Dec. 4 is the date when high school applications are due to school guidance counselors. If you're like the average New York City public middle school parent, you have spent the fall accompanying your 8th grader to school tours and open houses, you've perused the thick high school directory and you've bookmarked Insideschools' noteworthy high school profiles and ref+erred to them regularly. And if you're like the average 8th grader, you've been agonizing with your friends about where you'll end up next year. But now you must sit down and make some decisions.

Our advice: Be very careful drawing up your list of high school choices. You will be assigned to a high school based on how you rank your schools and how the schools rank you. You may list up to 12 choices, but you will receive only one offer. If you have taken the exam for the specialized high schools or auditioned for LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts, you may have a choice between one of those schools, should you be accepted, and your list of 12. There are also a few charter schools to consider which have a separate application and lottery. Apply only to schools you are willing to attend. If you get assigned to a school you hate but have listed it on your application, it will be very hard to get placed in a different school.<!--more-->

Here are some questions for families to consider:

  • Small school or large? Small schools usually offer more personal attention and a sense of community. Teachers are more likely to get to know you, and fewer kids get lost. Small schools tend to be safer. However, large schools tend to have more sports teams, more foreign language offerings, more Advanced Placement courses and more services for students who don't speak English well, or who need special education services. Large schools may also have more diversity, not only economic and racial diversity, but also a range of kids of different abilities (and classes designed to accommodate them).
  • Fast-track or laid-back? Some schools pile on the homework, and the kids are very serious, hard-working and a bit competitive. Other schools are more laid back and encourage kids to relax a bit. There's no right answer here. Think about what's best for you. Do you want to have the most rigorous academic experience possible? Or do you want to have a chance to excel in a less-demanding school?
  • New school or well-established? It's nice to go to a school with a proven track record. And some of the newest small schools don't have well established guidance offices for college admissions or relationships with college admissions officers. However, when faced with the choice of an overcrowded, failing neighborhood school, and a new untested small school, in general, our advice is go with the small one, if you feel comfortable with the theme and the leadership. You'll get much more personalized attention and a chance to shine. (See our article on how to judge a new school.)
  • Theme school or well-rounded curriculum? This may sound obvious, but don't go to a theme school if you're not interested in the theme. If you're not passionate about the arts, don't go to a performing arts school. Also: Some of the themes are gimmicks and exist in name only. Be sure the academics are solid, whatever the theme.
  • How long is the commute? Be sure to take a subway (or bus) ride to the school before you submit your application to see if the commute is doable. Think about what it will be like in the rain and snow, or coming home late in the evening after a sports event or a school play. Way too many students find after a few days of school that a school is too far away.
  • What is the quality of teaching? Look for teachers who seem to like their work and the school. Check out the statistics on teacher qualifications, absences, and mobility on the school's report card. Ideally, there will be a balance of experience and youthful enthusiasm on a faculty, and a sense of collegiality among the staff.
  • What is the school culture? Is there a lot of pressure to conform, fashion snobbery, or social pressure to drink or take drugs? Parents have to realize that sex and drugs are in every high school in the city, if not in the country. But if you find a school where kids are interested in learning, you're more likely to steer clear of trouble. Talk to older students. Kids will tell you if a school has a lot of drugs, if kids cut class, if being a good student is cool or shunned. Kids will know whether teachers care, and if counselors know their names.
  • Does your child have special needs? Families of students with special education needs may want to check out a new resource on the Department of Education's website, Frequently Asked Questions for students with disabilities applying to high school. The document gives information about rights and resources available to students with disabilities. It was produced after a grassroots organization, Parents for Inclusive Education, in conjunction with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest issued a report noting the lack of high school choices for special education students.

Now for the rankings...

Your favorite should come first. You don't need to play guessing games or set up an elaborate strategy. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by ranking your top choice number one on your list because schools won't see how you ranked them.

However if you are applying to a school for which you do not qualify — say you want to apply to a school that accepts only Manhattan residents and you live in Queens — you are wasting a spot on your list if you put it down. Likewise, if a school looks for students with an 85 average or above and your GPA is 70, your chances of getting accepted are slim to none.

What about the schools that tell you, you must put them first, or they won't consider you? According to the Department of Education, that policy was done away with several years ago. Schools no longer see who lists them first, and they have to come up with their own ranking of students from first to last.

More tips for kids

  • Don't be talked into applying to a school that you do not want to attend. Make sure your parent signs off on your list and don't allow the guidance counselor to add other choices without consulting your parent.
  • Don't list 12 schools if there are not 12 schools or programs that you want to apply to. However, the more choices, the better your chances of making a match.
  • Many large schools have several programs. If you really want to attend a certain school, apply to more than one program.
  • If you have a zoned school, it will be printed on your application. (Manhattan does not, Staten Island does, as do parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens). You are not guaranteed acceptance there unless you list it on your application.
  • What if you and your parents disagree? We think parents should get involved in the selection but in the end it's the kid who has to go to the school. Try to talk it through until parent and kid both come to the same conclusion.
  • Choose your school based on what you want for yourself. This can be hard to do, especially if your friends all seem to be interested in one popular school and want to go there. It's likely that friends will go to different schools — no school can accept every student who applies, even if they're qualified, talented, and great students. Trust that you will make new friends in high school, whether or not you go with friends from middle school.

More new schools for 2009

If you're still not certain you've found the school that's right for you, there will mostly likely be a new crop of schools opening in September 2009. Check our calendar and the Department of Education's website for updates in early 2009. There will be school fairs introducing all the schools.