I really liked the guide I had it seemed a bit small and kind of strict for me
That’s coo I talked about my bookshelf for Exeter and Andover possibly my best essay ever.
I didn’t know you could superscore for the SSAT… is this something done by the schools themselves? I couldn’t find anything about it on the official SSAT website.
Anyways, I got a 96 my first try and I didn’t think that was worth retaking lol. I only took it once. Congrats for also getting 96 overall :))
Nice! For my Exeter essays I did one about the Rubik’s Cube (solving it is one of my main ecs) and another more basic one about my experiencing as a TA in my math class. For Andover I also had one about speedcubing (short answer) and my long essay was about how going to a cultural event in 6th grade inspired me to start giving back to my community and join the asian affinity group
Yeah, Groton felt a little more structured than the other schools for me as well
It seems boarding school is important to you, so glad to hear you applied to some hidden gems. I applied only to 6 competitive schools (Exeter, Andover, Choate, Groton, St. Pauls, Middlesex) but that’s because worst case scenario, my public school is ranked the best in state.
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It felt like a great school and definitely is, but not the right environment for me!
I’m not sure if it is I received a 2350 on my first SSAT but had a somewhat low quant score so I decided to retake and got 2300 but a 800 quant and sent in both!! I honestly regret retaking and wasting a Saturday because I had a 98 but retook and kinda sold on verbal and reading comp but brought up math and I don’t think it was worth it!
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That’s an amazing score. But it probobally wasn’t worth it to retake because admissions officers give the same value to scores 90+.
Love the topic, I also did one about song lyrics, and how music helped me overcome my anxiety and become more confident in myself.
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I see- worst case scenario you got a 750 on math, and you retook a 2350/98 overall, which is honestly pretty crazy. Having the 800 quant definitely can’t hurt though. Congrats!
I didn’t write any essays specifically about music, but I mentioned my instrument (drumset) in some short answers- I tied it in to how it’s helped me grow in other disciplines such as computer science, speedcubing, etc. I also submitted multimedia.
Yeah! It’s amazing but #1 in the country is a pretty big stretch. (That’s the ranking on Niche). Niche rankings overall seem to be pretty funky. The school also has a Christian/Episcopal influence, which I know is pretty weak- it’s mostly just having school wide assemblies at church from what I understand. Still, the influence seemed to be significantly more than St. Paul’s (another school I’m applying to with Episcopal ties) and for that reason, + the strictness, it moved down on my list. (I’m an atheist if you can’t tell)
yessir! thanks but honestly on a real note, I think I did pretty good on all of my essays this year
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Niche switches around the rankings a lot, the only thing I found it helpful for is getting the superficial stats, but that was waaaay before applying. I was unsure about the religious influence, but if I get in, I’d still happily go, just that it’s not at the top of my list. I did hear from people at other schools that the kids they’ve met from Groton are extremely down-to-earth though, so that was a plus.
Yeah, for an actual deep dive on a school, Niche is not the best. I only used it at the very beginning because it was the first search result lol. It can be interesting to read the school reviews, but I suspect many of them are fake.
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Agreed… I know someone who retook a perfect score because they wanted to redo the writing sample lol
On a side note, this is officially the 100th post in the M10 2025 Freakout Thread! 
oh shoot!
Thank you! Honestly I dont think it’ll change my outcome regrardless if I get in or not!