Today we will discuss 

Preparing for the NYC Public Schools High School Admissions Process

Tips for Current 6th and 7th Grade Students & Families

Why Start Now?

The High School Application Process Begins Before 8th Grade

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By starting early, students and families can:

• Explore different high school options
• Learn about specialized programs and admissions methods
• Build strong academic habits
• Develop extracurricular interests
• Feel confident when application season begins

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The goal is not to choose a high school today.

The goal is to become an informed family before the process begins.

Explore NYC High School Options

NYC offers many different types of high schools:

• Comprehensive High Schools
• Career & Technical Education (CTE) Schools
• Specialized High Schools
• Arts & Performing Arts Programs
• Screened and Educational Option Programs

As a family, think about:

• Academic interests
• Extracurricular opportunities
• School size and culture
• Commute time

Focus on finding the right fit, not just the most popular school.

Start Using MySchools

Families can:

• Search schools and programs
• Explore admissions information
• Save favorite schools
• Learn about open houses and tours
• View transportation information

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Challenge: This year, explore at least 5 high schools with your child and discuss what you like about each one.

Visit Schools Early

Attend Open Houses & School Tours

School visits allow families to:

• Meet students and staff
• Observe the learning environment
• Learn about programs and activities
• Ask questions about school culture

Questions to Consider:

• What programs make this school unique?
• What clubs, teams, or activities are available?
• How does this school support students academically and socially?

Tip: Begin attending open houses during 7th grade whenever possible.

What Can Families Do Right Now?

Build strong study habits

Participate in clubs, sports, enrichment opportunities

Read regularly

Explore interests and future career goals

Talk about what they want in a high school experience

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Students who know their interests often find it easier to identify schools that are a strong match.

Family Action Plan

Before the End of This School Year:

Create or access your MySchools account

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Research 5-10 schools

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Talk with your child about interests and goals

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Attend at least one open house or school tour

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Challenge: This year, explore at least 5 high schools with your child and discuss what you like about each one.

Questions?

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The 8th Grade NYC Public Schools High School Admissions Process

Admissions Timeline

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• October 6:
• High School Application opened
• Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Application opened
• Registration for the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) is available
• October 30:
• Deadline to register for the SHSAT
• December 4:
• Deadline to submit the High School Application and LaGuardia Application
• Deadline to submit assessments and auditions
• March 3:
• High School Offers and SHSAT/LGA results become available
• Waitlists will open

Admissions Overview

Seat Groups

General Education Students

*Determined by current IEP*

(GE)

Receive special education instructional programming for more than 20% of their academic program

Students with Disabilities

(SWD)

Receive special education instructional programming for 20% or less of their academic program

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Group Three

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List 12 or more choices in your true order of preference and apply

Explore programs and start your application

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Results

Up to 1 offer

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Waitlists

Register for the SHSAT 

Take the SHSAT

Results

Up to 1 offer

Results

Up to 1 offer for each audition submitted

Apply and submit audition materials online

High School Application

8 testing schools 1 audition school

SHSAT

700+ programs

Three Pathways:

by Dec 4!

LaGuardia

by Dec 4!

by October 30!

MySchools:�Explore High School Options

Myschools.nyc

This is also where you will:​

• Submit the HS application and LaGuardia application​
• Register for the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT).  ​
• Upload auditions and some assessments.​
• View your child’s offer in March.

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This is the admissions website and year round online directory where you can learn about schools  

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Your Personalized Myschools Account 

Already have an account?

Don’t have an account yet?

Need a copy of your Account Access Letter?

Just log in! Reset your password if needed.

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• All you need to set it up is:
• Your child’s account creation code from their account access letter
• Your child’s student ID

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• Ask your school counselor 
• Private school families can also ask their local Family Welcome Center
• Find locations and make an appointment at schools.nyc.gov/FWC
• Need help creating your MySchools Account?  You can watch our video tutorial online How to Create a Myschools Account at: schools.nyc.gov/HS 

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Getting Started

After you log in or create your account, you will see the applications on your dashboard: 

You can select the Get Started options to begin the High School application, SHSAT Registration, and/or LaGuardia Application.

The applications can be resumed any time before their deadline, and the Get Started status will be changed to Continue

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You can also edit a submitted application through the deadline. 

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Diversity in Admissions (DIA)

There are over 30 high school programs that offer a DIA priority. More information about these schools and the students they prioritize can be found online at schools.nyc.gov/diversityadmissions

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Your Child’s Profile

Review your child's information!

NOTE: After you answer the consent question, you will see a screen that looks like this.  

