Talking specifically about ACT/SAT. If one were to score high enough, could it be a deciding factor or even a hook? (Think 8th grader who gets a 36 ACT or something). I scored quite well on a above level test, and want to know if it helps separate me from the main pool of applicants.
Applying for 9th grade, schools will want an SSAT/ISEE score. Testing in addition to that will not move the needle on your application. For the SSAT/ISEE, if your score is somewhere around the school’s average, you’re fine. That does not mean that you will get in; it just means that you’ve crossed the threshold.
Top schools look at the admissions packet as a whole - grades, scores, recs, essays, EC’s, interviews. A 99th percentile on a test will not make up for deficiencies elsewhere.
I believe that the answer is no.
There are many students at various boarding schools who have scored well on ACT/SAT for 7th grade talent searches (including perfect scores). You can include it on your application but it is just one small part of your application.
While scores are only a part of an application, very high scores in middle school are not that common. If you have a 36 composite ACT in 8th grade, I think that would help your application. If you got a 36 on one section, that would be far more common and a bit less notable. Some of the talent searches provide awards, and if you scored highest out of 1000s of kids in a talent search as noted by an award from Duke TIP or Northwestern or CTY, I would be sure to communicate that in your application. It can’t hurt.
My own guess is that high standardized test scores are immensely important - IF you are in other respects someone a school wants as part of its community. High scores going in usually translate to high scores going out, and all schools want to be able to report high average SAT and ACT scores for their graduates. High scores in isolation can’t mean much, but high scores attached to a fine young person who possesses other attributes that predispose toward success and happiness at boarding school are probably very helpful.
High scores translated for us in need based aid $$$$$ for all three kids, but as lots of people have said, you need personality, standardized scores, GPA, humbleness and most important luck to get admission. It is a crap shoot even if you have it all as need based aid is cut throat if you happen to be an Asian kid. If you do not need $$$$, chances improves a lot.
The top students stand out in college admissions no matter where they attended secondary high school. Most of the students at Ivy League colleges will have attended public high school. I wouldn’t get so preoccupied with selective boarding schools that may or may not make a difference down the road.
^ This is the Prep Schools Admissions forum, and the OP is asking about admissions to boarding schools, not about college admissions. The vast majority of BS kids - and their parents - choose the BS route not because of a presumed advantage in college admissions (there is none). A “selective boarding school” does make all the difference “down the road” - because the road doesn’t end at the doorsteps of an Ivy League college. Our ilk are preoccupoed with the journey, not with the destination.
There’s no “outstanding” scores in these applicant pools: you need to realize that you are competing against 3,000 other amazing applicants. High test scores are common… And it’s a bit redundant to send in SAT/ACT: I would personally see it as gloating, but who knows.