We publish 44 in-depth prep guides covering 26 selective enrollment and competitive admission schools in California, including Archbishop Mitty High School, Archbishop Riordan High School, BASIS Independent Fremont, BASIS Independent School, BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, Bellarmine College Preparatory, Bellarmine HSPT, Bishop O'Dowd High School, and 18 more — covering essays, exam strategy, and application timelines.
The Lowell High School Band 2 essay is one of the least-covered — and most important — parts of SFUSD admissions. This guide explains what the district committee evaluates, how the three admissions bands work, and how timed essay practice gives your child a real edge in January.
The Lowell Band 2 essay is the least-covered pathway into San Francisco's most competitive public high school — and it's open to students with 1-3 Bs. This guide explains how Band 2 works, what reviewers actually look for, and how timed essay practice sharpens your child's shot at admission.
Lowell High School admissions 2026 explained: Band 1 STAR score cutoffs, Band 2 essay strategy, and all three pathways to get your child in.
The Mercy High School Burlingame HSPT is your daughter's one shot at admission — no retakes allowed. This guide covers realistic score benchmarks for a competitive Bay Area Catholic school, the full admissions timeline from September through March, and a 12-week prep plan built around the December test date.
The HSPT Quantitative Skills section trips up more Mercy Burlingame applicants than any other — and almost no prep resource covers it in depth. Here are score benchmarks, question-type breakdowns, and a timed practice strategy built around the STEM critical thinking skills your daughter needs before December.
One test date. No retakes. Real stakes. This guide gives Bay Area families concrete HSPT score targets, Diocese of Oakland percentile context, and a combined test-plus-essay strategy built around how Moreau Catholic's Scholarship Committee actually reviews applications.
The Moreau Catholic admissions essay feeds directly into scholarship decisions — and most prep resources ignore it entirely. This post gives 8th graders and their parents specific, current strategies for writing an essay that stands out to Moreau's Scholarship Committee, tied to the school's Holy Cross mission and the February 4 deadline.
The HSPT Quantitative Skills section catches even strong math students off guard every December at Notre Dame High School Belmont. This guide explains exactly what it tests, why STEM critical thinking practice moves scores more than math drills do, and how to build your prep plan around NDB's December 6, 2025 test date.
The HSPT for Notre Dame High School Belmont is administered on December 6, 2025 — and most students don't start preparing early enough. This guide gives you exact test dates, section breakdowns, competitive score targets, and a month-by-month NDB HSPT prep timeline built around the December deadline.
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory admits roughly 300 students from a pool of 1,100 applicants — and one timed test with no retakes decides much of that outcome. This guide covers HSPT score targets, scholarship thresholds, the December 6 test date, and exactly how to prepare your 8th grader for every section before applications close January 30.
The HSPT Quantitative Skills section is the one Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep applicants prepare for least — and it directly affects honors-track placement. This post explains exactly what is on the section, why it works as a STEM critical thinking test, and how Bay Area 8th graders can prepare before the December exam.
Getting into Saint Francis High School Mountain View means mastering the HSPT, writing three Ravenna essays, and doing a personal interview — all in one season. This guide gives 8th graders and their parents the score benchmarks, Diocese of San Jose testing calendar details, and essay strategies they need. Start prep in September; decisions arrive February through March.