In-depth guides for selective enrollment and competitive admission schools across California — covering essays, exam strategy, and application timelines.
Archbishop Mitty receives 1,500+ applications for roughly 450 freshman seats each year. This post breaks down exactly how to write the Archbishop Mitty admissions essay and film the student video required through Ravenna — two components almost no prep resource explains in detail. If your 8th grader is applying for fall 2026, start here.
Archbishop Riordan's HSPT is the one entrance exam your child can only take once — on a single Saturday in early December. This guide gives you score targets, a September-to-December prep timeline, and a strategy for the personal statement video that most Riordan applicants overlook entirely.
The BASIS Independent Schools entrance exam includes a 30-minute timed essay that directly influences admissions decisions — and most families treat it as an afterthought. This post gives Grades 5–9 applicants to BASIS Independent Fremont a concrete structure template, grade-specific word-count targets, and a 6-week timed practice plan. If your child is applying for Fall 2026 or beyond, start here.
Preparing for the BASIS Independent Fremont entrance exam? Learn what's on each 30-minute section — math, ELA, and essay — and how to build the right skills.
The BASIS Independent Silicon Valley entrance exam is unlike the ISEE or SSAT. It's a proprietary 90-minute test with open-ended math, reading and grammar, and a timed handwritten essay. This post breaks down every section, explains how the admissions team uses the results, and gives you a concrete prep plan for the October and January exam dates.
Your child gets one shot at the Bellarmine HSPT — no retakes, no second chances. This guide gives 8th graders and their parents a week-by-week prep plan, score targets, and section-by-section strategy for Bellarmine College Preparatory's 2026 admissions test.
Prep for Bellarmine HSPT STEM critical thinking with score targets, test format details, and quantitative reasoning practice tests for 8th graders in the Bay Area.
The HSPT quantitative skills section is the most overlooked part of Catholic high school admissions prep in the East Bay — and at Bishop O'Dowd, it directly affects scholarship decisions. This post gives Oakland-area 8th graders and their parents a practical breakdown of the section, realistic score targets, and the prep strategies that actually work when your child gets exactly one shot at the test.
Bishop O'Dowd's HSPT is a single-sitting, no-retake exam administered through the Oakland Diocese — and your 8th grader gets exactly one chance per admissions cycle. This guide covers score targets, Oakland Diocese test logistics, the Presidential Scholarship threshold, and how STEM Critical Thinking practice tests prepare students for the quantitative reasoning sections that matter most at O'Dowd.
Getting into the California Academy of Mathematics and Science means clearing four separate admissions hurdles — SBAC scores, transcripts, a Saturday student interview, and a parent interview. This guide walks you through every requirement, exact benchmarks, and preparation steps for the 2026 application cycle.
The HSPT Quantitative Skills section is the most logic-intensive part of Carondelet High School's required admissions exam — and most prep resources miss it entirely. This post covers exactly what the section tests, why calculators are banned, and how targeted STEM critical thinking practice before January 2026 gives East Bay girls a concrete edge.
Lowell High School admissions 2026 explained: Band 1 STAR score cutoffs, Band 2 essay strategy, and all three pathways to get your child in.