NYC Public High School Admissions Process

1
00:00:24.580 --> 00:00:26.519
Marcia Roesch: Welcome, everybody.

2
00:00:28.590 --> 00:00:31.349
Marcia Roesch: Hi, I think we'll wait one more minute.

3
00:00:31.870 --> 00:00:36.030
Marcia Roesch: And then we will get started, because there's a lot to cover today.

4
00:01:09.500 --> 00:01:11.649
Marcia Roesch: What do you think, Maurice? Should we start?

5
00:01:12.350 --> 00:01:13.680
Maurice Frumkin: Sounds good, thank you.

6
00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:18.249
Marcia Roesch: Yeah, okay. Welcome, everyone. Thank you for joining.

7
00:01:18.410 --> 00:01:21.920
Marcia Roesch: Our public high school admissions workshop.

8
00:01:22.290 --> 00:01:28.190
Marcia Roesch: I'm Marcia Resch, I'm the Director of the School and Child Care Search Service in the Office of Work Life.

9
00:01:28.940 --> 00:01:35.059
Marcia Roesch: I'm joined by Kristen Carnahan, who is the Program Manager for the Office of Work Life.

10
00:01:36.770 --> 00:01:49.729
Marcia Roesch: We recognize that this is the season. This is a time when you and your child are thinking about, considering, and possibly stressing over the high school admissions process.

11
00:01:50.260 --> 00:01:57.430
Marcia Roesch: This workshop's designed to give you a deeper understanding of the high school admissions process for the public schools.

12
00:01:58.350 --> 00:02:08.159
Marcia Roesch: My friend and colleague, Maurice Frumpkin, is extremely knowledgeable regarding the admissions process, and will share his information with you.

13
00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:11.659
Marcia Roesch: Quite frankly, he is an expert in the field.

14
00:02:12.230 --> 00:02:23.009
Marcia Roesch: Maurice is President of NYC Admissions Solutions and a former Deputy Executive Director of High School Admissions with the New York Department of Education.

15
00:02:23.930 --> 00:02:36.150
Marcia Roesch: So I'm gonna let Maurice take over, and just remind you that if you would like an opportunity to meet with me after this session, you can complete a request form.

16
00:02:36.320 --> 00:02:49.069
Marcia Roesch: That you can find on our website. It will be in the chat for you, and I'd like to thank you all again for joining us today. Okay, Maurice, your turn.

17
00:02:50.390 --> 00:03:10.239
Maurice Frumkin: Thank you so much, Marcia and Kristen, and the entire Columbia community for having me here today. It's a real honor to be back, and to be talking about one of my favorite topics, as silly as that may sound, but it's a real honor to be here and help kind of lay out the way the process works and what to expect.

18
00:03:10.340 --> 00:03:25.009
Maurice Frumkin: And I will say that, in addition to recording the session, we're also going to invite questions through the chat function. You may want to hold off for now, just because I may answer a lot of your questions, but we'll get to as many questions through the chat

19
00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:32.220
Maurice Frumkin: Towards the end of the presentation. So the way today's gonna work is I'll probably speak for 30 or 35 minutes or so.

20
00:03:32.420 --> 00:03:47.460
Maurice Frumkin: And then we'll take questions, and then we'll, have you out of here by 1PM. So thanks again for being here. This is just really quickly my background. So I was in the independent school world, and, transitioned to

21
00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:56.000
Maurice Frumkin: the public realm at the DOE, where I spent 5 years on the team that runs the high school admissions process, and then I left.

22
00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:08.630
Maurice Frumkin: And I'm now in private practice, so, my small team of counselors, we work with families and schools, all across the city on everything from pre-K all the way up through college admissions.

23
00:04:09.340 --> 00:04:31.500
Maurice Frumkin: And today, again, we're just going to be laying out the way the public high school admissions process works today. So that's going to be a real focus. On a couple of slides, you might see this cute icon that I placed, just in case you want to take a screenshot, but again, we'll share the full recording with everybody, and we'll take Q&A at the end. And, you know, at this point, even though we always say.

24
00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:34.949
Maurice Frumkin: Policies and dates are subject to change.

25
00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:46.500
Maurice Frumkin: you know, everything is basically official at this point, so the information we share with you, I'm confident that it is up-to-date and accurate. And by now, you most likely know

26
00:04:46.610 --> 00:04:58.620
Maurice Frumkin: what types of schools you might be pursuing, because we are in the heart of it, right? So, you may, as a family, be considering other types of schools and be working through their admissions processes.

27
00:04:58.620 --> 00:05:07.360
Maurice Frumkin: Which is great. We always like and preach this idea of casting a wide net, but again, today we're going to be focusing on the public school admissions process.

28
00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:20.210
Maurice Frumkin: Which, by the way, is separate from applying to charter schools. So happy to take questions about the charter school process, but we're going to be focusing mostly on the main Department of Education application process today.

29
00:05:20.610 --> 00:05:40.110
Maurice Frumkin: And as you probably know by now, regardless of what kind of school your child attends for middle school, whether or not they're in a public, private, parochial school, by now you most likely have access to your My Schools account, which is sort of the portal where everything happens. So the DOE, last week, I believe.

30
00:05:40.110 --> 00:05:51.680
Maurice Frumkin: opened up this portal for everybody, and what that means is that there are now some things you can start to do. Although it's not first come, first serve, as long as you meet the deadlines, you're in good shape. But this month.