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Families will not see their child's random number until they click "Get Started" and confirm that the information "Looks Good"

Learn About Programs

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Read the program's description! See if the program has any eligibility requirements

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You can also see the demand for the program (for each seat group) and their priorities.

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Would this program be a good fit?

Priority Groups

Priority groups determine the order students are considered for offers to a program

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Narrow your search cont'd

• College and Career Pathways
• Building Features
• Admissions Methods
• Interest Areas
• And more!

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Use Filters to Narrow your search

Admissions Methods 

Audition 

• 25 high schools offer audition programs. They all (including LaGuardia) use the same common audition components for each discipline.
• Families can submit virtual auditions directly in MySchools. Some programs may also offer an in-person option for auditions.
• The same common audition components will be used for virtual or in-person auditions. 

Common Components

schools.nyc.gov/HSAuditions

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Audition Programs

What To Do

1. Audition. 

• Learn how: 
• The deadline to submit virtual audition materials is December 4.

2. Apply

• To apply to any audition programs (except LaGuardia High School programs), list them on your high school application. Submit the application by December 4.  

3. For LaGuardia High School, families need to submit a LaGuardia application by December 4.

• LaGuardia has six studios, and students can apply and audition for each of them

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How Offers Are Made

• Each school scores auditions based on its criteria
• Offers are made in score order (within priority groups, if applicable) based on student auditions
• ONLY LaGuardia High School also considers a student’s academic record in admissions. Students must demonstrate that they have obtained a 65 on all their core course subjects as indicated on their final June 2026 report card.

www.schools.nyc.gov\HSAuditions

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Educational Option (Ed. Opt)

Creates academic diversity

What to Do 

• List programs of interest on your application. There is nothing else you need to do.

How Offers Are Made

• Students are assigned a category (high, middle, low) based on their seventh-grade grades.
• HIGH: Course grade average of 89.25 or higher
• MIDDLE: Course grade average of 78.67 to 89.24
• LOW: Course grade average of 78.66 or below

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• Applicants in each category will be prioritized for one third of seats at each school 

High

top third of students citywide

Low

bottom third of students citywide

Middle

middle third of students citywide

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Language Criteria

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What to Do

• List programs of interest on your application. There is nothing else you need to do.

How Offers Are Made

• Schools rank students based on characteristics such as:
• Home Language
• English Language Learning (ELL) Status
• Years in NYC
• Offers are made based on each school’s ranking

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Screened

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schoodHS

• Screened programs admit top-performing applicants across each middle school and citywide.
• Applicants to screened high schools will be in groups based on the average of their final seventh-grade core course grades. Once course grades are entered, you will be able to see which group your child is in on their MySchools profile. 
• Note: Families cannot enter children’s grades in MySchools!

schools.nyc.gov/screenedHS

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Screened 

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What to Do: List programs of interest on your high school application, in your preferred order. There is nothing else you need to do.

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How Offers are Made: Students will be admitted to screened programs in group order, starting with students in group one.

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schoodHS

schools.nyc.gov/ScreenedHS

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Screened with Assessment

What to Do

1. List the program on your application and submit or register to complete the program’s required assessment. This could be an essay, interview or school-created task. 

2. Complete the program’s required assessment by the deadline. Schools will not contact families to schedule or remind them to complete the assessment, so please visit each school's website for information on how to register or submit

3. Learn more at

• Six schools’ assessments must be uploaded directly in MySchools.
• The other schools’ assessments must be submitted directly to the school.
• Please review the website above for instructions!

How Offers Are Made

• High schools will score their own assessments.
• A student’s grades and their score for the assessment will be combined using a weighted average.
• Students are admitted in descending order of the combined, weighted average.

Admissions Methods

schools.nyc.gov/AssessmentHS

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Screened with Assessment Programs

• There are over 20 screened programs that also require an assessment.
• The following 6 High Schools collect their assessments via the additional materials tool in MySchools
1. East Side Community School (01M450)
2. Institute for Collaborative Education (ICE) (02M407)
3. School of the Future (02M413)
4. University Heights Secondary School (07X495)
5. Baccalaureate School for Global Education (30Q580)
6. Townsend Harris High School (25Q525)

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schools.nyc.gov/AssessmentsHS

Open Programs

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What to Do: List programs of interest on your application in your true order of preference. There is nothing else you need to do.

How Offers Are Made

• At Open programs, students are randomly selected for seats.
• At Zoned programs, students who live in the school’s zone receive offers.
• Note, not all NYC addresses have zoned high school programs!

