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<p>Well . . . some are, and some aren’t. I think that’s the point–yet they still get into some very, very fine schools. Again, I have no doubt the education is excellent-- people paying that sort of money aren’t going to allow it to be anything but-- however, many of those kids just aren’t that stellar academically, or otherwise. Good solid students, sure, but often not nearly as strong as the top students in public magnets (and not just talking about magnets like Thomas Jefferson or Stuyvesant). Often, the curriculum is actually tougher in many of these excellent public schools, including public magnets, and not just those located in NYC or Northern Va. Still, those schools do not typically have the kind of HYP acceptances (percentage-wise) that these top privates in Manhattan do. And I don’t think it’s because the students at these particular privates are so stellar. (Again, like any school, some are, and some aren’t.) The schools that are known entities to HYP and whose GCs have a direct line to admissions at these places, helps tremendously. No doubt a ton of HYP legacies are at these schools as well. </p>
<p>Also, at places like Trinity, et al, students can’t just apply arbitrarily to any school they want. The list of schools to which they are <em>allowed</em> to apply is carefully controlled and orchestrated. If a kid decides he wants to apply to one not on his individually “approved list,” he still can’t just apply on his own, because the GC won’t send in the necessary recommendations for him. One reason they have such successful acceptance rates-- no GC worth his or her salt is gonna allow one of these kids to apply to a school that the GC isn’t 99% will offer an acceptance.</p>
<p>As an aside, I’m curious at the mention of NMF on this thread (and others I read on CC). Do you really mean NM finalists or semi-finalists, or do you mean one of the 2500 NM Scholars? The reason I’m surprised is because I’ve never thought being a NMF was such a difficult feat, yet people seem to use it as a benchmark. Though I know it varies by state, to become a NM semifinalist (based on PSAT scores) just isn’t that difficult, most especially if you’re a “legit star.” If you compare the PSAT cut-off score (for most states) to an SAT score, it honestly just isn’t that high (can be, sure–but doesn’t have to be to make the cut-off). Am I missing something here?</p>