High School Guide: Admissions, reviews, and advice

The fundamental flaw in this revamped scoring methodology isn't merely the practice of aggregating grades from all upper-level years; rather, it lies in the complete and utter disregard for the varying weight of specific subjects—specifically, how much certain knowledge actually matters when one is selecting a specialized high school.
For instance:
Consider Student A, who carries a string of Bs in mathematics and physics, perhaps supplemented by an extra point earned through a regional handball tournament or music conservatory achievements. Now, consider Student B, who maintains the exact same GPA, yet those Bs are in history and physical education. When the application window opens for a highly competitive STEM academy, where the competition is fierce, Student A will secure their spot while Student B is left behind. Is it not an absolute absurdity?

Ladies and gentlemen, following an exhaustive period of public debate, I am finally presenting to you the NEW high school admissions model!

If I saw an article headlined with some vague nonsense like "Getting into high school will be even harder this year," I wouldn't believe it even if the entire thing was just a printed multiplication table. Honestly—and I mean this quite sincerely—the only way admission could actually become "harder" is if the schools decided to slash their enrollment numbers. A journalist who fails to grasp such basic logic... well, they aren't worth a single second of anyone's time.

It’s going to be much tougher—honestly, impossible for some kids who would have cruised into high school under the old rules. The new minimum score for high school entry is now 56, whereas it used to be just 46. Some schools used to take anyone with around 50 points and still had spots left over for the second round of enrollment.

Edit:

I see they've changed the scoring system too. Instead of five subjects, they're grading six for general high school tracks because they added biology. Though, I'm still scratching my head at how the maximum possible score ended up being 80.

Bryan Jones82 said:It’s going to be much tougher—honestly, impossible for some kids who would have cruised into high school under the old rules. The new minimum score for high school entry is now 56, whereas it used to be just 46. Some schools used to take anyone with around 50 points and still had spots left over for the second round of enrollment.

Edit:

I see they've changed the scoring system too. Instead of five subjects, they're grading six for general high school tracks because they added biology. Though, I'm still scratching my head at how the maximum possible score ended up being 80.

Which, I suppose, implies it will be easier—or at least more feasible—for everyone else.

Essentially, my point is that the overall "barrier to entry" hasn't actually shifted at all.

Nicholas King said:Which, I suppose, implies it will be easier—or at least more feasible—for everyone else.

Essentially, my point is that the overall "barrier to entry" hasn't actually shifted at all.

As long as every single spot in those high schools actually gets filled. In previous years, we've seen some spots go unused, so if you raise the entry score, you might end up with even more empty seats. If that happens, getting into a school actually becomes harder.

Nicholas King said:If I saw an article headlined with some vague nonsense like "Getting into high school will be even harder this year," I wouldn't believe it even if the entire thing was just a printed multiplication table. Honestly—and I mean this quite sincerely—the only way admission could actually become "harder" is if the schools decided to slash their enrollment numbers. A journalist who fails to grasp such basic logic... well, they aren't worth a single second of anyone's time.

...or if other schools drop their capacity, which would just put even more pressure on the high schools.
Alternatively, maybe the reporter has some inside scoop suggesting there’s a massive surge in top-tier students this year. If that's the case, despite the changes to how points are calculated, we might see a huge crowd of kids all tied with those same high scores...

Either way, this feels like nothing more than baseless speculation designed to stress out kids and parents during the middle school transition.😳

Bryan Jones82 said:It’s going to be much tougher—honestly, impossible for some kids who would have cruised into high school under the old rules. The new minimum score for high school entry is now 56, whereas it used to be just 46. Some schools used to take anyone with around 50 points and still had spots left over for the second round of enrollment.

Edit:

I see they've changed the scoring system too. Instead of five subjects, they're grading six for general high school tracks because they added biology. Though, I'm still scratching my head at how the maximum possible score ended up being 80.

It’s simple: you sum up the GPAs from the last four years (say, 4.0 + 4.0 + 4.0 + 4.0)
That gives you 16.00. Then you add the specific subject points required by the schools. That brings you to a maximum of 80 points.
I’d like to think—though I highly doubt it—that places like Fifth Avenue Academy or maybe even MIT won't be demanding the absolute maximum score. Let’s be realistic here: they are looking at a four-year GPA plus twelve individual subjects (including biology for the general track, which caught me off guard 🤷), and they've tightened the belt on those extra credit points—there's no more "handshake deals" or playing favorites. And here is a particularly interesting twist: they are looking at the FIRST foreign language. This means a student won't be able to just pick whichever language they happen to be better at to boost their stats.

Susan James said:...or if other schools drop their capacity, which would just put even more pressure on the high schools.
Alternatively, maybe the reporter has some inside scoop suggesting there’s a massive surge in top-tier students this year. If that's the case, despite the changes to how points are calculated, we might see a huge crowd of kids all tied with those same high scores...

