SSAT Percentile explanation

SevenDad
Wed, 28 Nov 2018 17:23:18 +0000

I don’t know what schools you are targeting, but when we went through the process with my two kids (now both in college), I was told by AOs at the most selective schools that “Anything above a mid-80s percentile and we know they can do the work.” Meaning, being in the mid-80s and up range means that scores will not be the thing that knocks them out of contention.

I got the feeling that they really only looked at total percentile…with the qualifiers that @Altras mentions above. FWIW, if you are trying to parse the scores this closely…I get the feeling like you are trying to put a positive spin on things, which to me feels like a red flag. I always advise people to use the scores to help target schools vs. hoping for better scores/hoping that scores are “good enough” for school X.

I’ve told this story ad nauseam, but my older girl was a 99th-ile scorer who went on to be an NMF and is a Deans List Chemical Engineering major at a top 10 school for the major. Yet she was rejected from one of the more selective schools frequently mentioned here (though she was admitted to another).