The most sought-after of the city's selective schools, Stuyvesant High School has an amazingly talented student body and an array of course offerings that rival those of a small college. It has a sparkling, 10-story building with views of New York harbor and amenities such as a regulation-size swimming pool. Stuyvesant has long been known as a math-science school, but its English and social studies departments have improved significantly in recent years and now are among the school's strongest.

Nearly 27,000 students vie for 800 seats in the freshman class. Roughly one-quarter of Stuyvesant's top graduates go to the Ivy League and many others go to highly selective schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Students may conduct research with senior scientists, take part in national math competitions, or study music at a high level. Immigrants and children of immigrants make up a large proportion of the student body.

The excitement of being enrolled at Stuyvesant comes from being in the company of very bright, engaged students. "It's a community of academics, from the students all the way up," said social studies teacher Brad Badgley. "The students are great. They work really hard and they are really creative in a lot of ways. And the teachers are always trying to do more."

While some teachers are inspired, the school has long been known for its talented students rather than a uniformly strong teaching staff. For many years, Stuyvesant's teachers were hired according to the teachers' union contract, which places seniority above teaching skills or academic qualifications. That meant poorly qualified but senior teachers were sometimes assigned to the school over the objection of the principal and other faculty members. Happily, the 2005 teachers' contract abandoned the seniority clause, and while the contract does nothing to dislodge current teachers who may be below par, Principal Stanley Teitel is hopeful that future hires will be of consistently high quality.

The school has a reputation as an ultra-competitive pressure cooker more stressful than its rival, Bronx High School of Science. But Parent Coordinator Harvey Blumm said the administration has taken steps to lower the pressure, particularly for 9th graders. "The school has made a concerted effort to ratchet down the [homework] load on freshman," he said, adding that freshman have about three hours of homework a night. Students' grade point averages are no longer listed on report cards and there is an attempt to "de-emphasize the numbers" minute differences in grades among highly talented students that are often the source of competition. Still, the principal says, "Kids don't get a lot of sleep."

The student body is 55 percent male and 45 percent female. Blumm is working to attract students, particularly girls, who don't feel their strength is math and science. "A lot of girls are intimidated by math," he said. "The message I give is if you are passionate about humanities, please come to Stuyvesant."

The course selection is vast, including acoustic technology; Japanese; multivariate calculus; artificial intelligence; Latin American film; modern China; and race, ethnicity, and gender. Some classes are taught as seminars, with desks arranged in a circle and plenty of class discussion. (The Great Books class in the English department is a particular favorite.) But the overall tone of the school is traditional, with desks in rows and the teacher at the front doing most of the talking. Class size is large, which makes seminar-style teaching more difficult to accommodate. "It's probably one of the most traditional high schools in New York City," said Teitel. "That goes under the category, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it,'"

The school works best for kids who are self-starters, who are self-confident and not afraid to seek out help from adults and other students. "If you need someone to take you under their wing and shepherd you through an adolescent crisis, this is not the place for you," Blumm said. On the other hand, teachers are available to help if asked. "If a kid wants to approach adults, they will fall all over you to help," he said.

Special education: The school is not particularly accommodating to children with special needs, Teitel acknowledged. However, Blumm said increasing number of students receive what are called "504 accommodations," such as extended time on tests, because of learning disabilities.

The school offers open houses for prospective students and their parents in the fall. Check the school's web site, www.stuy.edu, for the dates or a virtual tour. (Clara Hemphill, March 2006. This school is profiled NYC's Best Public High Schools: A Parent's Guide.)

"I graduated from Stuy in June. I loved the school so much. The kids were so smart and talented. Although everyone was competitive, we were willing to lend a hand to anyone in need. The teachers were also great- who knew calculus could be so much fun? They just went out of their way to help us succeed. The same can be said of other staff members, particularly the guidance counselors. I remember walking into my counselor's office almost everyday during my junior year and she'd listen to me and offer me words of wisdom. Although the parent below correctly acknowledges the weakness of the college office (the college advisers weren't too helpful), Stuy students have a very, very high rate of admission to top colleges! I don't exactly remember the figure, but I think 10% of Stuy kids are accepted to the Ivy League. From the class of 2008, 11 kids went to Dartmouth (more were accepted, but chose other schools) and ~40 went to Cornell. Everyone else goes to other top colleges in the country."