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Zoned Programs

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Random Number and� Chance of Offer 

How are random numbers used?

Used in cases where there are more applicants than seats available at a specific program.

Random numbers are used in admissions to determine the order in which students are matched to schools during admissions. These numbers are sorted in numeric and then alphabetical order like this: 0, 1, 2 ... 9, A, B, C, D, E, F. 

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For example, when the following two random numbers are sorted, the number that begins with “5” would be considered for an offer first at a specific program:

• 5B1920AF-F1C6-40EC-8E9A-3E1E50CB13BB
• B51920AF-F1C6-40EC-8E9A-3E1E50CB13BB

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Random Number

8

20

9

11

12

1

16

26

7

17

18

3

2

27

21

19

24

5

23

6

4

13

10

15

14

25

22

28

29

30

The Bedford Ave School has:​​

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Priority Group 1: Brooklyn students or residents

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Priority Group 2:

New York City residents

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15 seats available

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

schools.nyc.gov/randomnumbers

8

20

9

11

12

1

16

26

7

17

18

3

2

27

21

19

24

5

23

6

4

13

10

15

14

25

22

28

29

30

• Applicants are arranged in numeric order (random number) within their priority group

= Priority Group 1

Random Numbers in Admissions

8

20

9

11

12

1

16

26

7

17

18

3

2

27

21

19

24

5

23

6

4

13

10

15

14

25

22

28

29

30

• The order in which programs are listed on the application then determines which students will receive an offer:
• Any student who matches to another program listed higher on their application than this program will no longer be considered for this program.

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8

20

9

11

12

16

7

2

21

19

24

5

6

4

13

14

22

28

30

Seats Available = 15

• There are 9 remaining students in Priority Group 1. 
• This is less than 15, so all remaining students in Priority Group 1 receive an offer to the Bedford Ave School.

• There are 10 remaining applicants in Priority Group 2, but only 6 offers still available.
• The first applicants in random number order from Priority Group 2 receive offers to the Bedford Ave School
• The remaining 4 applicants will be on the waitlist.

Offer Chances

MySchools lets families know their child’s chances of receiving an offer to specific programs. You will see indicators of Low, Medium, and High. 

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This feature is personalized for each student and based on: 

• Your child’s screened admissions group, Ed. Opt. Category
• Random number
• Seat group: General Education (GE) or Students with Disabilities (SWD)
• The program’s admissions method
• Number of available seats

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You must be logged into your account to see this feature! More guidance can be found online at: http://www.schools.nyc.gov/OfferChances

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schools.nyc.gov

/nycschools

Offer Chances

When you start  the application in MySchools, you will be able to see your child's predicted chance of getting an offer in two places: the search page and the application builder.

A "high” icon showing three orange bars means that a student is expected to have a high chance of receiving an offer to this program. Students have a 99% chance of receiving an offer to a program that shows three bars.

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A “medium” icon showing two orange bars means that the student is expected to have a medium chance of receiving an offer to this program. About half of students will receive an offer to a program that shows two bars.

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A "low” icon showing just one orange bar means that the student is expected to have a low chance of receiving an offer to this program. Students have a 1% chance of receiving an offer to a program that shows one bar.�

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

There are some programs where there is not enough information for MySchools to show the chances of getting an offer.

An icon with three dots will show for these programs

• Audition: Students must submit an audition and are admitted based on their audition score.
• Screened with Assessment: Students must complete an assessment, which determines admission.
• Language Criteria: Programs consider students’ English Proficiency and/or home language after the application closes.
• Transfer (for over-aged and under-credited students): Students are ranked by the school based on a student’s grades, age, or credit accumulation after the application closes.
• ASD / ACES / D75 inclusion: Students must be deemed eligible to apply by the Special Education Office.

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Offer Chances

There are two ways that will allow you to see your child's chance of offer! 

 You can use either the Search tab or the apply tab located at the top of the page.

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When the application is open, navigate to the “Apply” tab. You'll be able to see your child's chances of receiving an offer as you build the application.

More than 99% of students who listed 12 programs got an offer from their application!

Tips for a Balanced Application 

Some programs where you have a high chance of getting an offer

Your Choices Matter

List programs in your order of preference, with your top choice as #1

Building and Submitting the HS Application 

There are two ways that you can start building your high school application.

 You can use either the Search tab or the apply tab located at the top of the page.

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When using the "Search" tab, you can directly add the program to your application

You can also star or favorite programs from the search tab

If you navigate to the "Apply" tab, you will open the application builder.  You can search programs at the bottom, add favorited programs on the right, or change the order of programs on your application to finalize your preference order.

