Did you miss last week’s webinars about the SSAT and ISEE essay sections? Don’t worry—you can still check out the recordings.
Many admissions directors describe the test’s essay section as one of the most important parts of the application, indicating a student’s writing ability, interests, and personality with no external influences.
Join our experts as they discuss everything you need to know about the essay section and how to present yourself and your writing as effectively as possible. You’ll learn tips and tricks for how to effectively plan, write, edit, and execute a quality admissions essay in under 30 minutes.
About the SSAT Writing Sample
The first section of the SSAT is a timed writing sample.
The prompts vary by test level, with Upper and Middle level students choosing between two differing prompts, and Elementary level students being asked to write a story based on a visual prompt. Upper and Middle level...
The first thing to know for the Middle or Upper level SSAT is when to guess. You need to understand each question well enough to be able to cross off at least one answer choice. Otherwise, omit the question as there is a ¼ point guessing penalty.
The Quantitative Reasoning section of the ISEE tests mathematical reasoning abilities, which means that the questions often don’t require significant calculation and instead can be solved with numerical and logical reasoning.
Fast Facts
Second section of the ISEE
Lower Level: 35 minutes with 38 questions
all word problems
Middle and Upper...
To date, students have answered over 20 million questions on the Test Innovators platform. Now, we are diving into this data to understand how students learn and to help them achieve their academic and test-taking goals. Our new Data Science team will be providing actionable analysis and creating cutting-edge features...
Scott Duddy is the Director of Admissions & Enrollment Management at Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, Massachusetts, and brings with him 14 years of professional experience in the world of independent schools.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more tests were moving to a computerized format, and now, at-home testing has become a feasible alternative. Some tests, such as the ISEE and SSAT, are available at home, but what is the alternative for the benchmark mock testing that is commonly administered...
Remember to take your practice exams in calm, non-distracting settings, get adequate sleep (especially the few nights before your test), and relax and breathe, both as your prepare and on test day.
Since 2012, Test Innovators has helped more than 65,000 students prepare for the SSAT and the ISEE, the admissions tests required for applications to the most competitive independent schools in the country. Every year we review our data from thousands of test-takers to find out the schools that students are...