31
00:05:51.710 --> 00:06:06.539
Maurice Frumkin: one of the primary things that families are doing in your My Schools account is registering for the SHSAT, which is the infamous specialized high school admissions test for the eight SHSAT schools. So we'll get back to that in a few moments.

32
00:06:07.010 --> 00:06:24.299
Maurice Frumkin: And you also now have the opportunity to register for the programs at LaGuardia High School, which is the 9th specialized high school. So, as I'm going to show you in a moment, those 9 schools are sort of set apart a little bit. They're a little bit distinct in terms of their registration process.

33
00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:31.720
Maurice Frumkin: And it's essentially a separate list of schools and separate offers that come out in the spring.

34
00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:49.470
Maurice Frumkin: So just sort of keep that in the back of your head a second, because we'll talk about, all of the other schools and how you apply to them through what I'll call the main application, separate from the nine specialized high schools. So again, this month, the SHSAT registration starts. The deadline is October 31st.

35
00:06:49.990 --> 00:06:59.699
Maurice Frumkin: So you have until then. If you've already submitted your SHSAT registration, you can make changes up until the 31st if you'd like to. And,

36
00:06:59.780 --> 00:07:11.250
Maurice Frumkin: In November, your child will have the opportunity to actually take the SHSAT. Now, this November 12th date, please forgive my typo, if you're in a public school that ends in 8th grade.

37
00:07:11.420 --> 00:07:26.209
Maurice Frumkin: your child does take it on November 12th, but if your child is in a public school that continues to high school, or is in a non-public school, then your child will likely take it the weekend of November 15th and 16th.

38
00:07:26.630 --> 00:07:38.789
Maurice Frumkin: But either way, you register this month. We expect that tickets will be issued for the test in your MySchools account, I believe, by November 10th, so a few days in advance of the test.

39
00:07:39.130 --> 00:07:45.350
Maurice Frumkin: And then, for all the other schools, besides the 9 specialized high schools.

40
00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:54.000
Maurice Frumkin: the application deadline is December 3rd. December 3rd is kind of a key date, because that's when, number one, you have to finalize your main application.

41
00:07:54.370 --> 00:08:12.550
Maurice Frumkin: Number two, it's also the deadline to submit additional materials for certain schools, and I'm going to talk about that in a few moments, including audition materials, if your child is applying to audition programs that require audition materials. And December 3rd is also the deadline by which

42
00:08:12.640 --> 00:08:19.539
Maurice Frumkin: you need to register for the programs at LaGuardia, which is optional.

43
00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:26.370
Maurice Frumkin: But again, because LaGuardia is the 9th specialized high school, that does not happen through the main application. You register separately.

44
00:08:26.510 --> 00:08:36.710
Maurice Frumkin: If you're… if you believe your child is interested in LaGuardia, I would honestly go ahead and register now. You have nothing to lose, just so you don't forget about it, but you do have until December 3rd to do that.

45
00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:47.999
Maurice Frumkin: And then in March, in early March, all the results come out together for the specialized high schools, as well as all of the other public schools. You get the results, all at the same time.

46
00:08:48.560 --> 00:08:59.520
Maurice Frumkin: And I'm gonna show you… we're gonna go back to this idea of these three buckets, the SHSAT, LaGuardia, and the main application in a moment, and what the implications are for that.

47
00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:06.620
Maurice Frumkin: But this is a really good time to be casting the widest net possible. Most… students…

48
00:09:07.060 --> 00:09:12.180
Maurice Frumkin: that apply to high school in New York City don't have any guarantee, per se.

49
00:09:12.940 --> 00:09:20.990
Maurice Frumkin: So even though there are a few zoned high schools left throughout New York City, most students don't have one. And especially if you live in Manhattan, which most of you probably do.

50
00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:23.539
Maurice Frumkin: You do not have a zoned high school.

51
00:09:24.030 --> 00:09:25.370
Maurice Frumkin: And that's okay.

52
00:09:25.550 --> 00:09:33.449
Maurice Frumkin: But what that means is that unless you go to a school that… a public school that continues from middle school to high school.

53
00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:35.700
Maurice Frumkin: There are no guarantees.

54
00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:42.240
Maurice Frumkin: So this is why we preach this idea of casting the widest net possible, because there aren't a lot of guarantees.

55
00:09:42.760 --> 00:09:52.259
Maurice Frumkin: If you live in other parts of the city, you may or may not have a zoned high school, so we can take questions about that later, but most students, do not have a zoned high school.

56
00:09:52.540 --> 00:09:55.900
Maurice Frumkin: So we preach this idea of casting the wide depth. What does that mean?

57
00:09:56.910 --> 00:10:04.219
Maurice Frumkin: I really like it when I meet with families right now, if they have a nice, working, robust list

58
00:10:04.350 --> 00:10:08.929
Maurice Frumkin: of even 15 or more. I think that's a really good place to be.

59
00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:16.480
Maurice Frumkin: And of course, you're not gonna like all of them as much as some of your top choices, and that's totally normal.

60
00:10:16.790 --> 00:10:33.089
Maurice Frumkin: I find myself, kind of guiding families at this time of year that say to me, well, Maurice, should I start eliminating? Should I get rid of this school because I don't… I feel like I don't have a chance? Those kinds of questions that I say, you know what, resist that temptation.

