Students appealing their high school placement for next year must submit their completed High School Match Appeal Form to their guidance counselor no later than Tuesday, June 1.   Students only have three school days left -- counting today -- to consider their options and meet with their guidance counselors. Appeal decisions will be distributed in late June. All placements given on appeal are final.  

The schedule is especially tight for students who received their supplementary round high school placements yesterday, May 26. Students who received matches during the main round of high school admissions have had nearly two months to appeal.  

What to do   

If you haven't submitted your Appeal Form, do so today or early tomorrow so there's time for your child's guidance counselor to review it before the deadline.  If you don't have an Appeal Form already, get one today from your guidance counselor or borough enrollment office. 

On the form you'll be able to state the reason for the appeal and list up to three programs or schools in order of preference. <!--more-->You'll have the most luck with the following reasons: a change of school location or home address (to at least 90 minutes distance between home and school), the lack of special education services or documented safety issues or medical conditions at the school to which you have been assigned. You may also appeal if a mistake was made in entering the four-digit high school code on your application, or if you want to apply to a new small school which is opening in September. 

If you're listing a selective admissions school, make sure your child meets the school's admission criteria.  If you're not sure, check the high school directory. Also, check with the high school's principal or guidance counselor.   Some schools (not all) loosen their selection criteria a bit when they have open seats. 

It can't hurt to send a copy of your Appeal Form to the school you are interested in attending - along with copies of your child's transcript and best work samples. And be sure to keep copies of everything for your records, in case the paper trail needs retracing.  The sooner you reach out to the schools, the better, but if you can't contact them before you hand in the Appeal Form on June 1, don't worry.  You still have a little time -- not much -- before decisions are made, so try to reach out to the schools you've listed on appeal by the end of next week. 

Open seats at some selective schools

Back in April, Insideschools reported that at least two highly selective schools in Manhattan, Bard High School Early College and Millennium High School, had many seats open after the main round, but were not participating in the supplementary round of admissions.  The Department of Education confirmed that both schools had openings, but said Bard had since filled its seats. Millennium will fill its seats through appeals.  

Insideschools has heard recent, unconfirmed reports that Bard Iand IIand Nest+M each have a few slots to be filled through appeals. We've asked the DOE for confirmation. When we hear from them, we'll report back.    

At this point, your best bet is to talk with your guidance counselor who should know, or could find out quickly, if a school you're interested in attending has open seats. Also consult your guidance counselor about how to fill out the Appeal Form. Selective admission schools like Millennium will only consider appeals from students who both ranked the school on their original high school application and meet the school's admission criteria. 

Did you get your supplementary round placement?  Tell us how it turned out and if you plan to appeal. 

Have you appealed a high school match successfully in the past couple of years? Please weigh in with advice for those filing an appeal this year. 

Good luck.