Apply for NYC Middle Schools by December 1

Have a student who’ll be making the transition to middle school next fall?

From now until Thursday, December 1, 2022, New York City families with students who are in their last year of elementary school (grades 5 or 6) can complete and submit a middle school application for fall 2023 admission into City middle schools (grades 6–8).

All current NYC residents who are in their last year of elementary school as a fifth grader or sixth grader can apply for City middle schools, including:

• Current public school students (district or charter schools);
• Private or parochial school students;
• Students with disabilities and/or accessibility needs;
• Multilingual learners;
• Homeschooled students;
• Students from immigrant families; and
• Residents in temporary housing.

If your student is planning on attending a City middle school next fall, please understand that the NYC middle school application provides them with their best chance of getting accepted into their school of choice.

Watch the rest of the videos in our NYC Middle School Admissions Video Series on Vimeo.

Getting Started with 2023 Middle School Admissions

Review your welcome letter and log into your MySchools account

Earlier this fall, we sent personalized welcome letters to City families of elementary school students in grades 5 (or 6) enrolled in City public schools. Each letter includes a unique account creation code that you can use to create a MySchools account (if you don’t have one already), and gain access to your personalized tools and applications. Once logged in, you will be able to search for schools, build your middle application, and submit it directly to us.

Don’t have a MySchools account? Get started by watching our “How to Create a MySchools Account” video.

Use MySchools to explore your middle school options

Through MySchools, you can discover and learn more about each of the City’s middle schools. Simply log into your MySchools account, and begin your search. You can search for schools by name, location, district/zone, program offerings, accessibility, and more. You can even save programs of interest to your “Favorites” list on MySchools. We also encourage you to check out each school information page on MySchools for links to calendars, additional admissions requirements or selection criteria (if any), and virtual tours.

Also, new this year, MySchools now has a central Event Calendar where schools will be able to list their open houses and school tours, both virtual and in-person, that are taking place throughout the fall. Check out the MySchools Event Calendar to see some of your potential options firsthand!

Rank your middle school choices

Once you’ve determined the middle schools you are eligible and interested in applying to, you can select up to 12 middle school programs for your child’s application. Rank them in your order of preference, starting with your first choice at the top of your list.

When ranking your selections, consider adding the programs where your child has an admissions priority or guarantee—you do not have to place any of these programs as your first choice to keep your priority. We also suggest you speak with your child’s school counselor regarding your application choices, as they will be able to help with your ranking order.

Another important factor to consider when ranking your choices is knowing what your child’s chances are of getting an offer to a specific program—generally, students are offered program seats based on four key factors:

• • Your application choices—Both the number of program choices you add to your child’s application, AND the order in which you place them matter. Make sure you add 12 choices to your application, and rank them in your true order of preference.
  • Seat availability—The number of available seats varies from program to program.
  • Your priority grouping—Some programs prioritize specific groups of applicants before others for admissions, such as students who live in a specific zone or district. If there are more applicants to these programs than there are seats available, these programs would then admit applicants in priority-group order. Learn which priority group your child is in for the school options you are considering—your child will most likely be in different priority groups for each program in your list.
  • The school/program’s admissions method—Some schools offer students placements based on random selections, while others, including audition and screened programs, have specific selection criteria, and then rank their applicants based on that criteria.

Submit your application by Thursday, December 1, 2022

You can submit your application in one of three ways:

• • Online through MySchools.
  • Through your current school counselor.
  • Through a Family Welcome Center.

Students who attend private, independent, or parochial schools can visit a Family Welcome Center to submit their applications or to receive a welcome letter with a MySchools account creation code.

___

Want to learn more? Visit our official Middle School webpage for the latest admissions updates and links. You can also sign up for our middle school admissions email list to have the latest updates sent right to your inbox.

Remember: the deadline to submit your NYC middle school application is on December 1, 2022, so start making your selections, and submit your application today!

On behalf of the DOE, we wish you a smooth application process!

Banner photo by RODNAE Productions. Used under Creative Commons license. Original can be found on Pexels.