on this board and ask questions that are not typically asked by well-connected hooked kids. </p>
<p>As I said, Vaizard might be telling the truth, but he sounds very disingenuous when he knows that he has 3 languages, 3 sports, and music behind him—(plus the well connected family and donations of large sums of money to boarding schools—which, by the way, why would his family donate money to a boarding school if it weren’t a legacy scenario)—and he states “I must focus on getting a perfect SSAT score because… (Paraphrasing) ”I have nothing else going for me”…</p>
<p>i don’t see any motive here. he has no reason to lie. But Caiwizard, if your searching for compliments an yor ec’s, this is not the way to get them. you obviously have an extremely good chance of getting in.</p>
