85% SSAT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you need to get into these competitive schools at the high school level is some type of spike, meaning some extra curricular that makes him very unique: star athlete with recruitment potential, math/science olympiad super star, sibling/ legacy/ VIP. If any of these are met, then the school mostly cares that your child can handle the rigor of their academics. In that case, an 85% is more than enough.

If it's any help, my daughter scored in 98th percentile a few years ago and did not get into any of the most competitive schools (Potomac, NCS, Sidwell, GDS). She had excellent grades at school and interviewed well, but she did not have anything else that made her standout. She played some rec sports, did some volunteering here and there ... don't get me wrong. She's a great kid and we are proud of her, but in the eyes of an admissions officer who is trying to select 30 kids from a pool of 500, she had nothing that made her standout. The kids in her grade who got in did.

Hope that puts things into perspective for you.

Question: does parent working as faculty in an Ivy makes the applicant student unique?

Unique ??? Of course not as there are many Ivy League faculty members with children who apply to private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you need to get into these competitive schools at the high school level is some type of spike, meaning some extra curricular that makes him very unique: star athlete with recruitment potential, math/science olympiad super star, sibling/ legacy/ VIP. If any of these are met, then the school mostly cares that your child can handle the rigor of their academics. In that case, an 85% is more than enough.

If it's any help, my daughter scored in 98th percentile a few years ago and did not get into any of the most competitive schools (Potomac, NCS, Sidwell, GDS). She had excellent grades at school and interviewed well, but she did not have anything else that made her standout. She played some rec sports, did some volunteering here and there ... don't get me wrong. She's a great kid and we are proud of her, but in the eyes of an admissions officer who is trying to select 30 kids from a pool of 500, she had nothing that made her standout. The kids in her grade who got in did.

Hope that puts things into perspective for you.

Question: does parent working as faculty in an Ivy makes the applicant student unique?

No, but it makes such an applicant attractive to private schools. For example, Milton Academy near Boston,Massachusetts has lots of students whose parents teach at Harvard. (Milton Academy has both boarding & day students.) Roxbury Latin,a private day school,also has a lot of students with an Ivy League professor parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The threshold for boarding schools (Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Choate) is 85th percentile, though exceptions will be made. It's about 93rd percentile for Andover, Exeter. Other factors (top athlete, special talent, URM) could affect that. It's a case-by-case thing. Additionally, sometimes a 98th or 99th percentile is a disadvantage. It might suggest a lack of balance, or that the kid overly prepped, etc. Most schools want very well rounded students who bring something beyond academic prowess to the school. Being good in a sport can help a lot.

The above is not accurate.

There is no absolute threshold for Deerfield, Hotchkiss, & Choate.

93rd percentile for Exeter & Andover is also incorrect, although both show a higher average SSAT score than Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Choate, & even St. Paul's School.

HADES = an acronym for the most elite, most prestigious boarding prep schools Hotchkiss, Andover, Deerfield, Exeter, & St. Paul's School.

Also, many accepted students,especially athletes, reclass which increases one's SSAT score.

PP here. Agree there is no formal threshold. That's a ballpark and it is quite possible to be admitted with lower scores. The main point is that a 98 percentile is simply not needed nor required to gain admission at these schools or DC privates. It's quite possible to be admitted (and I would argue even more likely) with scores below 98, 93 or even 85.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Deerfield's average SSAT score is 87%;

St.Paul's School average SSAT score = 89%;

Choate Rosemary Hall's average SSAT score = 85%;

Both Andover & Exeter are reportedly at 90%.

These are the top 5 boarding schools in the USA. Would lead one to view an SSAT score of 85% to be a competitive school for a local private high school.

This is super helpful. Average means that many also scored below those numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deerfield's average SSAT score is 87%;

St.Paul's School average SSAT score = 89%;

Choate Rosemary Hall's average SSAT score = 85%;

Both Andover & Exeter are reportedly at 90%.

These are the top 5 boarding schools in the USA. Would lead one to view an SSAT score of 85% to be a competitive school for a local private high school.

