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<p>Context and location includes the relationship of the school and the colleges. For example, someone mentioned Marin Academy. My son’s year there, it sent five kids to Brown. Yet, Yale, doesn’t even send a representative to visit the school. Brown sees this particular school as producing kids that are a great match – perhaps because of the high school’s generally liberal social values, and MA’s own policy of admitting many students with lower stats who are exceptionally strong in the arts, particularly visual arts. (And Brown’s relationship with RISD attracts these kids.) Yale isn’t particularly interested in yet another suburban private school, though typically a legacy kid gets in once in a while. Also, typically, from this school many of the top kids choose LACS rather than Ivies. I wouldn’t call it an Ivy feeder school. My own kid was definitely an exception in his choices.</p>
<p>Stats within a certain range just get kids seriously considered. As people have pointed out, we don’t know what the kids at the bottom of that range had going for them that made them special. Perhaps it was a true intellectual curiosity in some particular subject. Perhaps it was a special talent. But I think people often misconstrue the role of athletics. If you can be recruited for sports, sure. But if you’re just another varsity athlete, especially at a small school, it doesn’t mean anything in terms of college admissions.</p>