Introduction to High School Admissions Mark Twain I

Introduction to High School Admissions Mark Twain I. S 239 for the Gifted and Talented

HS Admissions Timeline May-June, 2017 - receive a copy of the NYC High School Directory & Specialized High School Handbook Summer- go to HS admissions workshops; get familiar with HS programs using the HS Directory and website: www. schools. nyc. gov/High September-fill out the “Green survey”- registration for the SHSAT, La. Guardia auditions & other auditions that require pre-registration. Audition dates are on each school’s page in the HS Directory. Find each school’s open house date by contacting them directly. Attend Citywide HS Fair on 9/16 and 9/17. September-November- visit Open Houses, HS Fairs, auditions, interviews; call us with questions or make an appointment to meet October- receive HS application October (close to SHSAT administration)- receive SHSAT ticket and La. Guardia audition ticket October-November- take the SHSAT/go to La. Guardia auditions December 1 - deadline to submit HS application Mid-December- get a receipt for HS application & make corrections Early March, 2018 - receive the Round 1 result letter

HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS A Basic Overview 80, 000 Applicants REQUIRED High School Application March Late Fall Group Three Early Fall 700+ Programs at 400+ High Schools Receive HS Application from guidance counselor. Complete Application by listing 12 programs in order of preference. Return to counselor. 1 Offer* Round 2 (if necessary) YOUR CHILD OPTIONAL Specialized High Schools 8 Testing Schools La. Guardia HS Complete Specialized High School Survey; receive SHSAT and/or audition ticket(s) from guidance counselor. SHSAT Audition 1 Offer* 1 -6 Offers* *if applicable

APPLYING TO SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS Specialized Audition and SHSAT Schools Dance Fiorello H. La. Guardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts Instrumental Music Technical Theater Fine Arts Audition Drama Vocal Music The Bronx High School of Science Take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) The Brooklyn Latin School Brooklyn Technical High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at the City College of NY High School of American Studies at Lehman College Queens High School for the Sciences at York College Staten Island Technical High School Stuyvesant High School

Changes on SHSAT Standard testing time is increasing from 150 minutes to 180 minutes The verbal section is being renamed the ELA section The ELA section will no longer include scrambled paragraphs and logical reasoning questions The ELA section will now include questions that address revising/editing skills, in addition to continuing to have reading comprehension passages and questions; all ELA questions will be multiple choice questions The math section will now include five “grid-in” questions, in which students must solve a computational question and provide the correct numerical answer, rather than selecting the answer from various multiple choice options; the math section will also continue to have multiple choice word problems and computational questions

Changes on SHSAT (cont’ed) All multiple choice questions will now have 4 answer choices instead of the previous design with 5 answer choices. Each section (ELA and math) will include 57 items: 47 items in each section will be scored, with each question worth 1 raw score point, and the remaining 10 items in each section will be field test items that are not used in determining a student’s score. Scoring and the process for using test results to determine admission to the Specialized High Schools is not changing.

Specialized HS offers are based on La. Guardia SHSAT schools Test score Auditions Priority of choices Seat availability Academic review (7 th grade final report card grades, State ELA & Math test scores, attendance)

ROUND 1 HIGH SCHOOL APPLICATION Receive, Review, and Complete ü RECEIVE from us in October üREVIEW that all the information is correct üCOMPLETE by writing 12 program choices in order of preference üWhen you get a receipt, check for accuracy PAGE 1 PAGE 2

A GOOD APPLICATION LISTS 12 PROGRAMS OF INTEREST TO YOU COURSES LOCATION SIZE ACTIVITIES SCHOOL PERFORMANCE PROGRAM INTEREST AREA

Develop an informed list of 12 choices Start with a large list based on your priorities (interest areas, college & career goals, program offerings, geography, extracurricular, school performance, etc. ) Be organized- develop a calendar to attend Information Sessions/Open Houses. Contact schools directly about dates. Be prepared with a list of questions Whittle down the list after attending Citywide and/or Borough HS Fairs, Information Sessions/Open Houses Participate in auditions, if applicable

HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS Programs and Admissions Methods § You can think about programs as “doorways” through which they accept students. § If a school has multiple programs, eligible students may apply to one program, or more than one program at that school. § Programs at the same school may have different Admissions Priorities and Admissions Methods. You may decide to apply to one program over another based on its admissions information. Program #1 Program #2

HOW OFFERS ARE DETERMINED Matching Students With Programs STUDENT FACTORS Choices on Application The 12 programs listed on the application AND the order in which they are listed. Student Information* PROGRAM FACTORS Admissions Priorities The order in which applicants are considered. Admissions Methods How programs consider and match with applicants. Seat Availability Student’s academic record, audition, and/or address. *(Only for some programs) The number of seats available for applicants.

