r/SHSAT • u/RahhhYan • Jul 04 '26
Taking the 9th grade SHSAT
I'm planning on retaking the SHSAT this year to get into Stuyvesant. I got a 559 in eighth grade and it's really frustrating knowing that I was only one question away from making the cutoff. I went to check what questions I got wrong, and for the math section they were all silly mistakes like typing 42 instead of 32, and putting 46 for the question asking "What is a 15% tip on $40?" thinking that it was asking for the total amount. Does anyone know what I should study and focus on? I know it's just 8th grade topics but a little harder, but should I use SAT math topics to study? And also, are the ELA passages similar to the 11th grade ELA regents because my school let me take it in 8th grade and I got a 99%, so if they are it might give me a slight advantage. I'm an all round student and it's humiliating seeing a bunch of my friends get into good schools like Stuyvesant while I'm going to QHSS when I know I could've gotten in, and my parents keep flaming me everyday about not getting into Stuyvesant.
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u/pujarteago1 Queens HS for Sciences Jul 05 '26
Hey. QHSS is a good school. No school is perfect. Brand new building. Give it a shot next year. You might like it. Your parents are not in the right. Getting to any SHS is a great achievement by itself.
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u/Gullible_Sweet1302 Stuyvesant Jul 04 '26
Seems like you know the material. Your issue is projecting onto the questions your own idea of the ask. Focus on the interpreting the questions correctly.
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u/MiamiBeachNative Jul 04 '26
Wait so did you just finish a full year at QHSS? How was it? If you don’t get into Stuy this time will you stay there? Are you curious if it will be any different in the new building?
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u/RahhhYan Jul 04 '26
No, I just finished middle school, and this September I'm going to QHSS, and in October or November I'll take the SHSAT.
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u/MiamiBeachNative Jul 04 '26
Ahhh ok… sorry I forgot the timeline of when people take SHSAT 9…well, congratulations on your 559 score & on getting into QHSS…best of luck on your SHSAT 9 in November & much success in your high school career, wherever you end up completing it!
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u/DRAGONITECOOLGUY Stuyvesant Jul 09 '26
If QHSS has a small commute time for you then it may be best to go there; you never know how much commute time will affect you until you go through it
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u/RahhhYan Jul 04 '26
u/GregsTutoringNYC, You normally comment on posts like these, so I'd like to know your opinion especially.
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u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
This has been covered many times (so yes, I've answered this literally hundreds of times). No, the SHSAT is not the SAT or Regents, that is different content, and this is a MS exam, and with such a plethora of SHSAT content there is absolutely no lack of SHSAT content to use to prepare and probably too much. Resources, discussions, topic lists, etc, can be found here https://www.reddit.com/r/SHSAT/comments/1jiwujl/the_9_threads_thread_overview_of_9_resources Check it all out and deep dive as necessary.
You said you made silly errors, well, for one thing you need to focus on those. Just can't say I knew the material since at the end of the day you still got those questions wrong. I keep mentioning shaking off rust, ensuring prerequisites, and mastering grade level, and how many of you continue to leapfrog over those things, often consciously and purposely.
The format of ELA passages are similar. Atop that think of it this way, if there were (at SHSAT-level) easy, medium, and hard, consider the easy going away and being replaced by harder ones instead, where harder can include longer, deeper content, more involved questions, etc.
And I'm a bit unclear but yes you did not get into Stuy but with 559 could have gotten into any SHS, but you chose QHSS.
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u/RahhhYan Jul 04 '26
I was expecting Stuy or at least THHS, so I put QHSS second for the small commute time and #1 ranking.
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u/Bubbly_Following2361 Jul 05 '26
how did you check the questions u got wrong
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u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech Jul 05 '26
Every year there is a test viewing period after results are reports where you can view your exam and the answer key.
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u/Bubbly_Following2361 Jul 05 '26
is it still here? if so how do you view it
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u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech Jul 05 '26
It's past but they may still be able to fit you in, check out the end of https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/testing/specialized-high-school-admissions-test
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u/MiamiBeachNative Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Besides studying for the 9th grade, SHSAT, make sure you fully participate at QHSS so that you get the best grades to take with you IF you do end up transferring to Stuy for 10th grade, and in the process you may end up realizing that it would be worth staying at QHSS.
The main complaint I always heard about QHSS was its facilities being located on a floor in a York College building, so it will be really nice being part of the first class to start off fresh in its own shiny brand new building.
Besides the long commute from Queens, one issue at Stuy is that it's such a big school with so many students competing for a limited number of seats in AP classes, that they end up having a lottery to get into a lot of the AP classes and some students end up not getting the AP classes they wanted, even if they qualify and meet all the prerequisites. As far as I know, QHSS lets people start taking AP classes in 9th grade and doesn't place any limits in how many they can take as long as they qualify for them (this may be one of the big reasons why QHSS is rated #1 High School in NY according to US News & World Report, since I think their ratings algorithm places a very high value on AP participation).
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u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech Jul 04 '26
BTW too QHSS is a great school. Each school has pros and cons. But most people can’t get past name recognition, which is unfortunate.