On this page: Basics | What to look for | If your child isn't accepted anywhere | If you don't like your placement | New to NYC?

Basics

There are more than 400 high schools in New York City. The Department of Education's high school directory describes the application process which, unlike elementary and middle school applications, is the same throughout the city. There is one application, usually due in early December, for all public high schools.

Key things for students to know:

• You may apply to 12 schools in addition to the specialized exam and audition high schools. Apply only to those schools you are willing to attend.
• 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. (The entrance test for the specialized exam high schools is held in October or November.)
• You are not guaranteed a seat in their 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 they live in the zone.

How do you know if you have a zoned high school?
It depends on where you live. 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. Call 311, or your enrollment office, or ask your guidance counselor to find out whether you have a zoned high school. If you do have a zoned school, the name of the school will appear on your high school application.

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 fast so book early.
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What to look for

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 time-lines 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).
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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.

Reapply - choosing from a list of schools and programs. 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.)

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

Consider new small schools. Many new small schools open each year, 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.

The final notification of placement is in May.
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If you don't like your placement...

It is not easy to change your high school once you have been matched. The key in filling out your high school application is to ONLY apply 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. You - or your guidance counselor - will fill it out and send it to the central Office of Student Enrollment, Planning, and Operations at 52 Chambers St. (212-374-2363), which oversees high school admissions. You may also pick up an Appeal Form at one of the district or enrollment offices.

Reasons for an appeal. You'll have the most luck with the following reasons: a change of address (to at least 90 minutes distance between home and school), the lack of needed English language or special education services at the matched school, or your desire to attend one of the new small high schools, that may have been 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 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 alternative schools that accept students outside the regular admissions process. Look for these in our Find a 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.
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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 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 chances of acceptances. 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. That way they will be less likely to place you in just any school -- although there are no guarantees.

If you move to New York after the end of the school year, you'll probably have to wait until late August, when special 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 two arts schools: LaGuardia and Art and Design. The exam is traditionally given in late August; the auditions on another date. Check with your enrollment office for information about the test and auditions.

Go to Find a School to look at our school profiles.