High school acceptance letters went out this week and 90 percent of 8th graders who applied got one of their choices. Of those, 84 percent got one of their top five choices. But, once again, 10 percent of the more than 77,000 applicants didn't get accepted anywhere.

If you were one of the the 7,452 8th graders who wasn't matched to a high school (or if you're unhappy with your match) it's time to consider one of the 10 new schools opening in the fall of 2014—or one of the established schools that still has space.

You can meet representatives from these schools at the second-round high school fair from 11 am to 2 pm this weekend, March 15 and 16 at the Martin Luther King Educational Campus at 66th and Amsterdam in Manhattan. You can also meet with guidance counselors at the fair to help consider your options.

You must submit a new application -- with up to 12 choices -- by March 21 and you'll hear in May where you've been assigned. If you are not matched with a school that you list in the Round 2 application, then the Department of Education will assign you to a school close to where you live. (If you were matched to a school in Round 1, submit a new application and then are matched to a different school in Round 2, you forfeit the seat offered to you in Round 1).

All 8th and 9th graders can apply in the second round, even those who didn't apply in the fall. That may be especially relevant to 9th graders who are hoping to transfer to a new school for 10th grade, but missed applying in the fall. All current 9th graders may apply for another school in the second round.

If you still are unhappy with your assignment after the second round, you may file an appeal. Don't despair: there is some movement over the summer. An appeal probably won't do you any good at the most popular schools (or at the specialized schools), but occasionally a few seats open up at other good schools. Persistence often pays off. (We posted more information about appeals here.)

Some 77,043 8th graders applied to high school this year and 64,363 got one of their choices, according to the DOE.

The odds of acceptance were much lower for this year's 9th grade applicants seeking to transfer to a new school for 10th grade. Of the 4,425 who submitted applications, only 2,528 -- or 57 percent -- were matched to a school, the DOE said. 

About 28,000 students took the Specialized High School Admissions Test for entrance into one of eight specialized exam schools and 5,096 students were offered seats. That's down from the 5,229 who were offered a slot in 2013. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts made offers to 970 students based on their auditions and academic record, 14 fewer than the 984 who received offers last year. Some of those students got accepted by more than one program; 375 of them also tested into a specialized exam school. 

Once again this year, far fewer black and Latino students gained admission to the specialized high schools than did Asian and whites. Only seven black students and 21 Latino 8th graders tested into Stuyvesant as compared to 680 Asian students and 164 whites. No black students received offers to Staten Island Tech, according to data released by the DOE. The data does not give a breakdown of how many students of each race took the exam. See the racial breakdown here.  racial

The DOE has published a new school high school directory, download it here [PDF]. We're compiling some recommendations for high schools that still have room for rising 9th graders and 10th graders. Here's a link to DOE's list of schools available for 9th grade [PDF] and 10th grade [PDF].

[Post updated March 12 with information about 9th grade applicants and racial breakdown; updated March 16 with clarification of DOE policy on being matched to a school in Round 2]