The Fine Nine
These elite public schools admit those students who score highest on special exams and rank among the highestperforming secondary schools nationwide.
1Stuyvesant High School 345 CHAMBERS ST., MANHATTAN ADMISSION: SHSAT EXAM ENROLLMENT ......................... 3,365 GRADUATION RATE ............ 98.6% COLLEGE READY .................. 98.6% COLLEGE ENROLLMENT ..... 84.3% % TAKING SAT ...................... 96.1% AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE .... 2138 AP PASS RATE ....................... 89.1%
A gleaming, 10-story Battery Park City building houses the most sought-after of the city’s specialized high schools. Last year, 22,393 eighth-graders applied for its 814 freshman seats.
The Stuyvesant curriculum has centered on science, math and technology for more than a century, but it offers advanced courses in every academic discipline, with 27 APs and intriguing electives like Physics of Music, Mathematical Analysis of Sports, and Asian American Literature.
New advanced language classes have students creating dramatic works and 35mm films in French or Spanish.
Stuy students win honors of all sorts. Last year’s senior class included 104 National Merit Scholars — more than any other public school in the city — and a school team took third place in the FIRST International Robotics Competition in China.
This year, the school is expanding its research classes to help students develop original projects in math, chemistry, physics, and biology, and it will launch a new research track focusing on the social sciences — all with an eye toward helping kids qualify for the prestigous Regeneron (formerly Intel) Science Talent Search.
Along with their heavy workloads, students play in 10 musical groups, including a full symphonic band and two choruses; run 190 clubs; and compete in 42 PSAL sports, from fencing to football. 2High School of American Studies at Lehman College 2925 GOULDEN AVE., THE BRONX ADMISSION: SHSAT EXAM ENROLLMENT ............................ 377 GRADUATION RATE .............. 100% COLLEGE READY ................... 100% COLLEGE ENROLLMENT ..... 96.9% % TAKING SAT ...................... 89.6% AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE .... 2021 AP PASS RATE .......................... 99%
Every course is honors-level and above at HSAS, the city’s only specialized high school devoted primarily to history and the humanities. Located on the Lehman College campus in the Kingsbridge neighborhood, on the edge of the Jerome Park Reservoir, HSAS is also the smallest of the specialized schools. No one is anonymous here, and the atmosphere is more cooperative than competitive.
Students delve deeply into history, devoting three years to AP U.S. History and two years to AP World History, plus required courses in economics and government. They spend that extra time, developing college-level analytical skills by researching topics from multiple perspectives as well as write extensively, and travel to Boston, Washington D.C., and other historic cities for onsite discovery.
Full access to Lehman’s library and its specialized journals and databases gives students all the materials they need to accomplish their research. HSAS students also have entrée to the college’s up-to-date gym, and can take free Lehman College classes for credit
Small size and heavy workload means a limited range of sports
and debate, extracurriculars.mock trial, and Vigorousmodel UN programs befit a school filled with potential attorneys and diplomats, but the dance team and student-run band are popular, too . 3 Staten Island Technical High School 485 CLAWSON ST., STATEN ISLAND ADMISSION: SHSAT EXAM ENROLLMENT ......................... 1,312 GRADUATION RATE ............. 99.7% COLLEGE READY .................. 99.7% COLLEGE ENROLLMENT ..... 88.5% % TAKING SAT .......................... 99% AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE ..... 2011 AP PASS RATE ...................... 94.2%
Challenging college prep with a technical emphasis brings gifted students to this spirited New Dorp school. The applied sciences are especially strong here; kids can earn CTE certifications in engineering or scientific research, and the year-old MakerSpace and Incubator program has already propelled a team of student entrepreneurs into a money-making deal to develop an audio “mod” for Motorola smartphones.
A freshman writing intensive is required, and all students study at least three years of Russian — a school tradition since its founding in 1988. Everyone takes two to three years of AP social studies courses beginning in freshman year.
The intense science curriculum includes upper-level courses in biotechnology and forensic science, as well as a full slate of science APs. All students take four years of mathematics, including calculus. Pre-engineering coursework includes robotics, AutoCAD, and digital-analog electronics.
The focus on work-based learning means regular career talks and job shadowing opportunities. More than a third of Tech’s student body participated in paid internships last
summer.
Extracurriculars include scores of clubs and activities, 46 PSAL teams, and eight bands. 4Bronx High School of Science 75 W. 205TH ST., BRONX ADMISSION: SHSAT EXAM ENROLLMENT ......................... 2,979 GRADUATION RATE ............. 99.7% COLLEGE READY .................. 99.7% COLLEGE ENROLLMENT ..... 97.4% % TAKING SAT ...................... 95.5% AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE .... 2036 AP PASS RATE ...................... 88.8%
Founded in 1938 and the very model of a high-achieving STEM-focused high school, this Kingsbridge legend has produced not only more Nobel Prize winners than any secondary school in the world. Spider-Man actor Tom Holland went undercover as a Bronx Science student last year to develop his Peter Parker character.
High-achievers come for an exacting program that offers an astounding 33 AP courses and college-level “post-AP” classes in topics like multivariable calculus and genetics. Incoming freshmen take a writingand-research class, as well as courses in engineering and computer coding. Eight languages, including Korean and modern Greek, are on offer.
The school fosters independent research in all disciplines, and students regularly snag national awards – seven were named Intel Science Talent Search semifinalists in 2016. Those interested in social sciences like economics and psychology can join a threeyear program to develop projects and publish in their fields.
The school has more than 70 clubs and 40-plus sports, including cricket and lacrosse. 5Queens High School for the Sciences at York College 94-50 159TH ST., QUEENS ADMISSION: SHSAT EXAM ENROLLMENT ............................ 462 GRADUATION RATE ................. 99% COLLEGE READY ...................... 99% COLLEGE ENROLLMENT ..... 88.7% % TAKING SAT ...................... 97.1% AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE ..... 1962 AP PASS RATE ...................... 87.6%
This school is a small, nurturing learning community with a global accent. Students hail from more than a dozen countries — including Bangladesh, Poland, Nigeria, and Peru — and most are bilingual. The diversity reflects the borough of Queens itself, and the Jamaica neighborhood where the school is based.
Students juggle four years of English, history, math and
science, three years of a foreign language. and electives in theater, music, dance, or visual art. Some add research electives in science or math. The school offers 11 AP courses, including English literature, calculus, and physics.
Students have free access to the facilities of CUNY’s York College -- across the street --and take advantage of York’s food court, pool, library, and gym.
Clubs vary each year, but the school schedule carves out a period each Friday devoted to extra-curriculars. Recent clubs have focused on knitting, film, and digital photography. Six PSAL teams include swimming, bowling, and handball. 6High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College 138 CONVENT AVE., MANHATTAN ADMISSION: SHSAT EXAM ENROLLMENT ............................ 463 GRADUATION RATE ............. 99.3% COLLEGE READY .................. 99.3%
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT ..... 96.8% % TAKING SAT ...................... 86.7% AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE 1914 AP PASS RATE ...................... 94.8%
Housed in a Gothic revival building on the City College campus in Harlem, this school’s challenging curriculum focuses on STEM subjects without neglecting the humanities.
Students choose one of three concentrations after sophomore year: engineering, biomedical research, or math. Each offers impressive opportunities to explore the field of study. Biomed students, for example, spend senior year at two clinical or laboratory internships at the Mount Sinai Medical Center and produce research papers for entry into major science competitions. Engineering majors are eligible for paid research internships at CCNY’s Grove School of Engineering.
Almost all students take German, “the language of engineering,” as their foreign language.
After school, kids may create small robots in the Arduino club or sing their hearts out in a club devoted to a capella. There are nine PSAL teams, including baseball, softball, and outdoor track.
7 Brooklyn Technical High School 29 FORT GREENE PL., BROOKLYN ADMISSION: SHSAT EXAM ENROLLMENT ......................... 5,682 GRADUATION RATE ............. 97.9% COLLEGE READY .................. 97.8% COLLEGE ENROLLMENT ..... 90.2% % TAKING SAT ...................... 94.7% AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE 1891 AP PASS RATE ...................... 85.8%
The city’s largest specialized school by far, Brooklyn Tech offers all the activities and options of a big traditional high school — and then some — for a building full of gifted minds.
That means 18 technical or scientific “majors,” the nation’s most extensive selection of AP classes, and a dizzying array of specialized classrooms and equipment, from flight simulators to a two-story workshop where architecture students can build a full-size model house. The school fills a multi-story, block-wide Fort Greene building and boasts an Olympic-size swimming pool.
Each “major” has its own demanding list of required courses, but AP classes and an array of electives in the arts, theater, music, and dance are open to all.
There are ore than 40 athletic teams, including fencing and lacrosse, and a PSAL-champion wrestling team. Scores of clubs focus on everything from cosplay to yoga. 8The Brooklyn Latin School 223 GRAHAM AVE., BROOKLYN ADMISSION: SHSAT EXAM ENROLLMENT............................. 724 GRADUATION RATE............... 95.7% COLLEGE READY..................... 95.7% COLLEGE ENROLLMENT........ 89.9% % TAKING SAT.......................... 97.4% AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE.. 1806 I% EARNING IP DIPLOMA....... 37%
Unique among the specialized schools for its classical focus and structured curriculum, Brooklyn Latin embodies an ancient approach to learning.
The nation’s oldest public school, Boston Latin, provides the model — as well as 385 years of tradition. That means uniforms, four years of Latin language study, an emphasis on declamation (public speaking) and rhetoric, and a solid grounding in the classics: Virgil, Cicero, Ovid, and more.
A special tradition is a threeday camping trip for incoming freshmen, and another three-day retreat for graduating seniors.
The Williamsburg school also follows the rigorous International Baccalaureate curriculum – another anomaly among the city’s specialized schools. Students don’t take AP courses, but an IB curriculum that includes the theory of knowledge and the arts. They study English, history, science, math, and language all four years; perform hundreds of hours of community and social service; and produce a capstone research paper or project.