What part of your application is most taken into consideration during the admissions process? Is it teacher recommendations, grades, extracurricular activities, test scores? In this clip from our CEO’s chat with placement expert Neal Kamsler, Neal discusses the different ways that schools might interpret your ISEE & SSAT scores, and how those scores factor into the final admissions decision.
For 21 years, Neal Kamsler was Head of Upper School at Allen-Stevenson School in New York City. He now serves as Senior Director of Placement at Oliver Scholars, a non-profit educational access organization. Listen to the full school admissions conversation here.
Originally published on November 5, 2018. Updated on November 28, 2025.
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About the SSAT Writing Sample
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