The Daily News reports that Stuyvesant is one of nine NYC public high schools to rank among the top 100 high schools in the nation, according to US News and World Report.

"I am currently a Junior at Stuyvesant High School. This has been definitely the toughest year I have faced so far. The pressure to succeed is very high and the looming SAT/ACT examinations are just adding onto it. There is definitely a lack of sleep among the students and everyone is stressed out. Over the course of Stuyvesant High School, you learn how to discipline yourself and learn how to time manage. Without these skills, Stuyvesant students will face dire consequences when challanges present themselves (i.e HW, essays, projects, tests). Stuyvesant is definitely not the place for everyone; if you are willing to work hard and succeed then come to Stuy; if you intend on fooling around, you will just fall behind. Stuyvesant definitely builds character. Another comment I would like to note is the caliper of teachers. There are the very good or the very bad. Students here must conform to the teacher to receive their desired mark. It is definitely a very tough school."

The New York Daily news reports that a sophomore football player at Stuyvesant HS was suspended after tainting his teammates' sports drinks with a chemical stolen from the school.

The New York Times reported on Oct. 2 that Stuyvestant High School's recent student union election is the subject of the new documentary film "Frontrunners."  The Times later reviewed the film.

An alumna writes in to tell us about her experiences at Stuyvesant: "It's nice, after having been labeled as a nerd all your life, to come to a high school where you are generally respected, have 30 or so friends, and can get a date who also likes MOMA and discussing string theory. She says the activities are great, and praises the Intel preparation program in particular. However, she notes that "MANY of the 100 or so clubs at Stuy don't do much but fill up college application sheets." She continues, "The classes are diverse and not to be found in almost any other high school -- but you should remember that there is room in a student's program for only a few of them, and they will get a chance to do most of them in college." She also believes Stuy has an "edge" to it that makes it unsuitable for some students: "Stuy's competitiveness is not about intelligence -- it is about assertiveness, hardiness and shrewdness. Nearly all the kids are brilliant -- but sensitive or less self-promoting kids are often overwhelmed." She complains that "adults will often mock a student with problems, condescendingly saying 'I think you were a big fish and now you're a little fish' with a knowing smirk, when in fact student problems rarely stem from a lack of status as much as other issues known to all adolescents. In addition, success is the ethic, and compassion and morals are not. Cheating is rampant, ignored by teachers, and accepted as necessary by students who often don't have enough hours in the day. During school elections it was not unusual for some students to produce satirical cartoons and pieces that were cruel and made fun of the students running. Students are constantly criticized for less than stellar performances even in their fun activities -- one time a drama teacher walked out on a school play, disappointed in the kids' work." She concludes with some advice to parents: You should know that some Stuy students burn out in college and miss out on some of the joys of college. They are tired when they get there and for many experiences, they've been there, done that. If you want your kid to go to Stuy, be prepared to deal with these problems. Monitor your child's workload, assure sensitive/unassertive children can still find places to showcase their talents, and discuss ethics, responsible use of one's talents, and the importance of learning as opposed to getting good grades. Communicate (and make sure) that your love is not dependent on your child's success. Stress the importance of being happy and of being a good person. Stuyvesant does have MANY good points, and neither college nor grad school provided me with peers who had such a diversity of interests or a joy for ideas. But make sure if you want the experience, that you have the tools to enjoy it."

"The school is wonderful because the majority of instructors are great teachers, and the student body is intelligent," writes a student. "But one warning -- many have the misconceived notion that the majority of students go on to attend the most elite colleges. According to the Wall Street Journal (April 2, 2004, Weekend Section, front page), only 17 percent of 2003 Stuyvesant graduates attended an elite college. (This list of colleges included most of the Ivy League and other outstanding schools.) Over at Bronx Science, 8 percent went on to attend the most prestigious colleges. So before you go to Stuyvesant or any other specialized high school, please remember that the school's name will not automatically vault you into the college of your choice." (April 2004)

A student describes the atmosphere as " too uptight and competitive." (February 2004)