Thank you @movingtothebeach- this guidance is exactly what I’m looking for. Daughter is very disappointed as she had worked hard. We have another chance next year as she is in 4th grade and current school is until 5th but I just want to set realistic expectations with her on her chances.
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Thanks coldpotato- we dont have a specific hook, are asian americans with solid academic background (both husband and I are physicians), so different from the tech scene here. Daughter has been involved in sports, drama and lots of volunteering. We have taken the time to really work on all the PSIS documents and represent the most authentic self of my child
I do know an Asian girl with 70 SSAT getting into Eastside Prep with no obvious hook. She was from a public school with an outgoing personality. At the same time, I knew many kids with great personalities plus much higher scores plus amazing activities plus awards/achievements at young age waiting forever in waitlist pools. No one outside of admission committees knows exactly how and why. My observation is that SSAT may not be a good indicator to predict the acceptance chances. There is even a rumor that Overlake hates extremely high SSATs.
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SSAT scores are part of the admissions application package.
No one has written that there is any hard cutoff, but any student would have to be able to handle the academic demands of a school such as Lakeside just as at Andover, Exeter, St. Paul’s, etc.
Clearly some are unfamiliar with Lakeside. Lakeside claims an average SAT score of about 1560 out of a possible 1600. Lakeside is not a school for an average or just above average student.
OP: Admission to Lakeside is a long-shot as there is no obvious hook for your student and the SSAT score is low for this school.
Schools are, in large part, about finding the right fit–and the right fit includes demonstrated academic/intellectual ability/potential.
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@prepmom7 - you daughter sounds like a great addition to a school and nice that she has many activities of interest that would make her an engaged member of a school community. You are correct to think that being a non-tech family could be of interest too. I know it is disappointing and frustrating to go through this process with the very low odds of an acceptance.
Your visits and your child’s visits will matter a lot (esp at EPS and Overlake) and these schools are looking for families that want to be part of the community, be engaged in the school, trust the school. Follow up after your visits with a thank you and write something that stuck out to you on the tour - all coming back to why the school and community is the right fit. These are the things you can control, as the test scores are done.
As mentioned earlier, 5th grade is the toughest year with all 3 of these schools having close to or even more siblings, legacy applications that could fill the entire class. Your current elementary school will play a role here too and they should be transparent with the number of applicants and acceptances to these schools over the past 5 years.
Overlake tried to cut back on siblings admits many years ago to a lot of backlash. EPS expanded the size of their 5th grade class and now bring in more students at 5th vs 6th - but still an issue with all the siblings/connected families - with these kid being qualified too - in most cases. As you know, the numbers are small and then divide by gender, public vs private school, institutional priorities and so on and so on - and you see how competitive it is. Each of the schools enroll approx 32-34 students for grade 5.
There are significantly more options in the area for 6th grade - including looking at having your daughter tested for Open Window, Evergreen and SCDS plus many other wonderful independent schools and maybe even your neighborhood public school/lottery based school.
Wishing you and your family well.
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Thanks @coffeeat3 for your kind words and encouragement. I plan to go ahead and apply for EPS for sure as well as Lakeside and take our chances there. For Overlake, I heard if the child has low scores its better to withdraw and not apply as the low scores may be held against you when you apply in 6th grade. Any pointers will be greatly appreciated.
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@Publisher You keep posting and referring to SSAT data in this thread, some of which is clearly SEO SSAT clickbait, which relates to high school applicant scores. OP’s child is in 4th grade.
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Sent you a PM
Reminder that CC is supposed to be a friendly and welcoming place where users are free to share their experiences without their backgrounds being questioned. If you disagree with advice, state your position and then move on. Do not disparage other users.
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To be fair, the fact that OP’s daughter is in the 4th grade is something that the OP should have mentioned at the outset, instead of 20 posts in, so criticizing users for not possessing the powers if precognition and referencing that tidbit before is was revealed is unfair
That said, there is also no reason for users to double down and repeat themselves. Nor is there any acceptable reason to disregard the moderator’s note above.
Coffeeat3, just curious, how do you know this? Google says all of BG’s kids went to lakeside
That is not true - Rory went to and graduated from EPS. To be clear, I would never disclose this fact or any others about someone’s child if they were still in attendance at the school for privacy reasons and respect. He is now a college graduate.
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It’s pretty funny how all the EPS parents I know keep going on about the same stuff. Like, they always mention how BG’s youngest went to EPS instead of LS, and how the person who started EPS used to run Lakeside.
EPS is a decent school, but those parents really gotta find some new bragging material…