61
00:10:33.350 --> 00:10:49.360
Maurice Frumkin: keep your list robust, we will discuss it, whether or not you should eliminate anything, but more often than not, my guidance is to not eliminate much of anything, because, as I'm going to show you in a few minutes, you have nothing to lose, even if something is a long shot.

62
00:10:49.760 --> 00:10:55.759
Maurice Frumkin: So we'll come back to that notion in a moment, but it's good to have a nice, robust list of schools.

63
00:10:56.810 --> 00:11:10.160
Maurice Frumkin: And as you also probably know by now, some of the schools require tests, some of them don't. For most, every public high school in New York City, there is no test. Now, the infamous exception to that is the SHSAT, so if you're planning on applying to

64
00:11:10.250 --> 00:11:23.770
Maurice Frumkin: I'm going to show you the SHSAT schools in a moment. There we go. So these are the 9 specialized high schools. If you're interested in any of the 8 that are at the top of the screen, well, that means you take the SHSAT.

65
00:11:24.410 --> 00:11:28.940
Maurice Frumkin: LaGuardia is the 9th specialized high school, does not require the SHSAT.

66
00:11:29.670 --> 00:11:40.289
Maurice Frumkin: But these are, again, separate and distinct from all the other main application high schools in New York City that you might apply to. And these are the three buckets that I was kind of referring to a couple minutes ago.

67
00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:45.970
Maurice Frumkin: Everybody, in my opinion, Should submit the main application.

68
00:11:46.180 --> 00:11:49.359
Maurice Frumkin: Even if your preference is for a specialized high school.

69
00:11:49.740 --> 00:12:04.740
Maurice Frumkin: Right? Even if you have your heart set on Bronx Science Specialized High School, or Brooklyn Tech, or Brooklyn Latin, any of the 8 specialized high schools, you should still submit a main application. And I say that for… sort of for obvious reasons, because

70
00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:10.350
Maurice Frumkin: Specialized high schools are very selective. It's not easy to get into one of those schools. Same thing with LaGuardia.

71
00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:13.589
Maurice Frumkin: See, everybody should submit the main application.

72
00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:19.679
Maurice Frumkin: And if you're not interested in the specialized high schools, that's okay. That's completely optional.

73
00:12:20.780 --> 00:12:38.209
Maurice Frumkin: And as you can see on the left-hand side of the screen, on the main application now, there's no limit to the number of choices you can make. There used to be a limit of 12, now there's no more limit. So you can apply to as many programs as you want. This is one of the reasons why, when I said a couple minutes ago, that if there's a long shot.

74
00:12:38.450 --> 00:12:44.160
Maurice Frumkin: you're interested in, a program that's really hard to get into, that's okay. It's okay to still list it.

75
00:12:45.110 --> 00:12:52.830
Maurice Frumkin: But this also… this screen also illustrates the fact that when offers come out in the spring, not only do you apply to these separately.

76
00:12:53.150 --> 00:13:02.349
Maurice Frumkin: But offers come out from these… for these pro… for these buckets separately in the spring. So I could get an offer from the main application, most students do.

77
00:13:02.450 --> 00:13:16.610
Maurice Frumkin: I could also be eligible for up to one offer from the SHSAT bucket, etc, etc. So that's a nice place to be, you know, if you're… if you're getting more than one offer from more than one bucket in the spring, and then the DOE lets you choose.

78
00:13:17.670 --> 00:13:31.130
Maurice Frumkin: If you're still kind of building your list, and you know, some families might be saying to themselves right now, well, you know, I have 6 or 7 schools I'm genuinely enthusiastic about, but beyond that, I'm really struggling to find more schools.

79
00:13:31.830 --> 00:13:40.270
Maurice Frumkin: you know, talking to friends and neighbors and going on Facebook groups and stuff like that is, of course, valuable.

80
00:13:40.370 --> 00:13:45.630
Maurice Frumkin: But I want to give you a couple other tools, just in case you're not using them, and you're wondering, how do I build my list?

81
00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:55.309
Maurice Frumkin: One is the MySchool system itself. This is the definitive directory. There are plenty of ways to filter and sort for programs that you might be interested in, so myschools.nyc.

82
00:13:55.480 --> 00:14:04.009
Maurice Frumkin: InsideSchools.org is a great resource, if you don't already know about this, to learn more about the public schools. This is a third-party, independent website.

83
00:14:04.490 --> 00:14:06.079
Maurice Frumkin: Run by the new school.

84
00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:24.700
Maurice Frumkin: And if you and your child are not using this already, I highly recommend it. Especially students, I find, tend to really appreciate Inside Schools because they give reviews of all the schools, and it's just as much qualitative as quantitative information about every public school in New York City.

85
00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:38.250
Maurice Frumkin: And there's also… there are also DOE school quality reports for every public school. These are surveys that are filled out by families and teachers and students at these schools, as well as reporting that's been done directly by the DOE.

86
00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:51.150
Maurice Frumkin: If you really want to dig into the data, this is available from your My Schools account, from the DOE website, and also from Inside Schools. You can get links to these reporting… this reporting for all the public schools in the system.

87
00:14:51.250 --> 00:14:57.689
Maurice Frumkin: So, by now, This probably looks familiar to you. You've probably logged into your MySchools account.

88
00:14:58.550 --> 00:15:06.000
Maurice Frumkin: And you see the dashboard. This is sort of the portal through which you will access everything you need to do in your MySchools account.

