Anonymous wrote:My DC’s Catholic K-8 had a couple of kids who were shut out, so it is not a given that those kids automatically get in. Seems like there is one or two every year.

Some kids not only bomb the HSPT, but they don’t put effort into the essay. Teachers can only give so much feedback and do so much handholding on the essays without writing it themselves. Not all families are as involved in the application process as the parents on this site.

Other kids may apply to 2 or 3 schools, but those schools are realistically out of reach due to grades or other factors. You would be amazed how many kids apply to schools just because their friends are applying there. Again, teachers can give guidance on which schools may be the best fit but it is up to the student/families to take that advice and apply to at least one school where the chances of being admitted is higher.

Also, some schools that may have been seen as a “safety” in the past are much more competitive now. I’ve known kids turned down from Archbishop Carroll, for example. Like it or not, there are a limited number of spots in each grade and they can only accept so many applicants. Kids coming from Catholic schools need to meet a certain standard to snag one of those spots. They are not automatically admitted.

Anonymous wrote:Can someone define “did poorly” on the HSPT for me? What is considered a poor grade?

80? 70? 60? 20? I have no idea what the really low grades look like.

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Anonymous wrote:My DC’s Catholic K-8 had a couple of kids who were shut out, so it is not a given that those kids automatically get in. Seems like there is one or two every year.

Some kids not only bomb the HSPT, but they don’t put effort into the essay. Teachers can only give so much feedback and do so much handholding on the essays without writing it themselves. Not all families are as involved in the application process as the parents on this site.

Other kids may apply to 2 or 3 schools, but those schools are realistically out of reach due to grades or other factors. You would be amazed how many kids apply to schools just because their friends are applying there. Again, teachers can give guidance on which schools may be the best fit but it is up to the student/families to take that advice and apply to at least one school where the chances of being admitted is higher.

Also, some schools that may have been seen as a “safety” in the past are much more competitive now. I’ve known kids turned down from Archbishop Carroll, for example. Like it or not, there are a limited number of spots in each grade and they can only accept so many applicants. Kids coming from Catholic schools need to meet a certain standard to snag one of those spots. They are not automatically admitted.

This is somewhat helpful, but it would be more helpful to know what school (k-8) and whether the kids who were shut out came from immigrant or 1st Gen families, whether the kids struggled in school or had behavior issues, etc.

Anonymous wrote:My DC’s Catholic K-8 had a couple of kids who were shut out, so it is not a given that those kids automatically get in. Seems like there is one or two every year.

Some kids not only bomb the HSPT, but they don’t put effort into the essay. Teachers can only give so much feedback and do so much handholding on the essays without writing it themselves. Not all families are as involved in the application process as the parents on this site.

Other kids may apply to 2 or 3 schools, but those schools are realistically out of reach due to grades or other factors. You would be amazed how many kids apply to schools just because their friends are applying there. Again, teachers can give guidance on which schools may be the best fit but it is up to the student/families to take that advice and apply to at least one school where the chances of being admitted is higher.

Also, some schools that may have been seen as a “safety” in the past are much more competitive now. I’ve known kids turned down from Archbishop Carroll, for example. Like it or not, there are a limited number of spots in each grade and they can only accept so many applicants. Kids coming from Catholic schools need to meet a certain standard to snag one of those spots. They are not automatically admitted.

Anonymous wrote:My DC’s Catholic K-8 had a couple of kids who were shut out, so it is not a given that those kids automatically get in. Seems like there is one or two every year.

Some kids not only bomb the HSPT, but they don’t put effort into the essay. Teachers can only give so much feedback and do so much handholding on the essays without writing it themselves. Not all families are as involved in the application process as the parents on this site.

Other kids may apply to 2 or 3 schools, but those schools are realistically out of reach due to grades or other factors. You would be amazed how many kids apply to schools just because their friends are applying there. Again, teachers can give guidance on which schools may be the best fit but it is up to the student/families to take that advice and apply to at least one school where the chances of being admitted is higher.

Also, some schools that may have been seen as a “safety” in the past are much more competitive now. I’ve known kids turned down from Archbishop Carroll, for example. Like it or not, there are a limited number of spots in each grade and they can only accept so many applicants. Kids coming from Catholic schools need to meet a certain standard to snag one of those spots. They are not automatically admitted.

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Anonymous wrote:As a parent of a child who will be in this process in a few years, I wish the Catholic grade schools would report out on their HSPT results. Or maybe the dioceses could do this by school averages.

Not looking for results by child, of course, but understanding if kids at our school performed well or below average, etc., would be useful information. It isn't as helpful to look at high school acceptances from our 8th-grade graduating class unless you know who has legacy, who is a recruited athlete, etc.

There’s no advantage for the school to share that info.

Plus, don’t all the 8th graders from catholic schools make it into some catholic high school (at least those who want to go to a catholic hs)?

How many grads have you encountered who didn’t land somewhere?

Anyway, my public school kid with a crummy HSPT score made into a catholic high school. Not a legacy. Had straight As in public middle school (which isn’t a flex), and played a sport decently well (but not enough to get recruited).

I have no idea how many don't land somewhere (as I said, I'm a few years away from needing to really care about this!) But this board has my head all over the place. 95th+ percentile all the way through mid-teens. And I have seen posts where people say there kid didn't get into a school and they landed at their local public and all ended up ok after a rough process. It would be interesting to see whether there are any schools whose students fare better than others (similar to how high schools share average SAT scores).

Start talking to other parents at your school. I’m sure they can allay your concerns.

Or ask the principal or other staff.

My impression has always been that kids from a parish school tend to make it into an area catholic high school…and the HSPT score plays no real role for them.

My impression is that this is generally true so long as the kid has not been a behavioral problem.

I think it depends. It's so competitive now, I don't think there are any guarantees. Also, "landing somewhere" would mean you're applying to multiple schools and most parents I know have been applying to 3 or fewer. These boards light up every year with parents anxiously asking about the chances of getting off a waitlist and the responses are usually not encouraging. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but don't just assume Catholics school attendance in middle school will automatically gain you admission.