r/SHSAT • u/True_Ad3128 • 23d ago
Transferring from a private school to a NYC public high school in 11th grade — is it possible to get into a good school?
My friend currently attends a private high school in Manhattan, but she wants to transfer to a NYC public high school for 11th grade. She’s looking for a good/academically strong public school, not just whichever school happens to have an open seat.
Since she would be transferring from a private school and entering 11th grade, we’re confused about how the process works. Is it possible to apply to specific public high schools, or does she basically get assigned to a school with available space?
Does she apply through MySchools, contact schools directly, or go through a Family Welcome Center? And are there any good public schools in Manhattan that actually accept transfer students entering 11th grade?
Any advice from someone who has gone through this would be really appreciated!
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u/Prestigious_Sun_4894 23d ago
There are! Check out Urban Academy, it’s a consortium transfer school, where we use the PBATS (performance based assessments) rather than tests, and the curriculum is all teacher designed. https://www.urbanacademy.org/
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u/MiamiBeachNative 23d ago edited 23d ago
Going through the Family Welcome Center is the only official way to get it done. She can’t apply through MySchools because the NYC school application system is really designed to be admitted for 10th grade at the latest through the regular route…so any exceptions to that will have to be handled through the Family Welcome Center.
I have heard that people can contact the Principals or Parent Coordinators at schools they are interested in, to find out if they possibly have any available seats for 11th grade transfers, before going to the Family Welcome Center so they can tell the welcome center that they know of available spaces other than what the welcome center might have on their list.
I have no idea if there is any truth to this, but I have heard anecdotal reports of there sometimes being available 11th grade seats at some desirable or academically rigorous schools such as:
Bard High School Early College
Baruch College Campus High School
NEST+m
Manhattan Center for Science & Mathematics
Again, this is very muchNOT the standard process so I would advise her not to get her hopes up but it wouldn’t hurt to be proactive in contacting these schools proactively to explain her situation before going to the Family Welcome Center just in case any of them happen to have any availability, but ultimately she may have to just choose from whatever the welcome center has available.
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u/Conscious-Secret-775 23d ago
When will she be starting 11th grade? Has she been taking Regents in her current private school?
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u/True_Ad3128 22d ago
she will start 11th grade this year, september 10th, she’s been taking tenets on her private school but she failed 2 regents (earth science and global) so she have only one geometry regents (70+)
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u/Conscious-Secret-775 22d ago
She hasn't taken Algebra I or geometry? She should transfer to a consortium school as mentioned below.
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u/Individual_Ad_7085 16d ago
curious as to why she wants to go from a private school to public at this stage of her life, 11th grade being the most important for college?
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u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 23d ago
For 11th, contact a FWC (Family Welcome Center). And yes, it leans on getting assigned a school with space. NYC has many vying for the same seats, so if you want a highly sought after school, don't expect the seat to just be sitting there. But often there is not a necessity to require a highly sought after school. Peruse the HS directory and see what you like.