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I’m guessing the comment above relates to the recent article in the alumni magazine that was linked in this forum. Note that it mentioned 5 admission officers dedicated to the LA area last year as an example, not 1 reader per region. The article also mentioned that decisions are made by a majority vote, including 3 or more admissions officers + either the dean or assistant dean of admissions. If the decision is not clear cut, then the applicant moves to a larger group for further review. It’s not a setup where, if the part-time reader assigned to your region doesn’t like your HS, you don’t have a chance. </p>
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I previously analyzed the RD thread of this forum and was able to correctly predict the vast majority of admissions decisions among this sample group (I realize it is a biased, non-representative group), without even considering anything about high school type or acceptance history from that HS. The more surprising acceptances tended to come from non-magnet public HSs, rather than ones I’d expect to have a history of many acceptances each year. I suspect this relates to considering how well the applicant “has taken advantage of what was available to you in your school and community”, as described on the admissions website.</p>