My son got into all 8 schools he applied to with 2019 SSAT scores and this is back in 2021. He was accepted into Mercersburg, Taft School, Kent School, Lake Forest Academy, Woodberry Forest, Shady Side Academy, St. Stephen Episcopal, Cranbrook and Western Reserve Academy. He has good EC activities, strong recommendation letters from teachers, strong character skills tests and good essays. So SSAT is not everything.
Standardized test scores are not everything. I have one kid who always tests extremely well - 99th %ile but has very uneven academic performance due to EF issues and another who just can’t break 50%-ile but has strong, consistent academic performance.
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Hi! I struggled with the verbal A LOT (since I learnt English by myself) and ended up getting a 80th percentile. So, I have a few tips!
I used the SSAT practice thats comes with the fee waiver, I did a quiz everyday and studied mostly the roots, perfixes and suffixes. I advise you to use Quizlet too.
I should’ve done this sooner but write every word you come across during practices that you don’t know and a simpler synonym or definition!! I did this only the week before and it helped me a lot. Also, while doing the verbal sections, always look at the other options and see ifthey’re connected. (IDK how to explain).
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Which resources did you use to study the roots prefixes and suffixes? mostly, i have just been studying massive lists of terms
I searched online and watched youtube videos- My first language comes from latin, so I already new the roots.
can you message me with links of the online searches and youtube videos?
DM me!
should i submit a 1370 sat to top schools like andover, choate, mercersburg, kent, sps, and webb?
No questions about it. The scores are competitive even for Andover and Choate.
Andover and Choate doesn’t even require (or care about) the SSAT so why would you send them the SAT? If you want to send them standardized test scores, send the SSAT.
SPS requires the SSAT, not sure about the other schools but I suppose you can send the SAT scores along with the SSAT.
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You are a 10th grader applying for 10th at these schools.
From Choate’s website:
Standardized test scores are an optional part of the application to Choate. If you choose to submit test scores with your application, please see below for testing options based on the grade to which you are applying.
10th and 11th grade applicants : Submit SSAT, ISEE, PSAT, SAT or ACT scores taken on or after last June.
Choate’s average SAT of 176 test takers (including superscoring, multiple tests, and taken mostly by 11th and 12th grade students) was 1401 (1300-1530) for 2023. So your score won’t hurt you if you choose to submit it to Choate. Unclear if it will help, either.
St. Paul’s is test optional, and their school SAT score results would track Choate’s.
Andover SAT scores are likely at least 40 points higher than Choate and SPS. It is test optional, but only wants the SSAT for 10th grade applicants.
Kent is test optional and only wants the SSAT for 10th grade.
Mercersburg is test optional but will receive the SAT if you have it. Your score is very competitive for MB.
We know application time is very hectic, but most of this info is on these schools’ websites and you need to follow their checklists closely.
Good luck!
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A school being test optional does not mean that they do not care about the scores.
Agreed - if they didn’t care, they would be test blind.
The question, as always, is “how much do they care?”
According to the conventional wisdom commonly exchanged here - beyond a certain rough benchmark for most of the tippy tops, probably not too much. And not as much as the other significant Application inputs.
(Actually, we think Groton really cares based on our interactions there - maybe others have data to share.)
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Thanks for the clarification. I guess if schools didn’t care about test scores, they would be like Cate which specifically sent out an email saying “Don’t send us your SSAT score.”
As for Choate and Andover, they were very adamant when we toured and interviewed that they cared little if at all about test scores. We also know several people within the past two years who got into these schools without submitting them.
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Percentiles vary by test pools and tests. We really can’t estimate. Keep practicing until you take the real test. Try and take it twice.
As you’re clearly a subject matter expert I’ll bow out of the thread from here.
OP if you’re interested in hearing thoughts from a parent of multiple current Andover students (including one who actively participates in prospective student/Day At Andover type events), and has heard all manner of AOs speak to this question ad nauseum, consistently using the same statements about it to convey a clear and consistent message, feel free to DM me.
This also was the covid/immediate post-covid era, so perhaps not the best period for comparison. Many schools are assessing how their "no test required " admissions seasons have panned out as these kids make their way through these schools.
Even so, I think it’s common for both schools and colleges – even ones that require test scores – to downplay their importance in admissions. It’s one data point among many. There are great students without scores or who have not tested well. There are also kids who test well who would not thrive at certain schools. In and of itself, probably not worth all the hand-wringing it gets. With that said, an application can be strengthened by good scores, so if you can add these to your app, do it! It can be hard for AOs to interpret grades and rigor, so this one thing that’s easily compared just may help.
Some schools that don’t require tests have an evaluation of their own that they use when you come to interview.
As with most things, YMMV.
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This is spot on.
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I was simply reporting what we encountered this admission cycle and what my kid’s friends have encountered in past cycles. In no way am I a “subject matter expert.” Choate and Andover seemed to really deemphisize the SSAT during our interview. Maybe I misunderstood?!?
Now that I think about it maybe Andover and Choate deemphasized the SSAT for our son specifically since he has ASD and ADHD (we are very open about this) and he hadn’t taken the test. I wouldn’t be surprised. People assume a lot given his diagnosis. Anyway, he submitted his scores, 98% applying to 10th grade.
So take our personal anecdotes with a grain of salt…
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While I think that’s true, many kids we know at Choate did submit scores… and they were fairly high. I also think it depends on your application. If you present yourself as an athlete, musician, artist, or anything ‘non-academic’ that might play into the ‘scores are not important’. But if you present yourself as STEM-y or anything academic, that might play into it? (this is a guess). I will say last year the head of admissions told us that the girls’ acceptance rate was 5%. I have a difficult time imagining that test scores did not play into some admissions decisions at the end of the day. My advice would be to do your best on the SSAT and put a lot of thought and effort into your essays. Good luck!
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