THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
The test is the sole criterion for admission.
Other test scores, grades, and connections do not help. If your child does not have straight A’s, he or she can still gain admission to
one of the specialized high schools. If your child does have straight A’s, he or she may not get in. It may seem unfair—and it
certainly puts a lot of pressure on the test takers—but it’s the most objective method the Board of Education could devise to open the
admissions process to all applicants.
Only students prepared to attend one of the specialized science high schools should take the SHSAT.
Your child should not take the SHSAT just to see how he or she would do. Only students who are serious about attending one of the
specialized high schools should take the test. Any student who is admitted to one of these schools is expected to attend. Make sure
that your child is serious about this commitment before taking the test.
Applying to more than one specialized high school increases your child’s chances of admission.
The application asks the applicant to rank his or her choices of schools. If your child is interested in all of the schools, he or she
should indicate an order of preference. Obviously, applying to six schools increases an applicant’s odds of being admitted into one.
However, this does not mean that all applicants should apply to all of the schools. Consider issues such as location and school size
when making this decision. Think very seriously about how long a commute is acceptable.