Reply to Getting into 9th Grade -- importance of SSAT scores

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]19:26 There might be other factors. It does happen. Why would someone make this up?
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There's one-two posters on here recently who are painting a completely rose-colored picture of private school admissions. As in, every kid has a perfectly equal chance of getting in, you can totally afford private school full-pay for two kids on $150,000 per year and still save for college and retirement, if families do pull strings or use their wealth it's only 1-2 families per school, testing (SSATs, WPPSIs) really doesn't matter, and more of that ilk. Looks like someone's trying to encourage people to apply to private schools. Hey! Everyone's a winner! Everyone gets in to their top choice schools! Yay![/quote]

Actually, I don't think anyone on the other thread ever said that every kid has an equal chance of admission or that only 1-2 families pull strings or use their wealth.  It was just stated that there are some kids who don't have top (95%+) scores and don't have connections that get in.  I happen to know several of them.  They didn't necessarily get into every school they applied to or even their top choices, but they got into [b]well-respected[/b] schools.  I'm sure the process is easier and less stressful for those with 99% WPPSI or SSAT scores and friends on the board of their 1st choice school, [b]but to say that a non-connected kid who is only in the 80th percentile doesn't stand a chance at getting in anywhere is flat wrong. [/b] 
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The post at 15:25 was talking about an 80th percentile score not getting into any [b]"top tier"[/b] schools despite straight As and lots of activities. That sounds pretty much right to me, but I would agree with you that this kid would get in somewhere. There are lots of "well-respected" schools in the second tier that might take such a kid.

And I think it's important to clarify that we're talking about percentages, not straight-up "it's impossible." A top tier school might possibly take one 80th percentile, unconnected kid into a class, if the kid really wowed them in some other way. But I think we can agree a top tier is not going to take 8 80th percentile kids in a year when they accept 16 kids and have 50 applicants at the 90th percentile or above. So for the 80th percentile kids, saying that the top tier schools are basically out of reach is probably realistic.[/quote]

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