NYC High School Admissions – October 2022 Update

The NYC admissions landscape is always changing. We’ve updated our parent guide to make the process a little easier.

Several Types of Schools
New York City students can apply to several categories of public schools simultaneously. This means a student can prospectively choose between a Specialized High School, a Screened School, an Audition Based School, and a Charter School*. 

*Charters are not technically public, but  we feel they fit into this run-down of non-private HS options

 

Specialized High Schools

These are the specialized high schools:

  • Stuyvesant

  • Bx Science

  • Bk Tech

  • Bk Latin

  • HS of Math

  • Science & Engineering

  • HS of American Studies @ Lehman College

  • Queens HS for the Sciences @ York College

  • Staten Island Tech

How To Apply:

Admission to Specialized HS’s begins with a MySchool profile. 

We typically recommend students begin preparing no later than the spring of their 7th grade year.

Submissions-Based Schools

These high schools require additional materials (eg. essays, letters or personal statement videos) in addition to evaluating a student’s grades.

A lot has changed in the last two cycles. There are more schools than ever asking for essays, and videos. Here are a few examples of schools asking for academic submissions:

CONSORTIUM SCHOOLS: Beacon High School, School of the Future, East Side Community HS, Institute of Collaborative Education and University Heights Secondary School are all accepting the same submissions, (student completes 1 submission that will apply to all schools in this category):

Here is where you can find the prompts on the NYCDOE website

Bard High school

Bard used to proctored its own in-person admissions exam. This process has shifted online due to the pandemic. 

  • Here is where you can learn more and read the prompts. The answers to the writing prompts are to be submitted through MySchools

NYC iSchool 

Manhattan Hunter Science HS 

Frank McCourt HS: Conducting in-person essays and interviews

By appointment only. More information about interviews/essays will be forthcoming. Check our website in the next two weeks for in-person appointment times. 

  • Monday Nov. 7th

  • Monday Nov. 14th

  • Monday Nov. 21st

  • Monday Nov. 28th

    • These enrollment links are not yet live

Academic submissions are typically due on date the MySchools app is due, which is usually in early December of a student’s 8th grade year.*

ACADEMIC SCREENED SCHOOLS

Admission to screened schools begins with a MySchool profile. This is the DOE application where you rank 12 schools in order of the child’s preference. The screened schools that require academic submissions also go on this list.

  • Historically, screened schools have also considered attendance. Due to COVID-19, this criterion was eliminated for the last two cycles.

  • MySchools App is due in 12/1/22

  • Screened schools (Midwood, Millennium Manhattan & Bk, Eleanor Roosevelt and The Clinton School) evaluate students who meet the minimum grade and standardized testing requirements. 

  • Last cycle, the HS’s looked at a combination of final 7th & 1st semester 8th grade grades. 

  • This cycle is utilizing final 7th grade scores only

AUDITION BASED

Audition based arts or performing arts high schools are a great option if your child has a special talent or interest: 

  • Schools such as LaGuardia, Frank Sinatra, Professional Performing Arts HS, Edward R. Murrow, and Fort Hamilton High School boast strong academics in addition to engaging arts curricula

  • These schools will require an arts portfolio submission, and/or an audition. Students can apply to more than 1 program at any one school should they choose.

  • Depending on a students plan, we recommend using the summer between 7th & 8th grade to hone their craft and / or work towards a completed arts portfolio.

The NYCDOE MySchools HS Admissions portal closes on 12/1/22.

CHARTER SCHOOLS

Admission to charter schools is typically conducted by lottery: