<p>My stats are:
4.0 GPA
Highest honors available at school.
Hon. Geometry (only honors class offered at my school)
ECs are writing (novels), psyciatry and philosophy (mostly through reading and discussion).
Fence competitively (no awards).
Eighth grade.
I work in a 6th grade classroom five mornings a week (1.5 hours aday)</p>
<p>I took the SSAT prep tests and got good scores (2275 is currant score, timed). I don’t know whether it would beneficial (necessary?) to see a professional to work with me to prepare for the SSAT. I would like to, but my father thinks that it is buying into the whole admissions craze. Is it the norm, or would I be fine without it?</p>
<p>You’ll be fine without it. You are already getting good scores, and the SSAT isn’t a make or break for prep admissions. GPA, ECs, Recs, etc. are more important than the SSAT is. Frankly, a couple points higher isn’t worth the money or the effort, when it sounds like you already have a good shot.</p>
<p>Sorry, I forgot: I also did an academic summer program in Oxford this summer, at Oxford Royale Academy in the colleges, and I travel a lot (about four countries and quite a few states), and am interested in travel in general.</p>
<p>Pretty, I don’t know what your score translates to in terms of how they are commonly expressed, but if you’re applying to top preps and are not a legacy, athlete or URM, prep for the test if you’re not certain of a 95. Unfortunately SSATs do matter more and more as prep schools once again go up in popularity. 4.0/99 SSATs commonly get rejected from schools like Exeter, St. Pauls, Deerfield and Andover.</p>
<p>Lots of other things count too, but until you meet basic requirements, the other things won’t even be looked at.</p>
<p>To make your decision on whether or not to prep, take another test. If you score at around 2275 or higher, then there probably is no need to prep. If it is lower, then you might want to do some prep depending on how much lower and if there were any areas of weakness. The percentages can change on a yearly basis because they are based on the prior 3 years’ test takers by sex. Last year, a 2316 was 99% for an 8th grade boy. I don’t know where that stands relative to the threshold for a 99%.</p>
<p>I re-read your post. I suspect that you would not benefit from hiring a test prep tutor. Because your score of 2275 is already on the high end, you intuitively know how to do most of things a prep tutor will teach you. Just going through the prep questions in a book like the Princeton Review ought to do it, if you do anything. I do recommend a re-test to verify your results. Most likely, it will be similar.</p>
<p>As you put together your list of schools, you would be wise to include some match and safety schools that you love along with a few reaches. Good luck!</p>
<p>Opinions vary so radically! The question Pretty asks is important to me too and I’d like to ask it again in hopes of stimulating more thoughts/opinions. If you’ve got great grades and good ECs, fine SSATs like hers, had terrific interviews but no special advantages of money, family, athletics etc, is there need or special value in getting test prep?</p>