The DOEhosts its all-city high school fair this weekend at Brooklyn Tech; see this article in the current Insideschools alert for a nuts-and-bolts guide to beginning the high school admissions process.

Because it's wholly unlikely you'll want to look at all 400+ city high schools (one can only hope!), try to narrow your choices a bit before you go to the fair. Consider, for starters, admissions criteria, school size, and commute, and you'll whittle your list significantly.

Admissions criteria are meant to guide applications; take them seriously. If a school says it requires an 85% average in core academics and your child's average is lower, it may not be worth sacrificing a line on your child's application. If you're in doubt, ask at the fair -- but be aware that many schools will not consider students who do not meet their baseline criteria, and are not inclined to make exceptions.

School size is a big question for lots of families. Small schools offer personalization and, advocates say, a stronger support system for youngsters; large schools mean a wider breadth of classes (more teachers, more kids, more classes), more teams and clubs, and, critics say, an often-cumbersome and occasionally overwhelming school environment. Talk with your child about what she wants, both in terms of academic offerings and the life of the school -- the activities and interests that might engage her.

Commuting is a New York City reality; for most city teens, the walk-to-school era is over, and has been for a while. The DOE considers up to two hours a reasonable commute (it grants travel transfers when commutes extend past that time; check hopstopfor 'official' travel time -- it's the DOE's source, too), but two hours one way adds to 20 hours a week, which is a lot of time to spend in transit (and likely a lot longer than most parents spend commuting to and from work).

Once you've thought through these basics, visit schools of interest at the fair to learn more about them. Often, kids from the high schools attend the fairs, so it's a great way to meet real students. And for those who can't get to Brooklyn this weekend, boro-wide fairs will be held in mid-October; again, see our alert for details.

Good luck to all, and happy hunting.