<p>Hmm. I don't think of "leadership potential" as being equivalent to social respectability. </p>
<p>We talk a lot at cc about the playing games with the tail phenomenon. It's equivalent to the current HOOKOLOGY thread. But I confess to thinking that a kid who shows leadership potential and high enough GTA (grades, tests, academic achievements) is as valid a HYPS admittee as the kids with extraordinary GTA.</p>
<p>As I said, I never thought of "leadership" as being a proxy for social class or respectability. Social class is more of a proxy for capability to donate, another game played in the tail. I would not expect that a kid showing leadership, i.e. may one day run a corporation or a country, would come from a family who can donate $$$. At least, if that's true, the American dream is only a fantasy.</p>