Why? So few really good schools, so few seats within those schools, more and more gifted, talented and on-track students.
Need I name some? The eight specializeds that use the SHSAT take the bulk of the students: 5,000 lucky ones out of the 23,000+ that take the specialized high schools admissions test. The ninth specialized school, LaGuardia, takes 600 out of the 10,000 auditions. Townsend Harris in Queens takes about 250. Midwood in Brooklyn takes 500 in its science and humanities programs. Bard Manhattan and Bard Queens take 120 each. NEST+m has room for 120, but that includes those that continue on from its middle school.
There are about 30 more schools considered "noteworthy" on the list at the insideschools website, and a few more good ones beyond that.
More than 80,000 eighth graders apply for public high school each year.
About That Application Process…
So you go on all the tours and open houses; you spend six months on SHSAT test prep; you take art, drama, music and dance training after school and perfect audition techniques; you try to remember your interests and memorable experiences for the interview and essays; you get the teachers who can write the best recommendations — oh, and you maintain a 90+ average and perfect attendance in 7th grade.
Finally, you strategically rank the schools based on realistic qualifications, preference, location in descending order, making sure to not overreach too much and making sure that every school is one you can live with, right down to the lowest ranked choice.
You put at least ten schools on the general application.
You can do all the right things, and still, through a computer algorithm, you won't get into a school that you're qualified for. You could be one of the 7,000 who gets no match.
Neither parent nor child should take it personally.
The schools have a limited number of seats. They use a process where there are no names, just numbers. They rank the students who have listed the school as first or second choice. This is the only time in the selection process where human subjectivity takes place.
The selection committees could be looking for a certain way with words in an attached essay, or a certain level of enthusiasm in an interview or audition (very introverted kids who can't be drawn out need not apply, probably).
Weak Spot: A major flaw in the interview/audition process is that the committees may subconsciously select the better-looking candidates. It can't be helped and it's hard to overcome. (So put on that big, genuine, authentic smile and remember that kids are cute —and since you're a kid…)
The computer then takes a school and finds all student applications that ranked that school first. It compares applications with the school's list and makes placements with the highest on both sides. A very popular school will finish with the selection process quickly because a large number of applicants met the criteria and those students also chose the school as first.
Any leftover seats will likely fill using the second choice slots on the applications. If there any spaces left after that, applicants' third choices will be placed, and so on, until kids start falling through the cracks.
Fast forward to March. Then comes appeal time, where the most insistent and persistent persevere to find a school with which the child and parent can live.
Re Specialized High Schools…
As for specialized high schools that require the SHSAT, acceptances are solely based on score and where the school is ranked on the test application. The cut off score changes slightly every year. Stuyvesant requires the highest score and has approximately 800 available seats. The schools with the lowest score requirement are Brooklyn Tech (1,500 seats) Brooklyn Latin (100).
The computer notes the scores of all students taking the SHSAT. It finds out who ranked Stuyvesant as first. The approximately 820 highest scores get their match ("overbooking" is done, as not everyone will go). The score of the 820th student who chose the school first is the cut off score for Stuyvesant, and thus the varying cut off score from year to year. Bronx Science and American Studies will be in the next rung with lower cut offs, and so on till the Latin places its 100 people.
Here's where people make a mistake: A student is not certain they want to list a school with a high cut off as first on their list. They choose Brooklyn Tech first, Brooklyn Latin second and put Bronx Science third. Pessimistically, Stuyvesant is not on the form at all, as they don't think they'll do that well. They take the test and surpass Stuyvesant's cutoff — behold! They actually really did well on the test, better than they expected! Since they have the high score, they think they will be placed into Stuyvesant or all they have to do is appeal.
Nope; because it's not first on the test application; as a matter of fact, it's not there at all.
Well, surely they'll get Bronx Science; that was on their application and they beat that cut off easily.
Not gonna happen. The ranking is absolute. They met and surpassed the cut off score of their first choice, so they will be offered a seat at their first choice. When they ranked Bronx Science third, they wasted a slot on their application.
Lesson learned: on the SHSAT application, rank the schools with the highest cut off first, as long as you like that school a little. Please only include the schools that are truly appealing and realistic — eg, a Douglaston, Queens resident should think twice about putting Staten Island Tech on their application unless they have a consistent, reliable, easy form of roundtrip transportation for four years. That's one tough commute.
All the specialized high schools offer a great education; aim high by ranking highest first. You never know. But to be realistic: it takes copious amounts of test preparation (or the rare equivalent innate ability) in order to score high. And with so many others studying as much as you, be ready to not meet the cut off of your highest ranked choice. It can be done, however; so study and do your best!
So back to my claim that it's easier to find a very good college than to get into a good New York Ctiy high school.
College vs. New York City High School
Yes, 35,000 people apply to Harvard for 1900 seats, about a 5% acceptance rate. Most of the 23,000+ SHSAT test-takers rank Stuyvesant on their test applications, but Stuyvesant can only accept 800, less than 3%.
And on the general side, here are the most-applied to non-specialized high schools for the 2010-11 school year, from GothamSchools on March 31, 2011. Most of those schools listed have less than 400 seats and average 4,500 applicants each. So many applicants, so few seats.
Assuming that Harvard is one of the colleges with the worst application-to-acceptance ratio, that means that it's harder to get into a specialized high school than most renowned colleges, even the Ivy Leagues.
So What Point Is It to Rub These Potentially-Depressing Facts in a Student/Parent's Face?
First, it is to bring everyone down to reality. Every 85-average child can dream of attending a Midwood or Harris; every singer could be good enough for LaGuardia; getting a 530 on a SHSAT proves they can handle the workload at Stuyvesant. Reality comes in once they know that there are hundreds of children just like them. Whether they get a seat or not depends on how many are in line ahead of them in the computer's database.
Some years there will be more ahead of them; some years, there'll be less. Brace yourself.
Second, this is to open the eyes of dreamers and bring more attention to the other schools in the next popularity tier — very good and a better match for someone who truthfully can't handle rigorous work due to having a history of 80 averages. Those kids would drown in an very, very advanced school. The level of discouragement could cripple an academic career.
Third, it's to get readers to reconsider not ranking those extremely popular schools so low on the list. Instead, substitute other, slightly less competitive schools that are still appealing. No way will a tiny school like NEST+m have any seats left for someone who ranks it third on an application.
Fourth reason is to be grateful and look on the bright side of attending public schools in New York City: Choice. So many choices, so many opportunities to explore new neighborhoods, new people, new subjects; so many chances to study an interest and/or talent in depth; so much freedom, so much confidence and independence built by traveling; so much to learn by meeting, accepting and making friends with new people.
Basically, this list of complaints ultimately shows how lucky a New Yorker is, and that the selection process, done by a computer, is objective and fair, even if there are not enough good seats for every smart kid (the real problem!).
Even if there are more great colleges in the country than great schools in New York City.