89
00:15:06.990 --> 00:15:12.660
Maurice Frumkin: And you can see the different buttons to access the major areas of this site.

90
00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:18.239
Maurice Frumkin: So a couple things just to point out, just in case you haven't done this already.

91
00:15:18.430 --> 00:15:22.949
Maurice Frumkin: One of the first things you'll want to do is click on that little Get Started button next to High School.

92
00:15:23.280 --> 00:15:30.829
Maurice Frumkin: Because once you do that, you'll be able to generate your lottery number, which I'm going to talk about in a few moments. So click on High School, Get Started.

93
00:15:30.970 --> 00:15:36.290
Maurice Frumkin: That's how you can generate your lottery number if you're wondering, well, wait a second, I don't have my lottery number yet.

94
00:15:36.490 --> 00:15:40.029
Maurice Frumkin: So we'll talk more about the implications of the lottery number in a few moments.

95
00:15:40.520 --> 00:15:43.290
Maurice Frumkin: The other thing you can do from this page is…

96
00:15:43.420 --> 00:15:47.979
Maurice Frumkin: Click on Specialized High School, Get Started to register for the SHSAT.

97
00:15:48.470 --> 00:15:57.080
Maurice Frumkin: You can also click on LaGuardia to register for LaGuardia if you choose to do that. Again, the specialized high schools are optional, but this is how you register for those schools.

98
00:15:57.570 --> 00:16:07.320
Maurice Frumkin: Now, eventually, you may… your child may be applying to schools that require additional materials, maybe an essay, maybe some audition materials.

99
00:16:07.570 --> 00:16:10.950
Maurice Frumkin: Some programs require those things, and others don't.

100
00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:22.929
Maurice Frumkin: And that bottom button that says Additional Materials is how you submit a lot of those materials. Not all of them, I'm going to get to the exceptions in a moment, but many of them are submitted directly through that button.

101
00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:32.939
Maurice Frumkin: And again, I just want to emphasize that whatever you do in my schools, it's not first come, first serve, right? So, there's no advantage to…

102
00:16:33.260 --> 00:16:42.119
Maurice Frumkin: you know, getting… clicking and getting your lottery number or generating your lottery number sooner. There's no advantage to filling out your application sooner.

103
00:16:43.010 --> 00:16:48.720
Maurice Frumkin: So it's not… you're not gonna get a better lottery number by doing it sooner than somebody else.

104
00:16:49.070 --> 00:16:54.019
Maurice Frumkin: You're not going to have an advantage over to applying for a certain program sooner than anybody else.

105
00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:56.090
Maurice Frumkin: Now, at the same time.

106
00:16:56.270 --> 00:17:08.639
Maurice Frumkin: I like it when families start to fill out your application and kind of see what it looks like, and we're going to talk a little bit later about, how to get a better sense of your chances of getting into programs you're applying to as well.

107
00:17:10.390 --> 00:17:20.029
Maurice Frumkin: This is sort of what the main application looks like on the left-hand side of the screen, so you… maybe you've already seen this already. This student has already started filling out their application.

108
00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:24.630
Maurice Frumkin: And… Just to reiterate.

109
00:17:24.760 --> 00:17:31.470
Maurice Frumkin: You can start to populate the application and reorder and do as many adjust… make as many adjustments as you'd like.

110
00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:35.170
Maurice Frumkin: Excuse me, between now and December 3rd.

111
00:17:35.940 --> 00:17:39.399
Maurice Frumkin: Nothing is going to matter until after December 3rd.

112
00:17:40.550 --> 00:17:47.759
Maurice Frumkin: Because I know it can be intimidating when you fill out the application, and especially if you click Submit, you see the confetti fall from the screen.

113
00:17:48.290 --> 00:17:50.010
Maurice Frumkin: Literally,

114
00:17:50.320 --> 00:18:04.889
Maurice Frumkin: But it's okay. You can make as many changes as you want, nothing's going to matter until after December 3rd. And I, like I said a few minutes ago, I like it when families start to fill out… fill this out, because you start to get a visual picture of what your application and your order of preference looks like.

115
00:18:05.130 --> 00:18:08.439
Maurice Frumkin: Because you are listing these programs in your order of preference.

116
00:18:09.430 --> 00:18:15.569
Maurice Frumkin: Now, as you also probably know by now, you are applying to programs within a school.

117
00:18:16.410 --> 00:18:20.060
Maurice Frumkin: programs within a school. Some schools have more than one program you can apply to.

118
00:18:20.780 --> 00:18:25.689
Maurice Frumkin: So… This particular student is applying to…

119
00:18:25.850 --> 00:18:37.259
Maurice Frumkin: the one program at Beacon that's available. So Beacon is an example that only has one program. Art and Design High School, this student is applying to the Commercial Art and Design program at Art and Design High School.

120
00:18:38.280 --> 00:18:42.490
Maurice Frumkin: Why do I specify that? Because Art and Design actually has 4 programs you can apply to.

121
00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:49.660
Maurice Frumkin: So you'll see that some programs you apply… some schools you apply to might have one program, some might have more than one.

122
00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:56.540
Maurice Frumkin: If you apply to more than one program, it gives you a better chance of getting into the school. In fact, for some schools.

123
00:18:56.980 --> 00:18:59.179
Maurice Frumkin: The rule of thumb

124
00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:06.450
Maurice Frumkin: is if you're interested in that school, apply to both programs. You know, if you see two different programs, apply to both of them.

