A billion years ago, I worked at UC Berkeley’s summer session office. Plenty of “special” kids applied, but there really was no “special pile.”
Prince Albert of Monaco was one of the applicants, as was a homeschooled Rothschild from France, this would be his first ever experience at a school - up to then he had tutors come to him. They both got in, the former didn’t end up taking courses there, but the latter did.
I’m sure times have changed, even at the summer session office. But it was kind of fun looking at a royal application. (Which wasn’t signed, btw. We returned it for the royal signature.)