High Schools

In most American cities, families send their children to the public high school in their neighborhood. New York City is different. In fact, most people living in New York City do not have a zoned neighborhood high school. Only families who live in Staten Island, Queens, parts of Brooklyn and the Riverdale section of the Bronx have zoned high schools and are able to skip the extensive application process--if they are satisfied with their zoned school. The  families who do not have a zoned high school or are dissatisfied with their neighborhood school have to apply to either a public or private New York City high school.

Fortunately, there are more than 500 public and private high schools in the metropolitan area, and many provide an excellent education. The traditional public and private high school admissions process begins in September of your child’s 7th or 8th grade year. This requires that you make an early decision when your child is in middle school. Moreover, the public school system asks you to list up to 12 high schools to which you want to apply. If you are interested in attending a private high school, we encourage people to apply to 6 to 8 schools. Thus, you may have to start visiting schools during your child’s 7th grade year to allow your family sufficient time to visit enough high schools and decide to which schools you want to apply.</p>