125
00:19:06.930 --> 00:19:20.630
Maurice Frumkin: Now there may be some cases where that doesn't make sense, if one of the programs requires an audition, and you're not interested in being in a program like that, if one program is really specialized, and you're not interested in the specialization.

126
00:19:20.860 --> 00:19:27.970
Maurice Frumkin: But be on the lookout as you talk to schools, as you go to open houses, many schools will say, you know what, don't worry about

127
00:19:28.290 --> 00:19:32.679
Maurice Frumkin: the program you're applying to. Just, if you're interested in our school, apply to both of them.

128
00:19:33.690 --> 00:19:42.620
Maurice Frumkin: apply to both of them, just increases your chances. So something to be on the lookout for, and even to ask about at open houses if schools don't mention that kind of thing.

129
00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:44.460
Maurice Frumkin: So, your job…

130
00:19:45.110 --> 00:19:59.119
Maurice Frumkin: for the main application between now and December 3rd, is to figure out how to fill out this application and how to rank your programs. And again, there's no more limit. We're going to talk in a few minutes about what I normally recommend in terms of the number of programs to list.

131
00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:06.779
Maurice Frumkin: Again, these are the specialized high schools. Just a couple things about the SHSAT in brief. So…

132
00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:10.260
Maurice Frumkin: As you're registering for the SHSAT this month.

133
00:20:11.020 --> 00:20:19.339
Maurice Frumkin: You may already fa… you may have already… you may have already seen this, you're choosing the SHSAT schools that you're interested in and ranking them.

134
00:20:20.600 --> 00:20:24.140
Maurice Frumkin: So remember the 8 school… the 8 SHSAT schools?

135
00:20:24.280 --> 00:20:26.640
Maurice Frumkin: This month, you're choosing them and ranking them.

136
00:20:27.370 --> 00:20:36.140
Maurice Frumkin: So if you've already done it, that's okay. You can make changes before October 31st, especially because all of the specialized high schools have open houses this month.

137
00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:42.250
Maurice Frumkin: So you might go see Brooklyn Tech and say, you know what, maybe I do want to rank Brooklyn Tech first, after all.

138
00:20:42.570 --> 00:20:50.260
Maurice Frumkin: Or maybe I want to lower it, or maybe I thought I wasn't going to apply to Brooklyn Tech, and now I am. So you can make changes up until the 31st.

139
00:20:51.400 --> 00:21:02.540
Maurice Frumkin: We talked about the test administration dates. If your child has an IEP, an IESP, if you're in a non-public school or a 504 plan.

140
00:21:02.710 --> 00:21:08.960
Maurice Frumkin: Make sure, especially if you're in a non-public school, make sure your counselor has that documentation

141
00:21:09.080 --> 00:21:11.629
Maurice Frumkin: If you're interested in testing accommodations.

142
00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:14.550
Maurice Frumkin: And the sooner, the better.

143
00:21:14.840 --> 00:21:24.200
Maurice Frumkin: If you're in a public school, and I should say, because your counselor at a non-public school will request those accommodations, so you have to make sure they have that paperwork.

144
00:21:24.570 --> 00:21:31.490
Maurice Frumkin: If you're in a public school, and you have an IEP, you're automatically going to see your accommodations appear on your test ticket.

145
00:21:32.210 --> 00:21:42.139
Maurice Frumkin: If you have a 504 plan, even if you're in a public school, make sure your counselor has the 504 plan. Again, this is all for students who are interested in testing accommodations.

146
00:21:42.550 --> 00:21:46.250
Maurice Frumkin: Even though the test is online this year for the first time.

147
00:21:46.390 --> 00:21:51.840
Maurice Frumkin: So students will be on a computer, you're still entitled to all of your testing accommodations.

148
00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:58.779
Maurice Frumkin: One other distinct characteristic about the specialized high schools is that there are no wait lists for the specialized high schools.

149
00:21:58.950 --> 00:22:07.849
Maurice Frumkin: Whereas for all the other public schools, there are. Now, I point out, this website, it's the DOE website at the bottom of the page.

150
00:22:07.850 --> 00:22:20.900
Maurice Frumkin: If you haven't already gone and looked at the specialized high school section of the DOE website, there are a lot of tips and guidelines, and you can get a much better sense of what this online version of the test is going to look like.

151
00:22:21.180 --> 00:22:24.969
Maurice Frumkin: And how you can… you will be able to navigate

152
00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:39.810
Maurice Frumkin: the online exam, I highly encourage if your child hasn't gone to this portion of the website yet, to do that, because you'll get a much better sense of, you know, what this thing is going to look like, on the computer. Now, these were…

153
00:22:40.020 --> 00:22:48.350
Maurice Frumkin: last year's SHSAT qualifying scores for each of the 8 SHSAT schools.

154
00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:53.599
Maurice Frumkin: These are not necessarily going to be exactly the same next year for your kids.

155
00:22:54.120 --> 00:22:58.639
Maurice Frumkin: Assuming your kids are in 8th grade and they're taking the test this year.

156
00:22:59.030 --> 00:23:14.449
Maurice Frumkin: So they tend to change a little bit from year to year, but this can give you a sense of what the qualifying scores tend to be. So last year, the lowest qualifying score for any of the 8 schools was 496. So what that means is that between 496 and…

157
00:23:14.560 --> 00:23:18.690
Maurice Frumkin: You know, the low 700s tends to be some of the highest scores.

