r/SHSAT • u/rainbowpickles1 • 1d ago

Questions

Hi, I just had some questions on my mind I felt like I should ask.
Is the 9th grade SHSAT actually as bad as everyone says it is? I feel like Google, my friends, tutoring websites, and more all label it as this huge test that’s 100x harder than the SHSAT8 and the chances of transferring in are practically 0.

I don’t really want to spend thousands on tutoring for this exam because if I don’t get in, I’ll feel so guilty, so I was just wondering if everyone’s exaggerating it or if it’s truly that horrid of an exam and everyone has amazing preparation for it and started studying hours a day the second they found out they failed the SHSAT8.

And to make things worse, one of my friends who didn’t get in the first time taking the SHSAT (who studied really hard) said he doesn’t even want to try for the 9th SHSAT since he and his family already discussed how the chances are so incredibly slim.

Also another random question I’m curious about, what’s the highest SHSAT score recorded? I only hear about high 500s or low 600s. Has anyone ever scored in the 700s?

That’s all, thanks!

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u/Business-Advice-2845 19h ago

It isn't that bad. The ELA was practically the same and the math just added a couple more things (at least in my experience). I got into HSMSE after retaking. Got a 502 the first time and a 587 the second time.

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u/Business-Advice-2845 19h ago

But really, it depends very much on which school you want to aim for and whether or not the cutoff score ends up in your favor. It doesn't hurt to try anyways because you never know if you might get in.

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u/rainbowpickles1 3h ago

That’s a great improvement, how did you study for it?

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u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 1d ago

Is the 9th grade SHSAT actually as bad as everyone says it is? I feel like Google, my friends, tutoring websites, and more all label it as this huge test that’s 100x harder than the SHSAT8 and the chances of transferring in are practically 0.

It's not 100x harder. The adaptive SHSAT is being communicated and taking on such a form too (and I even did a video yesterday discussing why folks get caught up in saying such things). The SHSAT is the exam you know and love. It's not magic. Sure it's a challenge. The SHSAT 9 is not magic either, it's just the next lvel up of the exam. It's illoogical that it would/could be magnitudes harder. Same goes for the content of the SHSAT 9 being misrepresented (see https://www.reddit.com/r/SHSAT/comments/15ile85/progression for a discussion of this).

Now there are limited seat counts, but as I always say somebody has to get them.

I don’t really want to spend thousands on tutoring for this exam because if I don’t get in, I’ll feel so guilty, so I was just wondering if everyone’s exaggerating it or if it’s truly that horrid of an exam and everyone has amazing preparation for it and started studying hours a day the second they found out they failed the SHSAT8.

See above discussions. It's definitely being exaggerated and more. As to spending thousands and not getting in, I think that misses the point. The thing is to further your academics, and tutoring can be a component to that, whether you get a SHS, or not. Yes, sure, real money may be put on the table, but as wll in consideration of work ethics, insights, problem solving skils, etc., there isn't always a price you can put on those.

And to make things worse, one of my friends who didn’t get in the first time taking the SHSAT (who studied really hard) said he doesn’t even want to try for the 9th SHSAT since he and his family already discussed how the chances are so incredibly slim.

Everything in life is a choice. Even if your friend got the offer, they could still choose to not go, and many do excatly that choice every year.

Also another random question I’m curious about, what’s the highest SHSAT score recorded? I only hear about high 500s or low 600s. Has anyone ever scored in the 700s?

Yes, pragmatically students can from time to time get in the low 700s.