MANHATTAN — Nearly 35,000 of New York's eighth graders — or 45 percent of them — can breathe a sigh of relief, along with their families.
These were the fortunate students who got into their first choice high school during the city's Round 1 admissions, Department of Education officials announced Tuesday. The number was down slightly from last year's 47 percent.
For those unhappy with their offers or those who missed out on applying, the clock has started ticking for Round 2. Students have until March 21 to apply for the second round.
Round 2 also includes the DOE's 10 planned new small high schools. These schools were not part of the first round and include such programs as the Inwood Early College for Health and Information Technologies (which was developed in partnership with Microsoft, NY Presbyterian Hospital and Guttman Community College) and Queens Village's Business Technology Early College High School (where students will have up to six years to get a free Associate's degree), according to the DOE's new school directory.
Round 2 offers will be sent in May. An offer from Round 2 takes the place of a Round 1 offer — meaning students don't get to choose between Round 1 and Round 2 offers.
City officials said the overwhelming majority of students usually received one of their top choices of the 12 they can rank: 84 percent of 77,043 eighth-grade students were accepted to one of their top five school choices this year. It was the ninth straight year that more 80 percent were accepted into one of their top choices.
"It's our goal to ensure every student has a great high school to attend," Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said in a statement, "and with over 80 percent of students placed in one of their preferred options, we're thrilled to accommodate so many children in their top choices."
Students also received admission letters to the city's eight specialized high schools, including Stuyvesant and Bronx Science. Of the 28,000 students who took the exam for these elite programs, 5,096 received offers. Another 970 students received offers to programs at the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, which admits students based on auditions and academic records.
For families faced with the challenge of deciding on an offer, six app developers — FindtheBest, InsideSchools, Noodle, Unigo, Admitted.ly and Vital.AI — are available to help inform school choices.
These six apps were awarded $12,000 each as part of the DOE's School Choice Design Challenge, and have easily digestible information ranging from a school's SAT scores and college enrollment rates to transportation and school environment.
The DOE will host a high school fair for Round 2 of admissions on Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Campus in Manhattan, 122 Amsterdam Ave., at 66th Street.