This is super helpful. Average means that many also scored below those numbers.

yep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you need to get into these competitive schools at the high school level is some type of spike, meaning some extra curricular that makes him very unique: star athlete with recruitment potential, math/science olympiad super star, sibling/ legacy/ VIP. If any of these are met, then the school mostly cares that your child can handle the rigor of their academics. In that case, an 85% is more than enough.

If it's any help, my daughter scored in 98th percentile a few years ago and did not get into any of the most competitive schools (Potomac, NCS, Sidwell, GDS). She had excellent grades at school and interviewed well, but she did not have anything else that made her standout. She played some rec sports, did some volunteering here and there ... don't get me wrong. She's a great kid and we are proud of her, but in the eyes of an admissions officer who is trying to select 30 kids from a pool of 500, she had nothing that made her standout. The kids in her grade who got in did.

Hope that puts things into perspective for you.

This was our experience as well.

DC is at a Big 3. Based on the cohort that entered as freshman, this spike thing isn’t the case. They are mostly just smart, normal kids. And FWIW, DC had 99th percentile and no hook/spike, although they entered in 6th.

Both of mine were 99th and were WL. So, it's not just the scores.

[Anonymous]

Georgetown Prep seems to be the only school in this area that reveals that their average SSAT score is in the 60th percentile
https://www.gprep.org/admissions/international-students
(expand the information section)

Prep is not as selective as say, Potomac, or St Albans (they have a lot more spots since it starts in 9th grade), but that should hopefully give you an idea about the more/ less selective schools you'd be looking at.

[Anonymous]

In the 60s?! What a weak average score. Yikes.

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown Prep seems to be the only school in this area that reveals that their average SSAT score is in the 60th percentile
https://www.gprep.org/admissions/international-students
(expand the information section)

Prep is not as selective as say, Potomac, or St Albans (they have a lot more spots since it starts in 9th grade), but that should hopefully give you an idea about the more/ less selective schools you'd be looking at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you need to get into these competitive schools at the high school level is some type of spike, meaning some extra curricular that makes him very unique: star athlete with recruitment potential, math/science olympiad super star, sibling/ legacy/ VIP. If any of these are met, then the school mostly cares that your child can handle the rigor of their academics. In that case, an 85% is more than enough.

If it's any help, my daughter scored in 98th percentile a few years ago and did not get into any of the most competitive schools (Potomac, NCS, Sidwell, GDS). She had excellent grades at school and interviewed well, but she did not have anything else that made her standout. She played some rec sports, did some volunteering here and there ... don't get me wrong. She's a great kid and we are proud of her, but in the eyes of an admissions officer who is trying to select 30 kids from a pool of 500, she had nothing that made her standout. The kids in her grade who got in did.

Hope that puts things into perspective for you.

This was our experience as well.

DC is at a Big 3. Based on the cohort that entered as freshman, this spike thing isn’t the case. They are mostly just smart, normal kids. And FWIW, DC had 99th percentile and no hook/spike, although they entered in 6th.

Both of mine were 99th and were WL. So, it's not just the scores.

I think the super high scores can be a disadvantage, tbh. A 93 or 90 is probably more in the range.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the 60s?! What a weak average score. Yikes.

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown Prep seems to be the only school in this area that reveals that their average SSAT score is in the 60th percentile
https://www.gprep.org/admissions/international-students
(expand the information section)

Prep is not as selective as say, Potomac, or St Albans (they have a lot more spots since it starts in 9th grade), but that should hopefully give you an idea about the more/ less selective schools you'd be looking at.

That’s incorrect. A score in the 60th percentile means the test taker’s results were above the average of the cohort taking the test for 9th grade admission. This cohort in itself is also above the average of the wider 9th grade populace. The schools told us as much last year when we applied. Am aware of kids admitted to the big3 with percentiles in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you need to get into these competitive schools at the high school level is some type of spike, meaning some extra curricular that makes him very unique: star athlete with recruitment potential, math/science olympiad super star, sibling/ legacy/ VIP. If any of these are met, then the school mostly cares that your child can handle the rigor of their academics. In that case, an 85% is more than enough.

