<p>Are you an AO at HADES or GLADCHEMMS? Thanks.</p>
<p>pulsar: Why does it matter? Would you take my advice more or less seriously depending on what my answer is?</p>
<p>I work at Hogwarts.</p>
<p>No, they are at Hogwarts. 
ALso referred to as TOPHOG or Tier I PLUS</p>
<p>Nice one, Glad! You sound like someone with whom I would enjoy having a cup of coffee. Cheers to you.</p>
<p>There are great students everywhere!!!</p>
<p>Why, thank you Gemma.</p>
<p>Okay, here is one. Tour guides. Do they give feedback?</p>
<p>Glad: They do at some schools, yes…not all.</p>
<p>How much impact does a coach’s 2 or 3 requests for a student/athlete have on your admission decision? Obviously, it will vary by school, sport, and coach’s influence, but how is it factored at Hogwarts? (Assume the applicant is otherwise a very strong candidate academically.)</p>
<p>Also, thank you for providing sanity to this board. Good luck!</p>
<p>I think that is great that tour guides can provide some feedback. They get to hang out for a bit with a student in a more “natural” state. And tour guides always seem to influence a potential student’s view of the school. I was a tour guide in college, in full disclosure. :)</p>
<p>I have another quick one: do you think there is any stigma associated with using the SSAT or TABS common app with schools that accept it? (In a couple of cases there are school-specific supplements that we’ll duly complete, but from our standpoint it greatly simplifies the process). I have heard assessments both ways, curious as to your view…</p>
<p>Hi Gemma-
Thanks for adding a voice of experience and sanity to the board. </p>
<p>My question-How long do you expect a “short essay” to be?
(other than the obvious, “Long enough to answer the question, short enough to avoid boring the reader”) :-)</p>
<p>You mentioned earlier that Hogwarts only looks at percentiles. What adjustments (if any) do you make for repeaters whose SSAT percentiles are naturally lower than the same scaled score of the 8th graders? Also, is there a percentile after which you just think “check” and move on to the rest of the app?</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that you take the highest of each test. My d was somewhat “inconsistant” with her testing, but when you pull the highest subscore, she did quite well.</p>
<p>GemmaV, has Hogwarts seen an increase of applications from international students over the past few years? If so, has it a been a major factor for the surge of applications and increasingly lower admit rate? Does Hogwarts have plans to accept more international students in the years to come?</p>
<p>at what point do you consider an SSAT score (overall) to be “academically admissible”?</p>
<ol>
<li>For my graded essay, if it’s a response and analysis of poem, should I also submit a copy of the original poem or is it fine as long as I’ve stated the title and name of poet?
2.Is the fact that some teachers are stricter when giving grades taken into account? For example, if I’ve been getting As in the subject for the past few years, but a new teacher comes and give me a B (everyone’s grade in our class lowered compared to before), would that hurt my application?</li>
</ol>
<p>To all Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft hopefuls:</p>
<p>I am the current Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts and would like to inform all non-wizard families that we are recently receiving too many prospective muggle applications since author J.K. Rowling exposed us through her novels. </p>
<pre><code> You are either born magical or you are not. Thus, we do not have any “admission tests” or “admission officers”. We have a magic quill that writes down the names of every baby that is born magical into a large parchment book. However, Muggles too can be magical. Past students such as Mrs. Hermione Granger Weasley is a perfect example of such a student.
Every year, a teacher checks the names book and sends a letter to the children who are turning eleven. Acceptance or declination of a place at Hogwarts must be posted by 31 July. The letter also contains a list of supplies like spell books, uniform, and other things that the student will need. The prospective student is expected to buy all the necessary materials, normally from shops in Diagon Alley, a concealed street near Charing Cross Road in London found behind a pub by the name of The Leaky Cauldron. Students who cannot afford their supplies can receive financial aid from the school, as happened with the young orphan Tom Riddle.
Letters to Muggle-born witches and wizards, who may not be aware of their powers and are unfamiliar with the concealed wizarding world, are delivered in person by a member of Hogwarts staff, who then explains to the parents or guardians about magical society, and reassures them regarding this news. They also assist the family in buying supplies and gaining access to Diagon Alley.
</code></pre>
<p>Each student is allowed to bring a cat, toad, rat or owl. Along with the acceptance letter, first year students are sent a list of required equipment which includes a wand, subject books, a standard size 2 pewter cauldron, a set of brass scales, a set of glass or crystal phials, a kit of basic potion ingredients (for Potions), and a telescope (for Astronomy). The Hogwarts uniform consists of plain work robes in black, a plain black hat, a pair of protective gloves, and a black winter cloak with silver fastenings. Each uniform must contain the wearer’s nametag. First years are not allowed a broomstick of their own, though an exception to this rule was made for Harry Potter in his first year after it is discovered that he has an excellent ability as a Seeker in Quidditch.
Academic years are separated by holidays of about two months in the summer, and each year is divided into three terms by shorter holidays around Christmas and Easter.</p>
<p>We are getting more and more international students from Africa, Asia and America. We welcome these unfamiliar wizards who can bring some new kinds of magic with them and hope that they will be able to share with us their experiences and magic. </p>
<p>I would like clear out that the SSAT scores do NOT count much in your application decisions to Schools of Wizardry and Witchcraft. We just want to see your level of intelligence. Schools of magic want students who can cope with the Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L) exams and N.E.W.T. (Natstily Exhausting Wizarding Tests).</p>
<p>I am the HOD in the Defense Against the Dark Arts and I’ve been teaching here at Hogwarts for 5 years. We will not answer anymore questions relating to admission or the school itself. We refrain from communicating or giving information to non-wizards.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>GemmaV,</p>
<p>Do you have a database for international schools (I heard American colleges do)?
Do you give preference to those that have sent students to Hogwarts before?</p>
<p>If a student from East Asia has 80s and 85s on his transcript (mainly in math and science) but got 99 in every section on the SSAT, what do you think of him? Lazy? Challenging curriculum at current school?
Transcripts and Standardized Testing, which says more about an international student’s academic strength?</p>
<p>Thanks. Happy new year!</p>
<p>Gemma, which stands out more for an applicant: unique charity work, nationally ranked football player or dual citizenship (minority)?</p>
<p>Gemma V,</p>
<p>On the parents thing, what would make you want to reject a candidate because of a parent, simply being helicopter? or something more serious? Can you give any examples? I’m sure you look for the candidate whose parents are driving the decision, but what else would be considered a negative?</p>
<p>Some on CC have said that there are so many good candidates that anything that smacks of overinvolved parents would rule a kid out as a school doesn’t want to have to deal with parents…is this true?</p>