HOW OFFERS ARE DETERMINED CHOICES ON THE APPLICATION § Students should list 12 programs on their application. Listing fewer than 12 works against a student; making it less likely to yield an offer from the application. § Students should list programs in their true order of preference starting with their top choice (these choices only matter to you!). High Schools will not see where families rank them. High Schools should not ask where they’ve been ranked, or insist on ranking them first. 97% of students who listed 12 programs received an offer in Round 1! # Programs % On Application Matched 3 87% 6 91% 12 97%

PROGRAM INFORMATION

NEW YORK CITY HIGH SCHOOL DIRECTORY Admissions Priorities determine the order in which applicants are considered for placement. Continuing 8 th graders Brooklyn students residents NYC students residents

HOW OFFERS ARE DETERMINED Eligibility: Some programs are only open to certain students. Students must meet a program’s eligibility requirements to list the program on the application. Students who go to school and live outside of the Bronx are not eligible to apply to this program!

HOW OFFERS ARE DETERMINED Seat Availability § Review the number of seats in a program and the number of applicants for those seats. The number of applicants per seat will affect a student’s chances of being matched. § The average demand for programs is 6 applicants per seat. You can learn about Seat Availability in the Directory! Tip: Don’t list only programs with high demand on your Application!

HOW OFFERS ARE DETERMINED Admissions Methods An Admissions Method is the way a school program matches with applicants. Remember that students are first grouped by Admissions Priority and then considered by Admissions Method. These programs DO NOT see applicant’s school record • ZONED Based on address UNSCREENED • Random selection • • LIMITED UNSCREENED Random selection Higher priority to students who demonstrate interest (attend open houses and write your name legibly) SCREENED FOR LANGUAGE • Based on students’ English language skills and/or years in the country. These programs DO see applicant’s school record SCREENED AUDITION • Screened programs rank • Same as Screened, students using seventh grade but require an core course grades, attendance, audition. (Some and state test scores. auditions require pre • Additional requirements registration. ) Audition possible, such as portfolios or requirements, dates interviews. and times are included on school pages Tip: EDUCATIONAL OPTION (Ed. Opt) Seats reserved for students with high, medium, and low NY State ELA scores. (16% Low; 68% Mid; 16% High) • Half of seats filled by students who were ranked by the school. • Half of seats filled through random selection. Before listing a program on your Application, please check all details about that program’s Admissions Priorities and Admissions Methods in

HOW OFFERS ARE DETERMINED Selection Criteria A program’s Selection Criteria is useful to know how a student’s application compares with other applicants. This is only relevant for programs that see an applicant’s school record.

TIPS FOR A BALANCED APPLICATION A balanced application will look different for each student. Tip #1 • Before listing a program on your application, please check all details about that program’s Admissions Priorities and Admissions Methods in the High School Directory! Tip #2 • List programs on your application in order of true preference! High Schools do not see your ranking! • Do not list programs you are not interested in attending just for the sake of getting in somewhere. Tip #3 • List some programs with six or fewer applicants per seat to increase your chances of receiving an offer from your application. Put a balance of program selectivity (this increases your chance of getting an offer in Round 1) Tip #4 • Students who are eligible for a Zoned Guarantee program or a continuing school are guaranteed to receive an offer from that program if they do not match to anything higher on their application.

NEXT STEPS FOR FAMILIES Explore!!! Use the High School Directory or NYC School Finder to find schools of interest! Plan to attend High School Fairs and school open houses Citywide – September 16 and 17 Borough – October 14 and 15 Audition Surveys Specialized High School Surveys All students must return the “green survey” to the School Counselors by the deadline Start learning about high school programs today!