Are teacher recommendations, grades, or test scores more important for your overall application? In this clip from our CEO’s chat with placement expert Neal Kamsler, Neal talks about the different ways that schools might look at your ISEE & SSAT scores, and how those scores fit into the final 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.
Happy October, everyone! This month is filled with testing, open houses, admissions interviews, and visits to potential schools. As students begin thinking about their interviews, I wanted to share some insight provided by Nilofer Merchant as she prepared to give her second TED Talk. Merchant is an internationally recognized corporate director,...
For the first section of the SSAT, you will have 25 minutes to produce a sample of your best writing. For the writing sample, you will choose from two prompts: one is a creative prompt in the form of a partial sentence.
You can now take the ISEE at home, making it safe and easy to take this important admissions test. Although the structure and content of the ISEE at home test is the same, the experience of taking the test at home is different from taking the test in person. Understanding...
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.
Timing is everything. This age-old saying is applicable to so many things, especially standardized testing. One of the main purposes of standardized tests is to compare a large group of students, and the timing restriction is a critical component of achieving that comparison. The clock may seem like an unforgiving...
At-home testing for admissions exams makes it convenient for students to take these important tests. At-home tests are administered online via a securely monitored remote proctoring program. The structure and content of the at-home version is the same as the traditional paper test, but the means by which you take...
There are many different ways to take the SSAT. Luckily, there are also many opportunities to retake the test if you're unhappy with your scores. Learn about how you can retake the SSAT.
The Elementary Level SSAT has two levels: Elementary Grade 3 for current 3rd graders applying to 4th grade, and Elementary Grade 4 for current 4th graders applying to 5th grade. Both levels consist of the same sections: Quantitative (math), Reading, Verbal, Writing Sample, and Experimental. The Experimental Section, which is...
We are pleased to introduce Esther, one of our 2024 scholars. Through hard work and dedication, Esther increased her ISEE score by over 26 percentile points!