158
00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:22.469
Maurice Frumkin: Those were the qualifying scores for any of the 8 schools.

159
00:23:23.340 --> 00:23:32.080
Maurice Frumkin: Now, if I got a 496, I could not have gotten into Brooklyn Tech, because the qualifying score for Brooklyn Tech was 505. You get the idea.

160
00:23:32.470 --> 00:23:37.580
Maurice Frumkin: But in terms of how you rank them when you register for the SHSAT,

161
00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:41.440
Maurice Frumkin: You should not rank based on these scores.

162
00:23:42.190 --> 00:23:47.190
Maurice Frumkin: You should be ranking as many as you are willing to consider, the more the better.

163
00:23:48.530 --> 00:23:53.509
Maurice Frumkin: Because if you don't… if you don't rank a school, you can't get in. It doesn't matter what your score is.

164
00:23:53.840 --> 00:23:58.280
Maurice Frumkin: But rank as many as you're willing to consider in your true preference order.

165
00:23:59.450 --> 00:24:03.780
Maurice Frumkin: Do not put Stuyvesant High School as your first choice if it's not your first choice.

166
00:24:04.460 --> 00:24:06.270
Maurice Frumkin: And so forth and so on.

167
00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:11.179
Maurice Frumkin: Okay, so shifting gears a little bit, I want to talk about audition programs really quickly.

168
00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:15.979
Maurice Frumkin: If your child is interested in a more arts-focused program where they want to

169
00:24:16.370 --> 00:24:24.829
Maurice Frumkin: Participate in, and make more, sort of, more of a commitment and spend more of their time dedicated to the arts.

170
00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:36.499
Maurice Frumkin: whether it's performing arts, visual arts, whatever the case may be, they may be interested in a lot of these schools. And I'm not just talking about LaGuardia, there are a lot of other audition programs at schools throughout the city.

171
00:24:37.710 --> 00:24:40.950
Maurice Frumkin: But the nice thing is there are common audition guidelines.

172
00:24:41.570 --> 00:24:48.770
Maurice Frumkin: So if you haven't already seen what these guidelines are, to be able to get a sense of, well, what… if I'm applying to a drama program, what do I need to do?

173
00:24:49.300 --> 00:24:52.170
Maurice Frumkin: You should go to this page and look at what the guidelines are.

174
00:24:52.310 --> 00:24:53.670
Maurice Frumkin: Do you have time?

175
00:24:54.530 --> 00:25:02.829
Maurice Frumkin: These are not due until December 3rd, so you have time to get them done and submit them. Some schools give you the option of doing it in person.

176
00:25:03.470 --> 00:25:14.089
Maurice Frumkin: You don't have to do it, it's not an advantage, but some schools give you the option. LaGuardia does not give you that option. For LaGuardia, it's only submitting them virtually by December 3rd.

177
00:25:14.360 --> 00:25:22.249
Maurice Frumkin: But it's nice to know that there are common guidelines, so that if I'm applying to 3 different drama programs in 3 different schools, I don't have to do 3 different auditions.

178
00:25:22.430 --> 00:25:24.930
Maurice Frumkin: So check out these guidelines when you get a chance.

179
00:25:25.820 --> 00:25:29.769
Maurice Frumkin: For all the other programs that you're applying to on your main application.

180
00:25:30.090 --> 00:25:39.330
Maurice Frumkin: you will start to see different admissions methods. In other words, program by program, they may…

181
00:25:39.930 --> 00:25:52.220
Maurice Frumkin: consider candidates differently. Some are more lottery-oriented, some have some kind of academic screen, some have an audition, some have a test, like the specialized high schools, etc, etc.

182
00:25:52.390 --> 00:25:56.700
Maurice Frumkin: So there are different kinds of admission methods depending upon the programs you're applying to.

183
00:25:57.060 --> 00:26:01.530
Maurice Frumkin: And I'm going to get back to that notion in a second. Not every program looks at grades.

184
00:26:02.390 --> 00:26:04.220
Maurice Frumkin: Some don't, at all.

185
00:26:05.410 --> 00:26:08.570
Maurice Frumkin: Some programs look at grades for part of their formula.

186
00:26:09.030 --> 00:26:16.139
Maurice Frumkin: So it can be really confusing, but, you know, when you're talking to us in your conversations, you can… we can talk about the implications of that.

187
00:26:16.580 --> 00:26:18.209
Maurice Frumkin: If my child

188
00:26:18.630 --> 00:26:24.329
Maurice Frumkin: you know, maybe has modest course grades, what does that mean for me? And how can I strategize appropriately?

189
00:26:25.060 --> 00:26:36.669
Maurice Frumkin: But I just put some of… some examples of programs with these admissions methods where carse marks play less… much less of a role. And for some of these schools, they play no role at all.

190
00:26:36.850 --> 00:26:49.050
Maurice Frumkin: For open programs that are lottery-based, for screen programs with some kind of assessment, so some kind of extra essay or activity, or sometimes a school has an in-person assessment.

191
00:26:49.260 --> 00:26:51.249
Maurice Frumkin: We'll talk about that more in a moment.

192
00:26:51.850 --> 00:26:53.450
Maurice Frumkin: those programs.

