75th percentile on SSAT -- what schools would accept that for a 7th grade boy?

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on what schools would take a boy with a 75th percentile overall on the SSAT, and grades of As and Bs.

Thank you. We may have aimed too high, and I'm belatedly wondering if I'm too late to apply to more schools.

I wish it were like college where you can see the range of what scores and grades the schools admit.

TIA

[Anonymous]

Does the student have any notable skills or activities (music, drama, sports)?

[Anonymous]

Is your child coming from another private? If so, the admin would have a good idea of the types of schools where your son is a good fit. If your child is in public, I'd say he should still apply to the schools you/he likes best, but he will be a long shot for places like St Albans/Sidwell. Gonzaga, Landon, etc take a broader range of applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does the student have any notable skills or activities (music, drama, sports)?

He focuses on one sport that he plays year-round. He's also in a band at his school. (I'd rather not say if it's public or private school, since I figure I've probably already given out a lot of info.) I'm not sure how well he has done at the interviews, even though we've tried to practice a bit. He comes across as solid, but perhaps not outstanding.

[Anonymous]

All of them.

This is a very decent score that raises no red flags. He has good grades, too. Will he have great teacher recs and is he one of those kids who just shines when going through the process? These things are much more important factors than the SSAT score (as long as the score is decent--that is all they are looking for).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of them.

This is a very decent score that raises no red flags. He has good grades, too. Will he have great teacher recs and is he one of those kids who just shines when going through the process? These things are much more important factors than the SSAT score (as long as the score is decent--that is all they are looking for).

Thank you. I think he'll have good teacher recs, but he's not outstanding in a way that some of his peers seem to be. So I think his recs will be good, but not outstanding. I'm not entirely sure how well he did in his interviews, since he can come off as shy and therefore I wouldn't describe him as a kid who shines.

[Anonymous]

My DD was in 75th percentile SSATs last year applying for 6th grade (and has good grades). She got in to three of the four schools we applied though waitlisted at Potomac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD was in 75th percentile SSATs last year applying for 6th grade (and has good grades). She got in to three of the four schools we applied though waitlisted at Potomac.

Thank you. Is your DD happy at the school where she ended up? Were the three schools that admitted her more or less competitive than Potomac in terms of admissions? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Mine scored much lower (50's) than this. Had 89% math but very low verbal, but only took the test once. Has excellent grades, EC, languages, rec, and performs really well in a classroom situation and wrote an excellent essay without much input from us, however needed more familiarity with the test. We are not holding out much hope so it's less stressful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine scored much lower (50's) than this. Had 89% math but very low verbal, but only took the test once. Has excellent grades, EC, languages, rec, and performs really well in a classroom situation and wrote an excellent essay without much input from us, however needed more familiarity with the test. We are not holding out much hope so it's less stressful.

Thanks for your post. OP here. I am like you in not getting my hopes up. It seems like a long wait until March 1st.

In the case of your son or daughter, he or she sounds awesome despite the mediocre SSAT score. Even if he or she doesn't get admitted to a particular school, I suspect he or she will succeed with those great qualities. (My DS sounds a little less motivated than your child.)

[Anonymous]

OP, your DC sounds very similar to my DC who was accepted at all but one school we applied to last year. Great grades, great recommendations we think, very strong in one sport, decent at his band instrument, interviews well, but had variable SSATs (high in one category but lower in the others). I'd think it's not too late to reach out to the admissions offices to get athletic directors' email addresses to extend emails re: sports interest and ability in case that wasn't already strongly conveyed in the application. I assume it's too late to apply to schools, though its possible some may have late deadlines or accept late applications - you should call the school.

[Anonymous]

All of them.

[Anonymous]

OP, based on your posts I think your child is in good shape, especially because he is applying in an off-year.

There are a remarkable number of people who post that their children are in the mid- to high- 90's and it seems to me that either they are the only ones posting or perhaps their post is not quite accurate in terms of score. In other words, the 75% range is more than respectable and if your son applied to 3 or 4 schools then your child most likely will be accepted at 2 or 3 of them, if not all of them.

A few years ago one of our daughters had a much lower overall percentile, was applying for high school and she was accepted at all the schools to which she applied, including the most competitive schools in the area.

Good luck and I know it is hard to do but try not to sweat it too much. If you really feel pressed, though, take some of the other posters' advice re contacting schools/coaches/the like or expanding your parameters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, based on your posts I think your child is in good shape, especially because he is applying in an off-year.

There are a remarkable number of people who post that their children are in the mid- to high- 90's and it seems to me that either they are the only ones posting or perhaps their post is not quite accurate in terms of score. In other words, the 75% range is more than respectable and if your son applied to 3 or 4 schools then your child most likely will be accepted at 2 or 3 of them, if not all of them.

A few years ago one of our daughters had a much lower overall percentile, was applying for high school and she was accepted at all the schools to which she applied, including the most competitive schools in the area.

Good luck and I know it is hard to do but try not to sweat it too much. If you really feel pressed, though, take some of the other posters' advice re contacting schools/coaches/the like or expanding your parameters.

A chart on college confidential a few years ago posted the average SSAT scores for enrolled students for the top 25 boarding schools in the US. St. Albans (which has some boarding students) listed 80th percentile. The tip top boarding schools were in the upper 80s for avg SSAT percentile - Exeter, Hotchkiss, etc. Most were mid 70s (even low 70s for some) to @85th percentile. As has been said here before, schools may shy away from the 99th percentile kids out of fear they'll be bored or that the school won't have an advanced calculus or engineering.

[Anonymous]

Oh come on. if that is true, St Albans average is at 80th percentile bc of athletes, children of alum and connected individuals. I strongly suspect that the unconnected accepted student ssat average is not 80th perc. I posted above and I think there are many great schools for which your son is a strong candidate, op. But St A and Sidwell will be long shots bc they have plenty of straight A, 90th perc ssat applicants.