<p>@ucbalumnus. I’m the OP here.</p>
<p>Just to comment on what you said, it appears that School A which you labeled the “mediocre HS” is actually an elite HS if they offer the same curriculum as the elite one. </p>
<p>But I guess you’re saying that it would be labeled “mediocre” because the overall student body does poorly on the SATs, sending kids to college, etc. In reality, it would be a pretty darn good school because it offers all the same opportunities that you would see at the elite school.</p>
<p>As long as a child can take advantage of those opportunities and really shine, then they have as good of a chance of getting into HYPS. (Of course, I know that getting in is much more than just grades and test scores.)</p>