193
00:26:53.930 --> 00:27:03.649
Maurice Frumkin: don't put as much on… weight on course marks. Some of them don't look at course marks at all. Like the iSchool, ICE, Eastside Community School, they don't look at grades at all.

194
00:27:04.090 --> 00:27:06.900
Maurice Frumkin: Audition programs pay no attention to grades.

195
00:27:07.090 --> 00:27:11.300
Maurice Frumkin: EdOpt, grades are not nearly as important. It's more of a lottery-based system.

196
00:27:12.540 --> 00:27:18.999
Maurice Frumkin: So don't assume that every program looks at grades, and if I don't have the highest grades, I'm in big trouble. That is not the case.

197
00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:25.459
Maurice Frumkin: Now, having said that, there are some programs that are called screen programs. You've seen these already.

198
00:27:25.990 --> 00:27:33.160
Maurice Frumkin: And I'm not talking about screen programs with an extra assessment yet, I'll get to that in a moment. I'm talking about just screen programs

199
00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:35.690
Maurice Frumkin: Where the only thing that matters

200
00:27:35.850 --> 00:27:42.320
Maurice Frumkin: Is what screen group, a lot of people call them tiers, what screen group you fall into.

201
00:27:43.230 --> 00:27:47.750
Maurice Frumkin: Everybody's placed in a screened group based on their final 7th grade average.

202
00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:54.739
Maurice Frumkin: So, if I had a 95 average last year for my core courses, I'm gonna fall into screen group 1.

203
00:27:55.170 --> 00:28:01.969
Maurice Frumkin: Now, obviously, if I'm applying to a screen program, that determines the order in which I'm considered, which screen group I'm in.

204
00:28:03.190 --> 00:28:07.989
Maurice Frumkin: Now, that's not to say that every screen group only takes students from the top screen group.

205
00:28:08.580 --> 00:28:19.469
Maurice Frumkin: So this is another part of our conversation, and I'm going to show you another way to be able to tell what your chances might be if you're maybe not in the top screen group.

206
00:28:19.590 --> 00:28:21.780
Maurice Frumkin: But you're applying to some screen programs.

207
00:28:24.320 --> 00:28:33.129
Maurice Frumkin: The other thing to remember, and then we'll move on, is that within my screen group, it doesn't matter what my grades are. In other words, if I have a 97 average.

208
00:28:33.290 --> 00:28:42.510
Maurice Frumkin: I don't… I'm not at any dis… any disadvantage or advantage versus someone that has a 95 or a 99. We're all in the same bucket.

209
00:28:43.630 --> 00:28:58.539
Maurice Frumkin: So what does determine order within my screen group? That's part of the role of the lottery number. That's why a lot of people talk about the, where for these kinds of programs, the lottery number can be really important. So, we'll get back to lottery number in a moment.

210
00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:03.909
Maurice Frumkin: Screen programs with an assessment. By now, you should be looking at your list.

211
00:29:04.060 --> 00:29:05.679
Maurice Frumkin: And determining

212
00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:11.399
Maurice Frumkin: If I'm applying to some screen programs, do they have a… do any of them have an assessment?

213
00:29:11.870 --> 00:29:24.019
Maurice Frumkin: You know, you don't want to be caught by surprise by this. If I'm applying to NES plus M, New Explorations into Science, Technology, and Math, I don't want to, you know, find out at the last minute that, you know what, they have an essay.

214
00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:28.180
Maurice Frumkin: And it counts for 50% of their formula, as you can see in the screen in front of you.

215
00:29:28.870 --> 00:29:34.690
Maurice Frumkin: I want to know that if I'm applying to Eastside Community School, I need to do the consortium essay.

216
00:29:34.940 --> 00:29:38.959
Maurice Frumkin: Which is the common essay that's required by a few different consortium schools.

217
00:29:39.600 --> 00:29:41.299
Maurice Frumkin: Et cetera, et cetera.

218
00:29:41.790 --> 00:29:52.299
Maurice Frumkin: Couple of situations I want to point out, if you're applying to a school like BARD, which you see in front of you, you should register for their… they have an in-person assessment.

219
00:29:52.800 --> 00:29:54.519
Maurice Frumkin: Some students have already taken it.

220
00:29:54.900 --> 00:29:59.260
Maurice Frumkin: So if you're interested in BARD, you should register for their in-person assessment.

221
00:29:59.520 --> 00:30:05.059
Maurice Frumkin: Beacon has an in-person assessment this year in November, so if you're interested in Beacon.

222
00:30:05.510 --> 00:30:08.909
Maurice Frumkin: You can register for their assessment now on their website.

223
00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:16.449
Maurice Frumkin: So a couple of these schools have in-person, most do not. Most, you do on your own time, you submit it by December 3rd.

224
00:30:16.660 --> 00:30:22.189
Maurice Frumkin: Some schools give you a few more days, and S plus M, I think, gives you until December 7th or something like that.

225
00:30:22.490 --> 00:30:26.049
Maurice Frumkin: But you can see, each school uses sort of a different formula.

226
00:30:26.450 --> 00:30:33.979
Maurice Frumkin: It's a weighted average, depending upon how much weight they want to place on the essay or the assessment, how much weight they want to place on your screen group.

227
00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:41.119
Maurice Frumkin: And again, some of these schools, like Eastside Community, they don't look at grades at all. It's 100% based on the assessment.

228
00:30:42.250 --> 00:30:43.150
Maurice Frumkin: Okay.