• Before submitting the application, you must answer a question about your child's accessibility needs
• This is also where you can add a multiple: twin, triplets to the application. 

Successfully submitted

• Once the application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email with your choices
• You can always go back and edit the application through the December 4 deadline. 

Submitting Additional Materials in Myschools

Submitting additional materials in Myschools 

• If you have submitted the application, the additional materials tool will recommend which items need to be uploaded.

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• Once you upload your materials, you can view the submissions. Please make sure that you can download and open any files you have uploaded.

• After you've uploaded and returned to the dashboard, the additional materials section will also indicate which items have been uploaded for high schools to review.
• The status of the additional materials tool will remain as "Upload Here"
• A receipt will be available in the Your Documents section of the dashboard

schools.nyc.gov

/nycschools

Specialized High Schools

8 testing schools

1 audition school 

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

What are the Specialized High Schools (SHS)?

Digital SHSAT

New this Year! The SHSAT is now a Computer Adaptive Exam.

• The SHSAT is a timed test: 180 minutes (no breaks)
• For students with extended time accommodation: 360 minutes with two 15-minute breaks
• Two sections:
• ELA section is 50 multiple choice questions.
• Math section is 50 multiple choice questions

schools.nyc.gov

/nycschools

NYC SHSAT Portal 

• Families can now access the NYC SHSAT Portal, which includes:
• Student Readiness Tool (SRT) tutorial: practice using the test taking tool.
• "How to Prepare for the SHSAT" guide
• Digital practice tests- note that this year's exam is simply a digital version of the former paper test.
• Two sample tests are in the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT)Practice Test for 2026 Admissions  You can find more information including the practice tests on our website, http://www.schools.nyc.gov/SHS
• Explanations of correct answers on the practice test. 
• Visit:

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http://www.nycshsat.myassessmentsupport.com

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

When and how do I register?

• Registration opened on October 6 
• Registration deadline is October 30
• Families can register online at myschools.nyc, or ask their school staff for help.
• SHS Open Houses can be found on the MySchools Event Calendar
• Between October 6 and October 30, list the preference order for the up to 8 of the testing Specialized High Schools. Families/school staff will be able to indicate and update this (by resubmitting) until the registration deadline.

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Successfully submitted

• Once the registration is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email with your choices
• You can always go back and edit the registration through the October 30th deadline. 

SHSAT Test Tickets

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• Test tickets will have test date, arrival time, and location
• Locations and dates can be found at: schools.nyc.gov/SHS

schools.nyc.gov

/nycschools

Central Test Locations

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schools.nyc.gov

/nycschools

   Common misconceptions

Specialized High Schools set a cutoff score that students must meet to be considered for each school.

• False: Testing Specialized High Schools do not establish a minimum score for students to receive offers. Offers are generated based on how students score on the SHSAT, which schools the students have chosen, and how they scored amongst their peers in a testing cycle

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Testing Specialized High Schools make offers based on students’ state test scores, grades, or other biographical data.

• False: Student data outside of the SHSAT score and SHSAT preferences are not used for offers to testing Specialized High Schools. LaGuardia HS of Music, Art, and Performing Arts does use some academic information.

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

What happens after you take the SHSAT?

SHSAT answer sheets are scored

Brooklyn Latin

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Example A: Highest Scorer

• In this example, the highest scorer of the SHSAT is Student A. Student A will be considered for testing Specialized High School offers first. We saw that they had Brooklyn Latin as their first choice.
• Since Brooklyn Latin still has 100 seats, the student will receive an offer to this school.
• Their SHSAT preferences 2nd to 8th do not matter, and they cannot receive an offer there because they received an offer to their first choice.
• There are now 99 seats at Brooklyn Latin

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Example B: 2nd Highest Scorer

• In this example, the 2nd highest scorer of the SHSAT is Student B. Student B will be considered for testing Specialized High School offers second. We saw that they had Brooklyn Tech as their first choice.
• Since Brooklyn Tech still has 100 seats, the student will receive an offer to this school.
• Their SHSAT preferences 2nd to 8th do not matter, and they cannot receive an offer there because they received an offer to their first choice.
• There are now 99 seats at Brooklyn Tech.

