This game is so pretty

A lot of larger cities like New York and Chicago have magnet schools. They usually take a mix of merit students and endowment students, making it easy for rich people to buy their kids into them. Smaller cities and most towns have gifted and talented programs connected to public schools instead of their own schools. Your polycule is correct that they’re usually just resume builders for rich kids, but it is totally possible for a poor white kid from Queens to get accepted through the merit track.

*day