<p>klika, wow u think i can start? I’m applying as a repeat soph.</p>
<p>mpicz - hows the basketball team looking for this year? looks like a nice first win</p>
<p>We didn’t really play a good game, brewster b is a really bad team. We’ll see how the game goes tomorrow.</p>
<p>We lost our coach which is really unfortunate. I know the guys really liked him.</p>
<p>Yeah - I noticed the head coach is listed as Yuri again. What’s up with that?</p>
<p>Winterset,</p>
<p>I have a son applying to 9th grade; therefore, he has taken the SSAT and received his scores. While I’m sure most kids applying receive high scores, my dilemma is whether he should retake the test in December or does it really help him? He received 800 verbal, 800 reading, 762 math. His math is okay but it places him in the 75 percentile. His composite is 99% but should I be worried about the math? Would you have your son retake the test if it were him?</p>
<p>I would not worry. Those scores are great. I assume they are not the “national” scores, as those are not relevant. I will PM you.</p>
<p>FYI… the Boar’s Head Banquet is this coming Thursday (12/10), complete with the Christmas boar’s head brought in with great ceremony by a group of students. Recent years, the boys bearing the platter were selected by the underclass girls. Last year it was in medieval costumes after it was decided that bare chested boys were inappropriate. I hope some student will report on this year’s banquet and how it was/went. </p>
<p>Christmas spirit should be in full swing by the time they come home with the Boar’s Head followed by The Nutcracker ballet on Saturday, the candlelit Festival of Lessons and Carols on Sunday, and then the SPS Christmas Pageant on Tuesday night and home on Wednesday!</p>
<p>Debating; The SPS debate team dominated again, winning first place out of the 16 schools at the tournament! I know Deerfield was there and normally this debate includes all the top schools (Exeter, Groton, Hotchkiss, Andover etc.). Yesterday’s morning reports in chapel included the following:
</p>
<p>Good news about the Debate team. Do they do policy, Lincoln Douglas, which one exactly?</p>
<p>The best answer is it varies with the debate. Go to the Debate Association of New England Independent Schools (DANIELS) and look at their calendar. [Debating</a> Association of New England Independent Schools](<a href=“http://www.daneis.org/calendar.htm]Debating”>http://www.daneis.org/calendar.htm) As you will see, the most common is Parliamentary Extemporaneous, but there is also a Lincoln-Douglas, public speaking et cetera. Realize that not all schools make it to each debate. Personally, I think debating is one of the best preparations for almost anything you will do in life. Still scratch my head on how I won the affirmative: ‘The world is flat,’ but it sure was fun.</p>
<p>My son is a 9th grader at a very good pre prep boarding school. High honor roll in grades and effort, great work ethic, 3 sport varsity athlete probably 2 at SPS, leadership, drama, great recomendations and I think he interviewed well. Here is the problem verbal 70, math 50 and reading 75th %. Total was 66%. He did score 78 total last year with a much higher score in math. He will be applying as a repeat 9th grader which I understand adds 5 or 6 points. Does he have a prayer of getting in to SPS or Groton… Even if he gets in will he be in over his head? Are there good, hard working kids doing well or is a 90th % a must.</p>
<p>90% is NOT a must. Obviously when you look at averages, it means that mathematically a large number will be below the average. My advice would be to discuss it with the admissions people. Your comment touched on a crucial question, there is no benefit if the teen is “in over their head”. Each person is different. Some do exceptionally well in class but for a variety of reasons do not test well. My personal opinion is that good performance is much more important than good testing. </p>
<p>Also realize that test scores are only one component. If tests and grades were the only things considered then a computer could produce admission/denial letters as soon as the tests were scored. Because that is not the case, we have professional admissions people that make those decisions based on careful review of the individuals. As an aside, SPS has carefully selected seniors who are also voting members of the admissions committee (the Sheldon Society <a href=“https://www.sps.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=109998&rc=1[/url]”>https://www.sps.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=109998&rc=1</a>. They provide a unique perspective.</p>
<p>86% is the average SSAT score of the admitted class at SPS last year. 66% is pretty low compared to the average, so his score is probably not going to help. He needs to make his case in other ways to stand out. Another consideration is that because he attends a prep prep, I think the adcom will look at the relative position he is in compared with his classmates (grades, test scores as well as other things).</p>
<p>are all 4 application essays compulsory?</p>
<p>Rad: It looked like you received your answer elsewhere, so I stayed quiet. With the application deadline nearing… Good Luck to everyone! </p>
<p>The next Conroy visitor, Bill McKibben, sounds like an interesting guy. Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the “100 most important global thinkers” and MSN named him one of the dozen most influential men of 2009. Not bad for the former New Yorker Talk of the Town writer.</p>
<p>While St. Paul’s has received my child’s application, essays, parent statement, etc. from us, our school is dragging its feet. The English teacher still hasn’t written his recommendation although he assures us “it is coming”. The grades from the first semester haven’t been turned in yet so they will have to wait on those. Does this reflect poorly on my child?</p>
<p>I don’t think late materials from the school will reflect badly, especially if they’re in soon. If the school has sent kids to SPS previously, it probably won’t matter. Several of the schools including Deerfield and Groton indicated that it may take couple of weeks to record materials that have arrived. That said, the materials sent to SPS seem to be recorded instantaneously on their online checklist.</p>
<p>mdc: It will not reflect on your child. But if you are concerned, you could email someone in admissions and tell them about the problem. Will he get it in by the deadline? Glad to hear that the admissions people have good systems!</p>
<p>Legacies - ‘hooks’ and actual performance
Various people have posted various figures on legacies at St. Paul’s. A couple of days ago the SPS Annual report was mailed. They list every legacy, by name and by form. It is for last year, but the statistics are still useful since 3 of the 4 forms are still there. In total only 17.1% of the students were legacies. It varies by form from 12% to 24% (the class that just graduated). </p>
<p>For those that worry about whether legacies are given an unfair preference. You might find it interesting that the percentage of legacies that receive honors (testimonials) is statistically almost indistinguishable from the non-legacy students. In fact in the 3rd and 4th form legacies were More likely to receive a testimonial! Only in the 5th form did the non-legacies out perform. In short, the legacy students did not under-perform, which leads me to believe the brouhaha on some CC threads about legacies having a hook, may be irrelevant (at least at SPS). Any SPS students should realize that the odds are the legacy actually has better grades than the non-legacy. Sort of interesting, huh?</p>
<p>Separately, there are lots of siblings. I did not analyze their performance, but it appeared that a very high % seem to get testimonials.</p>
<p>I only want to know these things to get a more accurate picture of what a “true” acceptance rate is, as opposed to the published rate that lumps everyone together. Without knowing how many applicants were termed legacy, there is no way to know what that is. Likewise for FA versus FP admit rates. Was that figure in your annual report? Again, just to have a better understanding of the odds my son is facing.</p>
<p>Even in need blind schools (or schools that try to be need blind), FA applicants have a lower admit rate. I don’t think it’s because of bias. It probably has more to do with the lack of educational resources available to applicants who need FA. If we had the means, my son would have done any number of camps and workshops etc. As it is, I struggle to pay for the meager extra-curriculars that he does have. Almost all of his enrichment has been done on his own!</p>
<p>I don’t find it in the least bit surprising that the legacy kids would do really well. It makes perfect sense. They come from families that place a high value on education. If I were an admissions officer, I’d probably chose the legacy kid over the non-affiliated kid too (all other things being equal).</p>