There are lots of factors that can determine whether or not your child gets into private school. Diversity is one of them, but not just ethnic diversity. We're talking about diverse families, stepchildren, adoption. We're talking about diversity of geographical location. They're also consideraing the age and gender of your child. Your child's birthdate is also important. They're looking at you as a parent. You konw, maybe they have a board member spot that will be coming up in three or four years that they might like to fill. They'll be looking at what you can do for the school; maybe you can help with the newsletter. The other issue that comes up a lot, parents want to know about whether letters of recommendations are really necessary. In some schools they are required. In other schools they may help an okay application go into the absolute "yes" pile, but if you're a candidate that's really strong that matches who their students are and matches a successful student, then letters of recommendations really aren't necessary.