The first thing to know is that all students must apply for admission to high school; you are not guaranteed a space in your neighborhood school unless you apply. The high school application form allows students to apply to 12 schools. If you have a zoned school, that school will be indicated on your application form. If you wish to apply for your zoned school, you must list it as one of your 12 choices. Zoned schools give preference to students who apply and live in the school's geographical zone. See our section on Types of schools for a description of different program options.

There is one application, due in early December, for all public high schools. The Department of Education's high school directory describes the application process and lists all the schools.

On this page: Basics of applying| What to look for on a school tour | If your child isn't accepted anywhere | If you don't like your placement | New to New York City?

Basics of applying to high school:

You may apply to 12 schools in addition to the specialized high schools, which require an exam or audition, and charter schools. Apply only to those schools you are willing to attend. See our section on Types of schools for a description of the options

Rank the schools in order of your choice. Schools won't see the order in which you rank them.

You will be matched with the school that you ranked highest that accepts you. You will only receive one offer, unless you are accepted at one of the specialized high schools, in which case you will have a choice.

You are not guaranteed a seat in your neighborhood or zoned school unless you apply. You must list it as one of your 12 choices. But you will be given priority to that school if you live in the zone.

How do you know if you have a zoned high school?
Call 311, or your enrollment office, or ask your guidance counselor to find out whether you have a zoned high school.There are no zoned high schools in Manhattan. All Staten Island residents have a zoned school. There are also some zoned high schools in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. If you do have a zoned school, the name of the school will appear on your high school application.

School choice
There are more than 500 high schools in New York City and they come in a variety of sizes and shapes including selective schools, charter schools, transfer schools, arts focus high schools, educational option schools, vocational schools and schools for immigrants. Find out about these different programs in our Types of schools section and look up information on specific schools using our school search tool.

High school fairs and tours
There is a citywide high school fair held every fall where you can meet representatives from all city high schools. There are also smaller fairs in every borough. Many schools also offer tours and open houses but they fill up, so book early.

BACK TO TOP

What to look for on a school tour

If you're lucky, you'll be able to visit the schools. Tours or open houses are held in the fall. Don't pay too much attention to the physical plant. Instead, look at the quality of teaching. Are the kids engaged? Or are heads down on desks? Are there plenty of books in classrooms—not just textbooks but novels, biographies, history books, and science books? Even in math classes, you may see books on the history of mathematics or scholarly math journals that show the teacher has a passion for the subject that goes beyond teaching the basics. Are the walls bare, or are they covered with examples of students' work? Paper timelines in history classes, newspaper clippings in science classes, theater posters in English classes, drawings of geometric shapes in math class all show that teachers go beyond the textbooks to engage their students.

Listen carefully to what the principal has to say. A good principal can articulate a vision for the school and a plan for carrying it out. One who can only tell you that she believes punctuality is important, or one who parrots incomprehensible educational jargon, probably won't cut it. Ask how teachers are hired. Are they chosen by a committee, as is the practice at some of the city's best schools? Or are they assigned according to seniority, as is the case at most schools in the city?

Talk to parents and students. Particularly if you cannot tour a school, it is important to talk to as many people as you can. Remember that different students have different experiences. One child may find the homework load onerous, while another breezes through. One child may complain of cliques, while another makes friends easily. If you go to a Parent Association meeting you'll meet parents and hear their concerns (and praise).

BACK TO TOP

If your child isn't accepted anywhere

Every year Insideschools hears from many parents whose 8th grade children — many of them students with "A" averages — have been shut out of the high schools they hoped to attend. If this happens to you:

First, get on the phone with your guidance counselor. It's possible that a mistake was made. Ask your guidance counselor to lobby for your child. Good guidance counselors know their counterparts at other schools and may be able to appeal for a child who was unfairly overlooked.

Attend a fair. An additional high school fair for unmatched students is held in April so that families can meet representatives from schools that still have space.

Reapply. Students who are not matched anywhere must reapply, choosing up to 12 schools from a list of schools and programs that still have seats available. (Ask your guidance counselor for the list of available schools.)

Consider new small schools. Many new small schools open each year, but too late to make it into the high school directory. Announcement of new schools is usually made mid-year and representatives from these schools are at the fairs in April.

BACK TO TOP

If you don't like your placement...

It is not easy to change your high school once you have been matched. The key to filling out your high school application is to apply ONLY to the programs that you are willling to attend. If you are unhappy with the school you have been matched with, there is very little that can be done outside the official appeals process.

File an official appeal. Ask your middle school guidance counselor for an Appeal Form, or pick one up at the district or enrollment offices. You or your guidance counselor will fill it out and send it to the central Office of Student Enrollment, Planning, and Operations (OSEPO), which oversees high school admissions.

Reasons for an appeal. You'll have the most luck with the following reasons:

• a change of address (new address at least 90 minutes distance from school)
• a lack of appropriate special education services or accommodations at the matched school
• a lack of appropriate language instruction (for students learning English)
• a desire to attend one of the new small high schools (if the school's formation was announced after the official application process)

There is also a category for "other" appeals and you'll get a chance to explain why you want another school. This is the place to bring up anything that was missing from your first application: a sudden interest in a new program, a big leap in test scores and/or achievement or a mistake in the application.

Contact the school. It can't hurt to send a copy of your appeal letter to the school you are most interested in attending, along with copies of your child's transcript and best work samples. A cautionary word: at this stage of the process, decisions about acceptances are basically out of the schools' hands. You can try having the guidance counselor contact his or her counterpart at the school but it probably won't be successful.

Consider an alternative school. There are a few non-traditional or transfer schools that accept students outside the regular admissions process. Look for these in our Find a NYC School section.

Try to transfer mid-year. If you are seriously unhappy during your fall semester you can try to transfer to another school mid-year. This is very difficult to achieve, but worth talking to your guidance counselor about.

Reapply for the 10th grade. If all else fails, reapply to the schools you most want to attend, for the 10th grade, during the regular application process during the fall of 9th grade.

BACK TO TOP

New to New York City?

If you move to New York City during the school year and need to find a high school:

Identify schools that interest you. Take a look at our Find a NYC School section, or pick up a copy of New York City's Best Public High Schools, to search for good schools.

Contact the schools to try to find out your chance of acceptance. They might be willing to meet with you outside of the official process.

Go to the enrollment office. Take a list of the schools you are interested in to your local enrollment center. Although there are no guarantees, providing a list may reduce your chances of being placed completely at random.

If you move to New York after the end of the school you'll probably have to wait until late August, when temporary enrollment centers open up in every borough to register students new to the city or new to public school.

Specialized high school admissions for newcomers: If you are an incoming 9th or 10th grader new to the city, you are eligible to take the exam for the eight specialized exam high schools or audition for the specialized arts high school, LaGuardia. The exam is traditionally given in late August; the auditions on another date in August. Check with an enrollment office for information about the test and auditions.

Go to Find a NYC School to look at our school profiles. See also our section on New to NYC public schools?

BACK TO TOP