Either way, this feels like nothing more than baseless speculation designed to stress out kids and parents during the middle school transition.😳

Look, if you have 1,000 students competing for 100 spots at a top-tier prep school, the total amount of pressure remains exactly the same—regardless of what the enrollment quotas look like for any other school in the district. Any shift in the selection criteria simply means that someone who qualified under the old rules is now being shut out, or perhaps someone who wasn't even interested in a prep school before is suddenly deciding they want in.

The actual pressure can only be ramped up in two ways: either by increasing the total number of applicants or by shrinking the total number of available seats in those prep schools—or, I suppose, by setting an entry threshold so high that it leaves vacancies unfilled (which, effectively, reduces the total number of available spots anyway).

wanderinggardener12 said:I am genuinely stunned by the mindset of an eighth grader! Both your reasoning and your way of expressing yourself (not to mention your literacy) are remarkable.
I find myself wondering where children like you disappear to during their later schooling and how they eventually become entirely mediocre. I truly hope this educational system doesn't stifle you the way it has many others, and that by the time you are twenty-five or thirty, you can still articulate your thoughts clearly, precisely, and with substance.
I also wonder what today's politicians were thinking when they were fifteen, and if they were actually thinking at all.

Thank you so much for the kind words, 🙂 I’m in a phase right now where I’m being pretty open—I say what I think, though I do try my best not to be rude to the people around me. Honestly, I’m quite happy with our current system. It’s because of one simple reason: it needs to teach us how to adapt to changing systems and how to strive for excellence. See, if you are truly exceptional, any system will work for you. But when you have parents who condition their children to settle for mediocrity—you know the type, like "Oh, I got one B, but everyone else did too," or "That's fine, honey, it doesn't matter"—that's how you end up with a society that is just... average. In such a culture, people who actually strive for more are treated like weirdos, or—as I often encounter—people say things like, "She was just born smart, that's why her grades are so high." Well, yeah, she was born with potential, but she actually knows things. Most people don't push for better, so when someone does, they get judged for it—but really, it all goes back to how they were raised. Regardless, I hope I continue to grow as I get older. Personally, I always pictured our politicians as the kids who used to skip class in seventh or eighth grade—I don't know why 😁 (just my own little prejudices!). Anyway, thanks again for the compliments, 😉

TOTAL FRAUDULENT SCAM🙂 So now, when it comes to those extra credit points, they’re counting four years of dance school as being equal to six (SIX!!!!!) years of music school. And get this—the actual proposal for the Decision clearly stated it would be four years of music school. Where on earth did SIX come from???? Are these people out of their minds? Honestly, at this rate, they might as well say you need to be a junior in a specialized performing arts high school just to snag those two measly extra points. TOTAL FRAUDULENT SCAM!!!!!

No kidding, even back in my day, it was a 6.

So, I’m heading into seventh grade now, and I’ve got this question... what kind of four-year vocational high school can I actually get into if I manage to pass with a 3.0 GPA? Honestly, my heart is set on joining the police force, so I know I need to aim for one of those specialized four-year police academies first. Also—and this is the part that worries me—how much money am I looking at losing if I fail out of the police program?

In my opinion, measuring a kid's success based on their performance in fifth or sixth grade—especially when they weren't even aware of the stakes back then—is just wrong.
I don't care what anyone says about "consistent effort across all school years."
It’s like being at work—you can't have someone tell you that you needed specific results or certain milestones to get a promotion, only to drop that info on you after the window for achieving them has already slammed shut.
Period.

Don't get me wrong, I support tracking progress through all the grades, but the system from my era was probably the most logical... 40% coursework, 60% entrance exam, and that's that.

For instance, I aced my entrance exam perfectly, even though my grades during middle school weren't exactly stellar.

Though, I should admit, we were given study guides back then with maybe 300 potential questions, where 20 were guaranteed to show up on the test. It certainly made prepping a lot easier...

Amanda Hughes37 said:In my opinion, measuring a kid's success based on their performance in fifth or sixth grade—especially when they weren't even aware of the stakes back then—is just wrong.
I don't care what anyone says about "consistent effort across all school years."
It’s like being at work—you can't have someone tell you that you needed specific results or certain milestones to get a promotion, only to drop that info on you after the window for achieving them has already slammed shut.
Period.

Don't get me wrong, I support tracking progress through all the grades, but the system from my era was probably the most logical... 40% coursework, 60% entrance exam, and that's that.

For instance, I aced my entrance exam perfectly, even though my grades during middle school weren't exactly stellar.

Though, I should admit, we were given study guides back then with maybe 300 potential questions, where 20 were guaranteed to show up on the test. It certainly made prepping a lot easier...

I suspect there might even be some specific statutes out there that were violated by all of this—though I suppose it really depends on how strictly one interprets the legal framework.

