Rising 8th-graders, who may be spending some of the summer prepping for the specialized high school exam, will have a chance to learn more about the nine specialized high schools at workshops on Tuesday and Thursday nights this week in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Department of Education officials, including representatives from the specialized schools, will give tips on how to prepare for the exam, given in October, and talk about their schools.

These two workshops are the last in a series of July workshops about high school admissions and are the only ones specific to specialized high schools.  Newcomers to New York City may sign up now for the August exam and auditions for LaGuardia, the performing arts high schools.

Representatives from Insideschools.org will be attending both nights. Come say hello, ask us questions, and sign up to receive our email updates. Eliana Mascio will be at Prospect Heights High School on Tuesday, along with her son, a Stuvyesant student. Clara Hemphill and Laura Zingmond will be at the Thursday workshop at LaGuardia High School. Both have sons who have graduated from a specialized high school.

For more pointers, watch our videos:

• Specialized high schools in New York City
• How to apply to an audition school
• How to apply to high school
• Weighing your options: Large school vs small
• Weighing your options: Long trip vs short trip
• New to New York City: How to enroll

We have several other high school videos as well as reviews of every high school and photo slideshows of many of them, including most of the specialized schools.