Average SSAT needed for GP, SJ, and Gonz

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son does not attend a parish school. He attends an independent, k-8 school. Our family is Catholic, but not involved in any significant level at our church beyond attending occasional mass. We do give money to our parish regularly, but not sure the priest knows our family. Does being Catholic even help admission to Gonzaga in this situation?

Yes, being Catholic helps. So does comivng from a Catholic K-8, so if you have both, it's good, but there are also non-Catholic public school kids who get in, so it's only part of the picture.

Of course there are non-Catholic, public school kids that get in, but these attributes are not positives. Whereas being Catholic, going to aCatholic grade school that GZA has a solid relationship with and having recommendations from the Parish are.

Between two equally qualified candidates, one has the edge.

[Anonymous]

If your catholic (active) then you have a 75% chance of getting in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your catholic (active) then you have a 75% chance of getting in.

Fake News. Acceptance rate is around 20%. This rate is for Catholics as well as non-Catholics. I know several Catholic parish school kids who were straight A students in Honors classes and did not get into Prep (they also played sports and were good kids). Truth is Prep is hard to get into. Easiest avenue appears to be for Mater Dei students, everyone else has to be a top student at their middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your catholic (active) then you have a 75% chance of getting in.

Fake News. Acceptance rate is around 20%. This rate is for Catholics as well as non-Catholics. I know several Catholic parish school kids who were straight A students in Honors classes and did not get into Prep (they also played sports and were good kids). Truth is Prep is hard to get into. Easiest avenue appears to be for Mater Dei students, everyone else has to be a top student at their middle school.

The average acceptance rate of 20% may be factual, but not very helpful in guiding people assessing their own son’s chances of being accepted at Prep.

As you point out, Mater Dei seems so get almost 100% of its boys into Prep. And the high number of Mater Dei students who attend Prep doesn’t include those who were accepted and chose to go to another school (almost always Gonzaga). Mater Dei, of course, is in the Prep sweet spot. (Catholic, lots of legacies, full-pay). The two schools have a long history of interdependence and trust between them with lots of informal communication about the suitability of candidates.

Other traditional feeder schools (Holy Redeemer, Mercy, Blessed Sacrament, St. Barts, DeChantal, etc.) seem to always send boy’s to Prep and historically these have frequently included the top students at these schools. These schools do counsel their students on their chances at the various high schools they want to apply to.

So if you are Catholic, a good student, strongly recommended by your Catholic middle school, full-pay, a legacy of have a family connection, a good enough athlete to play on one of the teams and Prep is you absolute number one choice, the odds are high you’ll be accepted. 75? Maybe.

If, on the other hand, you are far afield from the school’s core constituencies and are just casting a wide net hoping to decide which private school you want after seeing where you are accepted, then your odds are lower. If you really would prefer St Albans and Prep is just a safety school, the experienced Admissions staff will sniff that out pretty quickly.

This “likelihood to attend if accepted” explains some of the curious admissions results in which seeming great candidates are denied admission at schools and granted admission at similar or even more competitive schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your catholic (active) then you have a 75% chance of getting in.

Fake News. Acceptance rate is around 20%. This rate is for Catholics as well as non-Catholics. I know several Catholic parish school kids who were straight A students in Honors classes and did not get into Prep (they also played sports and were good kids). Truth is Prep is hard to get into. Easiest avenue appears to be for Mater Dei students, everyone else has to be a top student at their middle school.

The average acceptance rate of 20% may be factual, but not very helpful in guiding people assessing their own son’s chances of being accepted at Prep.

As you point out, Mater Dei seems so get almost 100% of its boys into Prep. And the high number of Mater Dei students who attend Prep doesn’t include those who were accepted and chose to go to another school (almost always Gonzaga). Mater Dei, of course, is in the Prep sweet spot. (Catholic, lots of legacies, full-pay). The two schools have a long history of interdependence and trust between them with lots of informal communication about the suitability of candidates.

Other traditional feeder schools (Holy Redeemer, Mercy, Blessed Sacrament, St. Barts, DeChantal, etc.) seem to always send boy’s to Prep and historically these have frequently included the top students at these schools. These schools do counsel their students on their chances at the various high schools they want to apply to.

So if you are Catholic, a good student, strongly recommended by your Catholic middle school, full-pay, a legacy of have a family connection, a good enough athlete to play on one of the teams and Prep is you absolute number one choice, the odds are high you’ll be accepted. 75? Maybe.

If, on the other hand, you are far afield from the school’s core constituencies and are just casting a wide net hoping to decide which private school you want after seeing where you are accepted, then your odds are lower. If you really would prefer St Albans and Prep is just a safety school, the experienced Admissions staff will sniff that out pretty quickly.

This “likelihood to attend if accepted” explains some of the curious admissions results in which seeming great candidates are denied admission at schools and granted admission at similar or even more competitive schools.

Finally someone with some real knowledge.

[Anonymous]

My DC got a 98, a 4.0 GPA, with good essays and LORs and was rejected from Sidwell, so grades obviously aren't everything.

[Anonymous]

More like good grades are a lot more common than one might think.

[Anonymous]

Understanding Admissions —- to the degree it’s possible —- requires you to look at this from the perspective of the school.

On any campus, there are different constituencies that Admissions has to serve. The CFO wants full classes and the tuition revenue associated with that. The coaches want athletes. The Drama department wants people interested in Theater. The faculty wants smart, hard-working kids. The Alumni want their kids and their friends admitted. And the list of constituencies goes on.

Above all, they don’t want problem kids or problem parents. They are expected to screen these out.

Admissions has to serve all these constituencies. and they have to maintain relationships over a period
Of years with schools that supply them applicants.

Admissions is going to be judged based on the satisfying the needs of almost everyone on campus.

From the outside the process looks capricious and unfair. But to the school, it’s rational.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Understanding Admissions —- to the degree it’s possible —- requires you to look at this from the perspective of the school.

On any campus, there are different constituencies that Admissions has to serve. The CFO wants full classes and the tuition revenue associated with that. The coaches want athletes. The Drama department wants people interested in Theater. The faculty wants smart, hard-working kids. The Alumni want their kids and their friends admitted. And the list of constituencies goes on.

Above all, they don’t want problem kids or problem parents. They are expected to screen these out.

Admissions has to serve all these constituencies. and they have to maintain relationships over a period
Of years with schools that supply them applicants.

Admissions is going to be judged based on the satisfying the needs of almost everyone on campus.

From the outside the process looks capricious and unfair. But to the school, it’s rational.

Well said. To make it through the first "round" with Admissions, your child needs to be in the right pile. Usually a score in the +60% range will do that. After that all of the other factors stated above come into play. Sometimes a kid may not even tick any other boxes but something makes him stand out.

Our oldest son was accepted at his first choice school, one of the three listed. He was not a shoe-in. His background was a non-stellar performance at his parochial school and while he is an athlete now in college, he wasn't anyone's idea of an athletic superstar in middle school. He tried hard but his grades were all over the place and his test score was in the 60% range. What made him stand out though was his essay. It resonated with the Admissions Committee/AD and we know this because someone told us. He didn't write about curing cancer and he never rescued anyone from a burning building and he didn't fund an orphanage in Africa but apparently his essay, about some personal challenges and his perspective on those, made a positive impression on his first choice school. He worked for perhaps 2 or 3 MONTHS (I kid you not) with his Grandpa on the essay and wrote from the heart. It worked and we are forever grateful for that.

I guess my advice is to not get too hung up on the score. Encourage your son to try his best to be ready for the test, and to do a good job on his application, including the essay. And go from there.

Good luck, OP, to your son that he lands at the right school for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Understanding Admissions —- to the degree it’s possible —- requires you to look at this from the perspective of the school.

On any campus, there are different constituencies that Admissions has to serve. The CFO wants full classes and the tuition revenue associated with that. The coaches want athletes. The Drama department wants people interested in Theater. The faculty wants smart, hard-working kids. The Alumni want their kids and their friends admitted. And the list of constituencies goes on.

Above all, they don’t want problem kids or problem parents. They are expected to screen these out.

Admissions has to serve all these constituencies. and they have to maintain relationships over a period
Of years with schools that supply them applicants.

Admissions is going to be judged based on the satisfying the needs of almost everyone on campus.

From the outside the process looks capricious and unfair. But to the school, it’s rational.

Well said. To make it through the first "round" with Admissions, your child needs to be in the right pile. Usually a score in the +60% range will do that. After that all of the other factors stated above come into play. Sometimes a kid may not even tick any other boxes but something makes him stand out.

Our oldest son was accepted at his first choice school, one of the three listed. He was not a shoe-in. His background was a non-stellar performance at his parochial school and while he is an athlete now in college, he wasn't anyone's idea of an athletic superstar in middle school. He tried hard but his grades were all over the place and his test score was in the 60% range. What made him stand out though was his essay. It resonated with the Admissions Committee/AD and we know this because someone told us. He didn't write about curing cancer and he never rescued anyone from a burning building and he didn't fund an orphanage in Africa but apparently his essay, about some personal challenges and his perspective on those, made a positive impression on his first choice school. He worked for perhaps 2 or 3 MONTHS (I kid you not) with his Grandpa on the essay and wrote from the heart. It worked and we are forever grateful for that.

I guess my advice is to not get too hung up on the score. Encourage your son to try his best to be ready for the test, and to do a good job on his application, including the essay. And go from there.

Good luck, OP, to your son that he lands at the right school for him.

Um, did his Grandpa go to Prep?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Understanding Admissions —- to the degree it’s possible —- requires you to look at this from the perspective of the school.

On any campus, there are different constituencies that Admissions has to serve. The CFO wants full classes and the tuition revenue associated with that. The coaches want athletes. The Drama department wants people interested in Theater. The faculty wants smart, hard-working kids. The Alumni want their kids and their friends admitted. And the list of constituencies goes on.

Above all, they don’t want problem kids or problem parents. They are expected to screen these out.

Admissions has to serve all these constituencies. and they have to maintain relationships over a period
Of years with schools that supply them applicants.

Admissions is going to be judged based on the satisfying the needs of almost everyone on campus.

From the outside the process looks capricious and unfair. But to the school, it’s rational.

Well said. To make it through the first "round" with Admissions, your child needs to be in the right pile. Usually a score in the +60% range will do that. After that all of the other factors stated above come into play. Sometimes a kid may not even tick any other boxes but something makes him stand out.

Our oldest son was accepted at his first choice school, one of the three listed. He was not a shoe-in. His background was a non-stellar performance at his parochial school and while he is an athlete now in college, he wasn't anyone's idea of an athletic superstar in middle school. He tried hard but his grades were all over the place and his test score was in the 60% range. What made him stand out though was his essay. It resonated with the Admissions Committee/AD and we know this because someone told us. He didn't write about curing cancer and he never rescued anyone from a burning building and he didn't fund an orphanage in Africa but apparently his essay, about some personal challenges and his perspective on those, made a positive impression on his first choice school. He worked for perhaps 2 or 3 MONTHS (I kid you not) with his Grandpa on the essay and wrote from the heart. It worked and we are forever grateful for that.

I guess my advice is to not get too hung up on the score. Encourage your son to try his best to be ready for the test, and to do a good job on his application, including the essay. And go from there.

Good luck, OP, to your son that he lands at the right school for him.

Um, did his Grandpa go to Prep?

LOL, nope! He wasn't a legacy anywhere, which is why it was important that he put his best foot forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC got a 98, a 4.0 GPA, with good essays and LORs and was rejected from Sidwell, so grades obviously aren't everything.

Pleas know that that every school will only use statistics as one measure of a class. There are and will always be children with significantly lower stats at every school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More like good grades are a lot more common than one might think.

Perhaps, but also, you do not need straight As to get into any of these schools, including Sidwell because they know grades are one topic to discuss in an interview, but are never the full measure of a person's value to a community.

[Anonymous]

Ageed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC got a 98, a 4.0 GPA, with good essays and LORs and was rejected from Sidwell, so grades obviously aren't everything.

How did your child do in the interview?