@CaliMex, I respectfully disagree. Yes every year there may be some students with scores at the 95th percentile who are rejected from top schools while some with lower scores get in. But having a score in the 95th percentile does not preclude having great essays, strong letters, great ECs and being nice. High scores are very important to top high schools. An 84th percentile is not close to a 95th percentile. So, yes a higher score will help. It does not change everything else but it does change the score while you work on the other things too.
You may not think it fair that a high score is so important but it is. Why? It has nothing to do with whether or not the student will do well in high school classes. Pervious grades would provide that information. Rather, a high SSAT score suggests the student will score very high on the college entrance exams. And, that is important because average SAT/ACT scores are often posted on various sites and they factor into ratings of prep schools and they factor into decisions by other parents about which high school they should try to enroll their kids in. But, high scores also suggest the student will be viewed as desirable by “top” colleges. And, the lists of which colleges their graduates attend are on every prep school’s web sites. Perspective parents look at those lists to see if the graduates are getting into the “best” colleges. A student with very high scores is likely to get into a uber selective college-which makes the prep school appear better. And no, an 84% won’t do it. A 95% and above will tho.