I have to say, back then, they actually handed out a study guide containing maybe 300 potential questions—and you could be pretty certain that at least 20 of them would show up on the actual entrance exam—which, I guess, made the whole preparation process significantly easier.

Unless we’re talking about some specialized training program designed specifically to churn out call center operators, this whole classification method is—honestly—one of the most idiotic things I have ever had the misfortune of hearing.

Drew Vaughn said:So, I’m heading into seventh grade now, and I’ve got this question... what kind of four-year vocational high school can I actually get into if I manage to pass with a 3.0 GPA? Honestly, my heart is set on joining the police force, so I know I need to aim for one of those specialized four-year police academies first. Also—and this is the part that worries me—how much money am I looking at losing if I fail out of the police program?

If you happen to take a tumble weighing less than a hundred pounds, I suppose a few hundred bucks should probably do the trick.

Nicholas King said:I suspect there might even be some specific statutes out there that were violated by all of this—though I suppose it really depends on how strictly one interprets the legal framework.

I have to say, back then, they actually handed out a study guide containing maybe 300 potential questions—and you could be pretty certain that at least 20 of them would show up on the actual entrance exam—which, I guess, made the whole preparation process significantly easier.

Unless we’re talking about some specialized training program designed specifically to churn out call center operators, this whole classification method is—honestly—one of the most idiotic things I have ever had the misfortune of hearing.

If you happen to take a tumble weighing less than a hundred pounds, I suppose a few hundred bucks should probably do the trick.

High school entrance exams.
I remember it like it was yesterday—they had this massive green binder filled with every single question for every subject they tested at the various schools...

I’m feeling a little more composed today, though I still have some serious gripes regarding this new system.
1. I won't be getting credit for placing fifth in the national handball tournament. Honestly, ladies and gentlemen—qualifying for the national championships is proof enough that I’ve successfully balanced athletics with my schoolwork. But apparently, if you aren't in the top three, that effort doesn't count. It’s as if they don't realize that placement in these kinds of tournaments is often down to pure luck. Did we spend half the night traveling? Was there a group of rowdy kids on the floor above us jumping around all night so nobody could sleep? Did one of our players get sidelined by an injury? Or was it just the specific group of opponents we drew? It’s a roll of the dice. I can't support this decision at all. Generally speaking, only awarding points to the top three at nationals is just silly. Anyone who makes it to the national stage has proven they are above average, and that deserves recognition.
2. There’s no credit given for Lidrano. Nothing at all. If we are rewarding talents like music, dance, or drawing, then why on earth aren't we rewarding young writers? And please, don't try to tell me that writers don't work on their craft the way kids do in dance or music school. As a writer myself, I am constantly working on the very talent they claim I "just have." I experiment with different styles, I spend hours analyzing my own drafts, and I obsess over what works and what doesn't. I don't necessarily need to win Lidrano to be practicing, but someone else out there will strive for it—and they won't get any credit either. It’s just nonsense, absolute nonsense. In my opinion, they've completely missed the mark with how they handle these competitions.

I completely agree that they’ve set the bar way too high when it comes to competition criteria.
It isn't just that athletic competitions or Lidrano don't earn any points; even academic competitions aren't being weighted the way they ought to be. Personally, I was a regional champion in computer science and placed fourth in the national competition, yet I won't receive a single point toward my application for a STEM-focused high school where informatics is just as vital as math and physics. Meanwhile, someone who attended a dance academy will get credit for that specific school. It feels like the folks at the Department of Education have no idea how much grit it takes to achieve those kinds of results, only to walk away with nothing to show for it.

fadedviper65 said:I completely agree that they’ve set the bar way too high when it comes to competition criteria.
It isn't just that athletic competitions or Lidrano don't earn any points; even academic competitions aren't being weighted the way they ought to be. Personally, I was a regional champion in computer science and placed fourth in the national competition, yet I won't receive a single point toward my application for a STEM-focused high school where informatics is just as vital as math and physics. Meanwhile, someone who attended a dance academy will get credit for that specific school. It feels like the folks at the Department of Education have no idea how much grit it takes to achieve those kinds of results, only to walk away with nothing to show for it.

The reality is, you wouldn't get any points even if you had taken 2nd or 3rd place. You only get credit if you place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the specific subjects that the school actually weighs. For a specialized STEM academy, they look at CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, and BIOLOGY. They don't care about computer science.

Look, I know they don't award points for it. I never actually claimed they did. My point was simply that it's a shame it isn't factored in, especially since Computer Science is a cornerstone of the STEM track at a high-level prep school like ours. I’m planning on enrolling in the specialized CS program, where the subject carries way more weight than biology or chemistry. It's frustrating that CS doesn't count toward the admission score just because it's considered an elective and isn't offered at every high school across the US.