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Yes and no. There are X number of kids who are very offput by the parents (not kids) that they came into contact with at open houses, meetings, etc. Some of those kids go to Bard, where they work very hard, some go to other specialized high schools that are perceived (again, rightly or wrongly) to be more welcoming. It is not about working hard in most cases. I am speaking from personal experience as well as observation. During my D’s application time period (she was a “1 percenter” in her year) there was a huge amount of conflict among the parents in Stuyvesant that centered on conflict between different groups of Chinese parents. There was a fair bit of publicity at the time and, unfortunately, it did make some other kids concerned about the feel of the school. Nothing to do with working hard. And not all students at STuyvesant, of any race, work hard. Some cheat hard, as they do at other schools. Stuyvesant is a great school, amazing, really. But there are things about it that make it not the right place for even every hardworking, diligent, motivated, student who attains the required score on the test. I’m sorry if that’s offensive, but it’s true.</p>