Caroline Pitone
Staff Writer
Popular notion is that siblings have a better chance to get in, is that true? It ends up being a tie breaker.
I took it upon myself to interview Mr. Lehmann. After a successful and informative interview, this is the information I was able to collect:
Q: People believe the popular notion that someone can get in if they have a sibling who goes here already, is that true?
It ends up being like a tie breaker
Q: Do you look to accept those kids more?
I think the thing that people have to remember is that we literally get 100s and 100s of kids who qualify to go here, that we can’t accept, we need to look at their extra curricular activities. We look at this school as a family so it makes sense. Every kid who comes here is qualified to come here usually.
Q: What if a sibling that goes here isn’t necessarily the greatest student, does that affect the chances of a sibling getting in?
No
Q: Is it frequent that siblings tend to apply here?
Yea! We had several dozens siblings apply this year. Hopefully that lets you know how much our current students like the school
Q: Have you ever received complaints about this topic?
This year we did over 1,300 interviews across both campuses. We get families that reach out to us that are wondering if we can get in etc. We always hear from families from kids with siblings and kids who aren’t.
The admissions decisions are made primarily by Principal Lehmann. Mr. Lehmann has been working at SLA since the beginning. He is well respected in our society and the school’s community. He helps choose and accept students to attend SLA main and SLA beeber. This indicates his amount of power.
With the high rate of children applying for a spot to attend both SLA’s, many students believe that he and other staff are more likely to have a preference for children who have a sibling or any family member that goes here.
“I think that it is almost guaranteed that you could get in if you have a sibling that goes here,” explains, Destiny Patton, Junior of SLA.
But after interviewing Mr. Lehmann myself, that is seemed to be all the wrong idea. He explained that he loves keeping SLA together as a family.
Lehmann also emphasized that It does not matter if students who apply have a relative here, they will be just as recognized as others, as long as they qualify appropriately for this school.
Lehmann also noted that even if an eighth grader does qualify academically, they do not automatically get in.
“I think the thing that people have to remember is that we literally get 100s and 100s of kids who qualify to go here, that we can’t accept,” he explained.
The exact rate of sibling acceptance has not been calculated by the school. Now what about what the students believe? Some current SLA students believe that the rate in which kids are able to get in is unfair. Believe it or not, most kids are outraged because of it and believe that the school contradicts itself.
However, these students don’t have a complete understanding of how SLA admissions work. They select kids who could add their own addition to this school, whether or not it be for their academics, extra curricular activities, or their presence that kids bring to the school.
There are also stories of siblings not both being accepted. A current sophomore at Beeber has a younger sibling who applied to Center City — wanting a little distance from their family — but was not accepted.
“I have heard about people saying siblings have a better chance of getting in so I was disappointed, but I guess I can’t always believe what everyone says, I don’t know if I was too qualified.”
“My goal was to always get into SLA, so it is a bummer that I didn’t.”
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