Get Ready for High School Admissions

Applying to high schools this winter?

It’s time to explore the City’s 400+ public high school options!

Later this school year, students who are entering high school in fall 2022 will participate in high school admissions. While NYC’s high school application isn’t open yet, there’s still a lot you can do now, from creating your MySchools account and exploring program options, to registering for the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT).

Earlier this month, the NYC Department of Education mailed welcome letters to families with eighth grade students who are enrolled in NYC public schools. This letter includes an overview of the City’s high school and Specialized High School admissions processes as well as information regarding how to access your MySchools account.

If needed, any NYC eighth grade or first-time ninth grade student can get a copy of their welcome letter from their current school or a Family Welcome Center.

So, What’s Next?

This fall and winter, we’ll be holding a two-part series of virtual information sessions about high school admissions. Dates, times, and interpretation information for each event will be available soon on our official High School page.

Later this school year, we will announce the opening of our high school application period. In the meantime, we suggest you bookmark our official high school admissions page and check out last year’s NYC High School and Specialized High School Admissions Guide for more information about the City’s high school admissions process. Please note that some resources and information may be updated later to reflect changes for this year.

Another way you can learn about the City’s high school admissions process is to watch videos from our NYC High School Admissions Video Series—check out the “Applying to High School? Welcome!” video embedded above as well as the “How Students Get Offers to New York City Public Schools” clip below.

We also strongly recommend you start exploring the City’s high school options and see which ones interest you the most—check out our high schools directory on MySchools for info about any of the City’s 400+ high school programs. You can learn about each program’s location, student population, academic performance, and available programs including clubs, and courses. Also, when you’re logged into your MySchools account, you’ll be able to save your favorite school options by simply clicking on the star icon next to each program’s name—we recommend that you save about 25 programs. Once the application opens, you can then narrow your options down to your top 12 choices.

Finally, we suggest you (or your student) book an appointment with your school counselor to discuss your high school options—your school counselor will be your guide throughout the high school admissions process!

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Banner photo by Mary Taylor. Used under Creative Commons license. Original can be found on Pexels.