High School Guide: Admissions, reviews, and advice

Honestly, you only need one choice to get in.
From what I’ve gathered, pretty much everyone just applies to all six possible schools right out of the gate. Then they just play the hand they're dealt based on their GPA. I mean, let's be real—nobody is actually sitting there refreshing the admissions portal every five minutes until the very last second, praying they stay just above or below the cutoff line for their third or fourth choice. That sounds exhausting!
And my point wasn't really about how many applications are necessary, but rather why there's such a massive surge of people flooding the most popular programs. It’s pretty simple: everyone follows the same strategy. They pick six programs based on what they want—say, five specialized majors and one general major just as a safety net. Or something along those lines...

mellowskipper said:They do—but even with that, it’s been noted that for those top three majors, you're mostly looking at kids who are already scoring high enough to get into the elite prep schools. They end up taking 26 students per class across three different departments, I guess.

I guess since the portfolio review counts for more than grades, someone could totally ace the practical part and make it in, even if their GPA isn't quite prep school level.

stormymarlin22 said:I guess since the portfolio review counts for more than grades, someone could totally ace the practical part and make it in, even if their GPA isn't quite prep school level.

That’s what I thought too, at least initially—but no, they just laid it out there, plain and simple, without any sugarcoating or cushioning the blow. It doesn't make much sense to me, honestly, but whatever.
The thing is, my kid has decent enough grades—she passes with Bs—but this whole situation has been absolutely exhausting because, apparently, her GPA won't even count toward getting into the academy.
I suppose we'll just see how things shake out when entrance exams roll around—whatever happens, happens.
Though, if she cracks under the pressure mentally... well, that's another story entirely.

I just checked, and you definitely need a ton of points to get in—like, maybe 160 or 170. I think the portfolio review covers about 120 points, but who knows what their actual criteria look like..

Wait, please, does enrollment usually wrap up by July 20th every year?

I need to get something booked for next summer😂

The dates are out, though they dropped them before the public hearings even happened. I guess it doesn't really matter, though—probably won't change anything anyway..

I mean, just speaking generally, do you think everything will usually be wrapped up by July 15th? 😁

rowdypanther12 said:I mean, just speaking generally, do you think everything will usually be wrapped up by July 15th? 😁

Well, I was told that the online registration period wraps up by July 15th—at least, that’s what I heard—though I suppose there might be some technicalities later on. It's possible that a few vocational schools might end up requesting some additional paperwork or an in-person visit sometime the following week... maybe, if they feel like being difficult.
I was just wondering about how the annual leave process works—since I really need to get my vacation days logged into the system.

stormymarlin22 said:I just checked, and you definitely need a ton of points to get in—like, maybe 160 or 170. I think the portfolio review covers about 120 points, but who knows what their actual criteria look like..

Yeah, the portfolio review is worth a maximum of 120 points.
They're obviously going to pick the top 26 applicants. As for the specific criteria—well, I don't know—but I imagine they'll be pretty strict.

Quick question—what’s the highest possible grade point average here? I'm not quite sure which specific classes are being factored into the calculation or how many there actually are total.

Carl Bishop2 said:Quick question—what’s the highest possible grade point average here? I'm not quite sure which specific classes are being factored into the calculation or how many there actually are total.

80!
They look at English, math, and social studies, and then they pick three additional subjects depending on the specific school and the student's track... basically, it's just based on the GPA from fifth and sixth grade...

rustyowl7 said:80!
They look at English, math, and social studies, and then they pick three additional subjects depending on the specific school and the student's track... basically, it's just based on the GPA from fifth and sixth grade...

The criteria include English, math, and a first foreign language—which could be Spanish instead of English (that's how it works in some districts here)—plus the cumulative GPA from fifth through eighth grade, calculated to two decimal places.

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Carl Bishop2 said:Quick question—what’s the highest possible grade point average here? I'm not quite sure which specific classes are being factored into the calculation or how many there actually are total.

To be as precise as possible, here is how they calculate the total:
- The averages from 5th through 8th grade, rounded to two decimal places → this accounts for a maximum of 20 points.
- Final grades at the end of 7th and 8th grade for English, Math, the first foreign language, plus three additional subjects—two based on the school's curriculum and one elective chosen by the school itself → this adds up to a maximum of 30 points per grade level (so 60 points total for both years).

+ Extra credit from competitions (strictly academic contests + school sports), though keep in mind that not all schools weigh these the same way. It really depends on the specific school's policy regarding which national-level competitions qualify for extra points; they always look exclusively at state-wide rankings.

chiquita said:she’ll probably need to absolutely crush that math entrance exam too, just to rack up enough points.

so, if anyone can tell me how to actually stay sane for the next month and a half—please, someone help me out...

Don't take this the wrong way, but look, if she doesn't pass the entrance exam for some specific high school, it just means it isn't the right fit for her, and honestly, it's better that way because enrolling would just mean she'd be miserable the whole time.

My kid was applying to high schools last year and went for an entrance exam at a specialized prep academy—he's actually decent at math, though God knows why he even bothered applying there in the first place—and he didn't make the cut. In my view, that's a perfectly clear sign that the school wasn't meant for him, and I've seen plenty of cases where kids who were straight-A students signed up for these elite academies only to end up struggling through a nightmare of a curriculum.

As for the enrollment process itself, based on everything I read in the news, browsing various forums, and listening to people vent, I had prepared myself for this to be a massive, soul-crushing ordeal filled with disappointment, especially since my son was a top student in middle school, even if he wasn't quite at the very top of the class, so I expected getting into a prestigious prep school to be a total struggle, but in the end, things turned out to be completely fine.

He handled the whole thing himself, from filling out the applications and showing up for the exams to dealing with the final enrollment steps. I only really hopped onto the application portal after the results were being shuffled around just to see what the interface looked like. And don't even get me started on the fact that I certainly wasn't sitting there studying, writing papers, or prepping him during eighth grade, or any other year for that matter. I truly have no idea what parents who micromanage every single assignment for their kids during middle school think will happen when they hit high school. 🤷 You're all just going to burn out together.

When you're looking at high school options, I'd suggest considering some of those less intense, more standard public high schools; if a specific elite academy is the goal, I suspect any top-tier student will find a place somewhere, but you really have to remember that your kid needs a social life, they need time to themselves, and they need time to actually rest instead of just living in a constant state of academic burnout.

Hi there,
Quick question: besides the Harvard Kennedy School, are there any other high schools in the area with a STEM track that offers a curriculum entirely in English?
Thanks!

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High school in Chicago also has an English-track class...

Great, thanks for getting back to me!

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I don't think MIOC offers an English track, as far as I know. They have an IB program, but that’s not quite the same thing as a math and science academy.

stormymarlin22 said:I don't think MIOC offers an English track, as far as I know. They have an IB program, but that’s not quite the same thing as a math and science academy.

Fair enough, thanks! MIT isn't really on the table for her anyway, though I was under the impression they had some English-language options. I haven't been able to track down a decent STEM academy that also offers a full English curriculum.

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The high school in my area functions essentially like a specialized science academy—it even offers a specific track where classes are conducted entirely in English.