High School Guide

Explore the SIFT Advisor and Top 10 Lists (above) for ideas on finding schools and programs that may interest your student.

If you are completely new to the high school process, please read the guide below.

Section 1: Basics

Applying to high schools
There are three ways to apply to high schools. You may choose more than one of these ways during the high school application process.

1. High school application: Students submit up to 12 different programs which they are interested in, ranked in order of preference.
2. SHSAT school application: Students must take the SHSAT test and submit their list of specialized schools, ranked in order of preference.
3. LaGuardia high school application: Students can apply to a maximum of six programs offered at LaGuardia High School.

Schools and Programs
There are over 400 public high schools in NYC that offer over 700 different programs. When compiling your list for the common high school application, your student will be applying to a specific program at a school. This means that it is possible to have multiple applications to a single high school. Every school offers a liberal arts education program, but can also offer additional programs that fall into one or more of the following interest areas:

• Animal science
• Architecture
• Business
• Communications
• Computer science and technology
• Cosmetology
• Culinary arts
• Engineering
• Environmental science
• Film/video
• Health professions
• Hospitality, travel, and tourism
• JROTC
• Law and government
• Performing arts
• Performing arts/visual art and design
• Project-based learning
• Science and math
• Teaching
• Visual art and design

Section 2: Admissions

There are a certain amount of available seats for every program. How those seats are filled is determined by the program’s admissions method. The different admissions methods are as follows:

• Open: Admission order will be determined by the student’s "Application Random Number", commonly referred to as their "lottery number".
• Ed. Opt.: Available seats for this program will be split equally among three tiered groups (determined by academic scores): High, Middle, and Low. Admission order within these groups will be determined by the student’s lottery number.
• Screened: A student’s screened tier group is determined by academic scores. Admission order will start with the highest tier and by the student’s lottery number within that tier group. Some programs may require additional screening material to determine admission order, such as an essay.
• Audition: Admission will require an audition dependent on the art discipline that is being applied to.
• SHSAT: Admission is based on SHSAT score results. If you would like help in preparing for the SHSAT, below are some of the free prep programs offered in NYC:
  • NYC DOE DREAM - A Saturday and summer program offered to eligible 7th grade NYC public school students.
    Application deadline: Usually sometime in January.
  • StuyPrep - Free virtual and/or in-person instruction brought together by the Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association and current Stuy students.
    Application deadline: Usually until March.
  • Helicon Inc. - Non-profit offers free prep for Black and Latina girls.
    
  • DREAMChasers - 7th grade prep program for low income students.
    Application deadline: Usually sometime in January.

Section 3: Special Considerations

• DIA (Diversity In Admissions): There are currently 44 schools that reserve seats for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.
• Students with disabilities: If you are a student with a disability, the DOE offers various programs depending on the student’s needs. The DOE offers the following specialized programs: District 75, ASD Nest, ASD Horizon, and ACES. You can search for these schools with the filter on NYC-SIFT.
• Screened Language: Some programs are reserved for students with specific language requirements.

Section 4: Choosing a Program

Find out as much information about programs and schools as possible! Attend open houses when they are announced in the fall. The DOE also collects data from every school in the form of academic statistics and surveys. All of these surveys and statistics are easily accessible directly on every school or program page on NYC-SIFT.

When deciding which programs to list on your application, also consider your student’s designations such as lottery number, screened group, or lunch status because those may affect their chances of receiving an offer from that program. By using the "My info" feature, NYC-SIFT can calculate your student’s chances of receiving an offer based on the previous year’s applicant pool.

Offers
The high school application deadline is usually in early December and high school offers are released in March of the following year.

Click for an explanation by the DOE on how students get offers.

Students can also receive an offer from the waitlist process. Students are automatically waitlisted at higher-ranked programs that did not send them an offer in March. Students on waitlists will be given a new lottery number for each waitlist they are on. For example, if a student is given an offer from their 5th ranked school in March, they will be automatically placed on each waitlist for the schools they ranked 1 through 4. They may receive an offer from one of those schools before the school year begins in September.

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Section 5: Next Steps

Now you can start searching! If you have no idea where to start, use the NYC-SIFT advisor, which will ask for some basic information about your student and interests. The advisor will build a suggestion list of up to 30 schools, which is partially based on programs that were popular with students who took our survey in December 2023. You can also get ideas from the Top 10 Lists.

Make sure you mark your favorites in event calendar and check if they have open houses on the event calendar. Many schools announce their open house schedule in October.

Use other online resources to supplement your search!

• Join the Facebook Group "Applying to High School in NYC"
• The DOE’s official website, MySchools may contain additional information on programs and schools.