You sound awesome and I’m sure any school will be lucky to have you… don’t worry about the awards, as I believe your CCNY classes more than makeup for it. and do mention taking care of your mom b/c that’s the ultimate community service. You can make that clear in the many essays you will have to write for your apps. Do make sure you have a trusted teacher/mentor look over your essays.
The most important thing about the SSAT (as I have said many times on CC that I heard directly from the head of admissions from Exeter) is the essay portion of the test, as it’s the only writing sample they have of an applicant that is for sure 100% the applicant. With that said, you have many options for studying and taking the SSAT. One is at home (or school). You can take it over and over and you only have to send the test score you want. When you register it will ask you to type in the school code where you want to score sent: DON’T DO IT! You can wait and send your best score later… LIke after you submitted your application! They are flexible.
Also, the best studying you can do is through the SSAT. It’s $135 and you have many many online REAL questions online, plus 4-5 full practice tests as well as section tests. Best money we ever spent. If you need help financially with the test fee or study materials, reach out to the SSAT folks and they can help. Just ask. You can keep taking it and taking it until you get the score you want. Start early… like November. (Why are you taking the SHSAT? If there’s no reason for this, just focus on the SSAT IMO).
Last: interview in person and go visit if possible!!! I can’t stress this enough. You can talk about your situation, your mom, everything you do, etc. They all have folks that come to NYC for interviews. You should call (yes, on the phone… NO EMAIL). Ask to speak to the head of admissions (Jeff Beaton is the head of Choate’s, look the rest up). They will put you through because they will be able to tell you’re a kid and they love when kids take the initiative and call). If they don’t talk to you, leave a message. Have your questions ready about the school, and ask if they have some kind of program that will help you get to the school for a visit/in-person interview. OR: have your teacher/principal call and ask for you (it’s their job to do stuff like this). All admissions folks will call your principal at some point, so get him/her involved in this process early. You’re in! I can feel it! This might be of help too:
Good luck!