Anonymous
Post 12/28/2025 11:56     Subject: 85% SSAT
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.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2025 11:55     Subject: 85% SSAT
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?
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2025 11:50     Subject: 85% SSAT
A score of 85 on the SSAT is a good score, but it may be a touch low for a non-athlete applying to Exeter or Andover.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2025 11:48     Subject: 85% SSAT
Anonymous wrote:My DS scored an 85% on the SSAT. I know testing isn’t the end all be all for admissions and he has solid grades and ECs, but I am curious on how this will be perceived by both moderately and highly competitive schools. Don’t get me wrong, I know this is a good score but most schools are vague with saying what they are looking for. Is it accurate to subtract the school’s acceptance rate from 100 to gauge a target score?


Seems a bit bizarre. I have never heard or read of this.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2025 11:46     Subject: 85% SSAT
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.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2025 11:37     Subject: 85% SSAT
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.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2025 14:37     Subject: 85% SSAT
Define moderately and highly competitive schools, please. People on here will define these differently. At some schools, 85 will not be high enough (sorry). At many others, you’ll be just fine.
Anonymous
Post 12/26/2025 12:06     Subject: 85% SSAT
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m assuming you’re talking about HS, OP? Or do you mean one of the earlier levels of the SSAT?


HS. From what I know, most kids applying for MS take the ISSE rather than the middle level SSAT.

My kid took the SSAT for 5th grade applications and again for 9th, so I wasn’t sure.
Anonymous
Post 12/26/2025 09:41     Subject: 85% SSAT
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.
Anonymous
Post 12/26/2025 09:02     Subject: 85% SSAT
Anonymous wrote:I’m assuming you’re talking about HS, OP? Or do you mean one of the earlier levels of the SSAT?


HS. From what I know, most kids applying for MS take the ISSE rather than the middle level SSAT.
Anonymous
Post 12/26/2025 01:53     Subject: 85% SSAT
I’m assuming you’re talking about HS, OP? Or do you mean one of the earlier levels of the SSAT?
Anonymous
Post 12/25/2025 23:23     Subject: 85% SSAT
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.
Anonymous
Post 12/25/2025 21:27     Subject: 85% SSAT
85 is enough for a top school. I assume you mean 85th percentile. The SSAT is taken by kids seeking to attend private school and so it's a more competitive pool of kids than the regular SAT, for example. 85th percentile should be good enough for all the top schools, assuming the grades are also good.
Anonymous
Post 12/25/2025 21:05     Subject: 85% SSAT
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.
Anonymous
Post 12/25/2025 20:51     Subject: 85% SSAT
My DS scored an 85% on the SSAT. I know testing isn’t the end all be all for admissions and he has solid grades and ECs, but I am curious on how this will be perceived by both moderately and highly competitive schools. Don’t get me wrong, I know this is a good score but most schools are vague with saying what they are looking for. Is it accurate to subtract the school’s acceptance rate from 100 to gauge a target score?