We publish 49 in-depth prep guides covering 28 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 20 more — covering essays, exam strategy, and application timelines.
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.
Getting into Saint Francis High School in Mountain View means tackling the HSPT — 298 questions in 150 minutes — plus three separate Ravenna essays. This post shows Bay Area 8th graders how STEM critical thinking is the fastest lever for improving HSPT quantitative reasoning and verbal scores, and what the full Diocese of San Jose admissions timeline looks like.
St. Ignatius College Preparatory is one of the only Bay Area Catholic high schools that requires a same-day timed essay immediately after the HSPT. This guide explains exactly what the SI Post-HSPT writing prompt is, how admissions staff evaluate it, and how to build a realistic 8–10 week practice plan before December 6, 2025.
Your 8th grader gets exactly one shot at the HSPT — and the Quantitative Skills section is where most East Bay Catholic school applicants lose the most ground. This post breaks down what the section tests, how Diocese of Oakland scoring works at SJND, and why STEM critical thinking practice is the most efficient way to prepare before January test day.
The St. Joseph Notre Dame High School HSPT is a one-shot test administered every January by the Diocese of Oakland — and your child's score affects admission, course placement, and scholarship eligibility all at once. This guide covers what SJND actually reviews, which sections matter most, and how to build the quantitative reasoning skills that move 8th graders from average to honors placement.
Bishop's School accepts both the ISEE and SSAT, but the right choice depends on your child's strengths — and picking the wrong test can cost real percentile points. This guide breaks down the key differences, explains what competitive scores look like at Bishop's, and gives you a month-by-month prep plan for the 2027 admissions cycle.
The Bishop's School proctored writing sample travels directly to the admissions committee alongside your ISEE scores — yet almost no prep resource tells you how to prepare for it. This post explains exactly what the essay is, how it's evaluated, and how to practice for it before your November or January test date.
Science Academy STEM Magnet admissions require passing a mandatory science assessment before the lottery — a step most comparison guides skip entirely. This post walks you through the full process, compares Science Academy to other LAUSD STEM magnet schools, and shows you exactly how to prepare your child for the Science-Specific Verification Eligibility Assessment.