If it's any help, my daughter scored in 98th percentile a few years ago and did not get into any of the most competitive schools (Potomac, NCS, Sidwell, GDS). She had excellent grades at school and interviewed well, but she did not have anything else that made her standout. She played some rec sports, did some volunteering here and there ... don't get me wrong. She's a great kid and we are proud of her, but in the eyes of an admissions officer who is trying to select 30 kids from a pool of 500, she had nothing that made her standout. The kids in her grade who got in did.

Hope that puts things into perspective for you.

This was our experience as well.

DC is at a Big 3. Based on the cohort that entered as freshman, this spike thing isn’t the case. They are mostly just smart, normal kids. And FWIW, DC had 99th percentile and no hook/spike, although they entered in 6th.

Both of mine were 99th and were WL. So, it's not just the scores.

I think the super high scores can be a disadvantage, tbh. A 93 or 90 is probably more in the range.

Should they have missed some intentionally? LOL. You are putting too much emphasis on scores. It's really not about the score as long as its over a threshhold. Schools are looking for fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you need to get into these competitive schools at the high school level is some type of spike, meaning some extra curricular that makes him very unique: star athlete with recruitment potential, math/science olympiad super star, sibling/ legacy/ VIP. If any of these are met, then the school mostly cares that your child can handle the rigor of their academics. In that case, an 85% is more than enough.

If it's any help, my daughter scored in 98th percentile a few years ago and did not get into any of the most competitive schools (Potomac, NCS, Sidwell, GDS). She had excellent grades at school and interviewed well, but she did not have anything else that made her standout. She played some rec sports, did some volunteering here and there ... don't get me wrong. She's a great kid and we are proud of her, but in the eyes of an admissions officer who is trying to select 30 kids from a pool of 500, she had nothing that made her standout. The kids in her grade who got in did.

Hope that puts things into perspective for you.

This was our experience as well.

DC is at a Big 3. Based on the cohort that entered as freshman, this spike thing isn’t the case. They are mostly just smart, normal kids. And FWIW, DC had 99th percentile and no hook/spike, although they entered in 6th.

Both of mine were 99th and were WL. So, it's not just the scores.

I think the super high scores can be a disadvantage, tbh. A 93 or 90 is probably more in the range.

Should they have missed some intentionally? LOL. You are putting too much emphasis on scores. It's really not about the score as long as its over a threshhold. Schools are looking for fit.

Exactly. A 99 percentile kid might not be the best fit for some schools. Interviews, grades, recommendations, extracurriculars, and financial aid requirements also come into consideration for high school. The SSAT is mainly a screening tool to see whether kids can hack the work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown Prep seems to be the only school in this area that reveals that their average SSAT score is in the 60th percentile
https://www.gprep.org/admissions/international-students
(expand the information section)

Prep is not as selective as say, Potomac, or St Albans (they have a lot more spots since it starts in 9th grade), but that should hopefully give you an idea about the more/ less selective schools you'd be looking at.

I could be reading this wrong, but that appears to be the average score for international students. As many of them speak English as a second language, the school might expect/ accept a lower score in that population. I would be surprised if 6oth percentile was an average score for day students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown Prep seems to be the only school in this area that reveals that their average SSAT score is in the 60th percentile
https://www.gprep.org/admissions/international-students
(expand the information section)

Prep is not as selective as say, Potomac, or St Albans (they have a lot more spots since it starts in 9th grade), but that should hopefully give you an idea about the more/ less selective schools you'd be looking at.

I could be reading this wrong, but that appears to be the average score for international students. As many of them speak English as a second language, the school might expect/ accept a lower score in that population. I would be surprised if 6oth percentile was an average score for day students.

Again, a score of 60th percentile means you scored above the average of students seeking to enter private school. It's not a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

https://ssatpracticetest.com/target-scores/

Searchable by school. Take all data w/ a grain of salt, but I think the ranges are largely accurate.