I think reported scores from random websites are off and are unreliable, populated by friends, enemies, wishful thinking, consultants , and everyone in between. I do think test prep skills carry over from test to another so that when a kids studies intensively for one they do well with less prep on the next. The scores being discussed here don’t make any sense.
the numbers from my public school are straight from the guidance department. it would make sense for other high ranking public schools to have similar averages.
1 Like
all we do for now is wait until results on M10 and which tell you if your SAT was good enough or no
it really doesn’t matter to this point because most of the Chinese students applying for BS have near perfect standardized test scores, teachers/consultants to help write their essays, and decent ECs whatsoever
just think about what makes you stand out from other applicants and wait til M10
1 Like
I was taking all scores from the school’s profiles they provide colleges.
If they are wrong, I would be very surprised (and someone should lose a job).
SSATs are hard to come by, SATs not as much (most - not all schools- provide averages to colleges).
If you have a HS student you should absolutely check what the profile looks like for your kids school- that is a critical piece of info that AOs use at college level to put your kid in context.
1 Like
I agree. The performance on any standardized test is a fucntion of atleast two things
- The test taking skills and ability
- More importantly preparing and studying for the test.
The second is a bigger factor imo
sure both matter, totally agree.
I don’t know any parent who sent their kids to a BS just to get a high SAT score, but certainly, parents are doing so because they think it will “prepare” their child for college. Preparing a child for college means different things for different kids.
2 Likes
@NYMom139 Yes!!! I went to BS many moons ago, and things have evolved so much! Even those with Saturday class schedules don’t seem to have classes every Saturday, although I do think there is still much more commitment involved than a day school. I’m curious to see once my daughter begins how other things have changed as well.
I also wonder once my daughter starts her school if my son will become interested in considering BS. I highly doubt it but so far, he has never stepped foot on a school with that kind of campus so we will see!
1 Like
That was actually my exact situation. I didn’t really want to go to BS for a couple of reasons, with the sports requirement being a minor one. Then my sister went through the process and started her school and those couple days I spent on campus moving her in completely changed my view.
It won’t be the same for everyone, but IME actually engaging with a BS community for a while and seeing how others benefit from it can make you a bit more open minded.
2 Likes
About legacy students at Commonwealth, I’d actually disagree. While it has worked out surprisingly well for Commonwealth, the students tend to have parents or siblings that have gone there. I suspect that this is due to the school’s tight-knit community and lack of reputation. Only people who are “in the know” apply.
Additionally, you’re right about recruiting for sports, but I suspect they do think about filling the orchestra.
1 Like
I stand corrected…you definitely sound like you know more than I do… Totally makes sense about “in the know”…
Come to think of it, I do know alum with teens, and their kids went to a different school (though they also went to a different private elementary as their parent, too so maybe parent knew it wasn’t a good fit too).
1 Like
My daughter’s school still has classes every Saturday and the after school activity requirement (doesn’t have to be a sport, though). They are very busy!
Such a great school.The vision and the commitment to intellectual rigor really sets it apart from its peers. I imagine graduates are loyal.
I know that prep works so yes that is a factor that warps results (more and more as they dumb-down the test). However, I’m resistant to the parlance “test taking ability” as it has a way of discrediting performance.
I understand there are people who feel that they are bad at standardized tests and the results don’t reflect their ability and I support this notion. It’s like IQ tests. I think there are many more false negatives than false positives, maybe geometrically more. But just as I think people who score 155 on IQ tests are not simply benificaries of some aptitude for testing, I think kids who go in and take an SAT with little or no prep and get a score of 1550 or above (they still exist) have something going on.
2 Likes
Have fun 
Discussion of race and admissions are only allowed in the political forum. Further, back and forth between posters needs to be taken to PM.
A number of threads deleted to comply with the ToS.
Sounds good.
That’s better.
This is so true in my opinion. 2E girl right here, not diagnosed with ADHD until 15 and ASD at 16. I scored a 35 on my ACT with zero prep. I am a pretty poor test taker, but clearly the test still has value.
1 Like