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Example C: 500th Scorer

• In this example, the 500th student in score order of the SHSAT is Student C. Student C will be considered for testing Specialized High School offers after the 499 students that scored above them. 
• We saw that they had Brooklyn Latin and Brooklyn Tech as their first and second choices. Since there are no seats at Brooklyn Latin or Brooklyn Tech, the student will not receive an offer to either of those schools. 
• Bronx High School of Science is there third choice, and is the highest preference with seat availability. This is where they will receive an offer because Bronx Science has 10 seats left. Their 4th through 8th choices will not be considered.
• There are now 9 seats at Bronx Science, and still no seats at Brooklyn Latin or Brooklyn Tech.

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Example D: 501st Scorer

• In this example, the 501st student in score order of the SHSAT is Student D. Student D will be considered for testing Specialized High School offers after the 500 students that scored above them (including Students A, B, and C). 
• We saw that they had Brooklyn Latin and Brooklyn Tech as their first and second choices. Since there are no seats at Brooklyn Latin or Brooklyn Tech, the student will not receive an offer to either of those schools. 
• Since there are no other testing Specialized High Schools on their list, they will not receive an offer from the SHSAT. Since the deadline to update SHSAT preferences has passed, they can no longer add additional schools for consideration.
• Even though there are still seats at Bronx High School of Science, by not adding Bronx Science to their list, they did not indicate they wanted to be considered for Bronx Science.
• This would cause a situation where a student with no SHSAT offer has scored higher than another student who does have a SHSAT offer. Student D will have scored higher on the SHSAT than the students who fill the remaining 9 seats at Bronx High School of Science.
• There are still 9 seats at Bronx Science, and no seats at Brooklyn Latin or Brooklyn Tech.

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

• Once the registration is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email with your choices
• You can always go back and edit the LGA application through the December 3rd deadline. 

LaGuardia has six studios, families can apply and submit audition files for all 6. Unlike the HS application and SHSAT registration, there is NO preference order for LGA

LaGuardia High School Application 

Key Things to Know

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1. If at any time during this school year, your child changes schools, please reach out to HSEnrollment@schools.nyc.gov

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• Applications are not first come, first served. You can submit your application any time before the deadline. Just remember to resubmit the application after making edits.

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• List a mix of programs on your application. If you rank only highly competitive programs where your child has a low chance of receiving an offer, they may not match to any of their listed choices.

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• Complete any required auditions or assessments by December 4. Schools will not contact you to remind you.

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• There is no sibling priority in high school admissions! 

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

Myschools Event Calendar

• Schools are encouraged to post admissions related events in the Myschools Event Calendar which can be accessed without logging into the site. 

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• Families can filter for:
• Event Type
• Event Format
• District
• borough

schools.nyc.gov/HS 

• Visit schools.nyc.gov/HS
• High School Admissions Video Playlist 
• You can find a series of videos, including How to upload files into the additional materials tool 

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Watch Video Tutorials 

Multiples Priority

Multiples are twins, triplets, etc, who are applying to the same grade level.  

• Families with students who are participating in the same admissions process may choose to submit identical applications for their children, so they have the same random number*
• You will only need to add choices to one application.
• Before submitting the application, you will be asked if you want to add the same application choices to the other child(ren)
• Students will be matched to the stronger random number that was generated.

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There is no sibling priority in high school admissions!

*Based on the application submitted, students may not end up with the same offer. Characteristics that affect this possibility (based on admissions methods of programs on the application) are: if the students are not in the same seat group (GE vs SWD), have different Ed Opt categories, are in different screened admissions groups, or submit an assessment or audition, and only one of them ranks high enough. 

HS Admissions Virtual Information Sessions 

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• October 7, 2026|  6pm –7pm| Event held in English. Interpretation will be provided in Arabic, Bangla, Chinese (Mandarin), Russian, American Sign Language (ASL).

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• October 8, 2026| 5pm –6pm| Event held in English. Interpretation provided in French,Haitian Creole, Spanish, Urdu, ASL. 

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• October 13, 2026| 6pm-7pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in Albanian,Korean, Ukrainian, Uzbek, ASL. 

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• October 15, 2026 | 5pm –6pm| Event held in English. Interpretation provided in Arabic,Bangla, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, ASL. This event will focus on how students with disabilites (swd) participate in high school admissions. 

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• October 22,2026 | 6pm-7pm| This event will be held in Spanish. 

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• November 10, 2026 | 6pm-7pm| This event will be held in Chinese (Mandarin).

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• November 23, 2026 | 5pm –6pm| Event held in English. Interpretation provided in Bangla,Chinese (Cantonese), Russian, Spanish, ASL. 

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• Events will be held on Zoom. Link to join and details are available on our website, schools.nyc.gov/HS

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schools.nyc.gov/HS 

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QUESTIONS?

schools.nyc.gov/HS