SSAT October 12, 2013

2prepMom
Thu, 07 Nov 2013 18:34:25 +0000

@4Momblog. My older D got an SSAT score similar to your Ds (mid 20’s), and was accepted to a “top 30” school. It did not work out well. She was blown out of the water academically, and returned home at the end of the year, confidence shattered after she was asked to leave on academic grounds. She had been an excellent student at our good local public, where she returned, and again was a high honor roll student. (And by the way got into her first choice college after writing about the experience in her essay).

Do not minimize the challenge of the academics at the boarding schools. Will your D be happy or thrive near the bottom of her class (as SSAT scores in the 20s suggest she will be?)?

I suggest if boarding remains an interest, look for a very supportive school that will allow her to develop EC interests, and try to make a portfolio for “test optional” colleges. Being in the upper half of her class, and having an area of non-academic excellence will do her more good than squeezing in without adequate preparation and scraping by at an academically challenging school.

There is time for students to mature, but failure is not a positive experience.