<p>At my kids’ school, at least 3 people (admissions officer, faculty member, senior) read each application. There’s no initial score cutoff (they can’t have a GPA cutoff, for example, since it will mean different things for different middle schools). School transcript and recommendations are the most important thing they consider, but they look at everything. Some fraction of applicants get advanced to the next round; they repeat until they have the target number they want to admit. Being exceptional in some area will get you to the final file (as long as it appears you can handle the academics), but that can include having a great match with the school culture.</p>