<p>I’d think that the kind of school you come from matters a lot.</p>
<p>I live near Harvard-Westlake and North Hollywood High School, both of which are incredibly prestigious compared to all other schools in the area (NHHS has a gifted program). A big group of students get into top-tier schools each year from both.</p>
<p>… as opposed to my humble public high school where maybe one to three students, max, get accepted into top universities each year :)</p>