nyc high school admissions

Congratulations BEAM NYC 9th Graders!

Each year, New York City’s rising freshman apply to high school, and last year was a year unlike any other.

The high school admissions process in New York City marks a pivotal step in students’ academic careers. Unlike in most other school districts, all New York City public school students must apply to high school. What school a student attends determines a lot about what opportunities they will have, including opportunities to study advanced math and science that will prepare them to study STEM in college. Consider, for example, that most high schools in New York City don’t offer precalculus, much less calculus. BEAM works with students and families to ensure that students can successfully navigate the application process and apply to high schools with strong course offerings and good support, which open the most doors to a successful STEM career.

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Helping Students Navigate High School Admissions

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On September 21, BEAM hosted its annual High School Information Session to help BEAM 8th graders and their families navigate the New York City high school admissions process.

BEAM staff broke down the application process step by step, while four BEAM high schoolers talked about their admissions experiences.

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Hawa, who is now in 9th grade at Beacon High School, told BEAM students: "Keep in contact with the BEAM staff because they will help you if you have an issue. When I was applying to Beacon, I almost did not apply, but because the BEAM staff helped me with my mailing, I was able to get accepted."

What’s next for BEAM 8th graders?

BEAM staff are meeting one-on-one with 8th graders and their families to develop their lists of prospective high schools. (BEAM offers advising in Spanish, Chinese, and English.)

Since August, students have also been taking Saturday classes to prepare for the SHSAT and to work on writing admissions essays for selective high schools.

 BEAM staff will also be taking students on school visits soon, and will review students’ final school rankings with them before they are submitted in December.

 For families who missed the High School Information Session, another session is planned for November.