229
00:30:43.410 --> 00:30:50.640
Maurice Frumkin: You will also undoubtedly apply to some programs that have some kind of priority structure.

230
00:30:51.430 --> 00:30:55.509
Maurice Frumkin: So you might apply to a program that gives first priority.

231
00:30:55.680 --> 00:31:02.940
Maurice Frumkin: to continue their school's continuing 8th grader, so if a school continues from middle school to high school.

232
00:31:03.260 --> 00:31:06.069
Maurice Frumkin: They're always going to prioritize their own students.

233
00:31:06.630 --> 00:31:08.869
Maurice Frumkin: If you apply to a school that

234
00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:13.790
Maurice Frumkin: is part of the Diversity in Admissions Initiative.

235
00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:21.029
Maurice Frumkin: That gives priority and allocates a percentage of seats for students who are eligible for a free and reduced price lunch.

236
00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:32.029
Maurice Frumkin: then you may fall into a lower priority group for those programs. And if you're not sure, talk to your counselor if you're eligible for that applicant group.

237
00:31:32.620 --> 00:31:36.289
Maurice Frumkin: You may be considering a program in another borough.

238
00:31:36.990 --> 00:31:39.040
Maurice Frumkin: That gives priority to that borough.

239
00:31:39.570 --> 00:31:58.000
Maurice Frumkin: There's still a few schools that have borough priority. District priority, not as much, but there are some borough priority schools that are left, including some in Manhattan, right? There are a bunch of schools that prioritize up to 75% of their seats in Manhattan. Ellen Hill Roosevelt, Millennium, etc. There are, I believe, 5 or 6 of them.

240
00:31:58.690 --> 00:32:02.179
Maurice Frumkin: So, these priority groups can be really powerful.

241
00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:07.069
Maurice Frumkin: Again, I'm going to talk to you in a few minutes, though, about how to interpret all of this.

242
00:32:07.420 --> 00:32:17.509
Maurice Frumkin: Including the lottery number. You know, there are all these things that we're talking about, right, that are gonna… this is what I think makes applying to public schools so confusing, is that

243
00:32:17.870 --> 00:32:23.669
Maurice Frumkin: you're thinking to yourself, my goodness, I have to worry about lottery number, and screen group, and priority group, and…

244
00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:28.009
Maurice Frumkin: Not to mention how popular a program is.

245
00:32:28.780 --> 00:32:36.009
Maurice Frumkin: Are there… 10 applicants per seat? Are there 20 applicants per seat? Are there 2 applicants per seat?

246
00:32:36.510 --> 00:32:40.309
Maurice Frumkin: That's important, too. How do I make sense of all this?

247
00:32:41.250 --> 00:32:53.360
Maurice Frumkin: I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna get to that in a moment, so bear with me, but I want to talk first about lottery number, because I think lottery number is often misinterpreted as well. Lottery number is also one component

248
00:32:53.970 --> 00:32:57.449
Maurice Frumkin: Among a number of components. It's one piece of the puzzle.

249
00:32:58.840 --> 00:33:03.659
Maurice Frumkin: So lottery number in and of itself, doesn't tell the whole story, most of the time.

250
00:33:05.490 --> 00:33:12.130
Maurice Frumkin: But here's what lottery number is. It's a completely random string of digits, it's based on a hexadecimal system.

251
00:33:12.760 --> 00:33:20.470
Maurice Frumkin: If you have a lottery number that starts with a low number, you've probably gotten your lottery number already, you can get it from your My Schools Profile page.

252
00:33:21.280 --> 00:33:23.319
Maurice Frumkin: Right? We talked about that before.

253
00:33:23.800 --> 00:33:34.169
Maurice Frumkin: If you've gotten your lottery number and your first digit of your lottery number starts with a lower number, those tend to be the stronger lottery numbers. If it starts with a 0, 1, 2, 3,

254
00:33:35.550 --> 00:33:40.689
Maurice Frumkin: The first digit goes from 0 to 9, and then A like Apple through F like Frank.

255
00:33:41.700 --> 00:33:46.279
Maurice Frumkin: So if you have a lottery number that starts with F, that is one of the weakest lottery numbers.

256
00:33:46.890 --> 00:33:52.200
Maurice Frumkin: Again, talk to your… talk to us about the implications of that.

257
00:33:52.800 --> 00:33:59.420
Maurice Frumkin: I'm talking with a bunch of families now, they're really worried about their lottery number, but that is not the only thing that matters.

258
00:34:00.930 --> 00:34:02.639
Maurice Frumkin: But, does it…

259
00:34:03.260 --> 00:34:11.209
Maurice Frumkin: Does it mean that I should have the right strategy? Absolutely. If I'm applying to a program that's completely lottery-based.

260
00:34:11.690 --> 00:34:19.060
Maurice Frumkin: And in high demand, and my lottery number is weak, is that gonna have an impact? Absolutely.

261
00:34:19.800 --> 00:34:37.350
Maurice Frumkin: If I'm applying to a screen program where I have a weak lottery number, maybe I'm not even in the top screen group. Maybe I'm in the second screen group, and I have a weak lottery number. Is that going to affect my order within my screen group? Absolutely. Is it going to affect my chances of getting into that screen program? Absolutely.

262
00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:41.400
Maurice Frumkin: But there are a lot of other factors to consider.

263
00:34:41.590 --> 00:34:46.250
Maurice Frumkin: Like many of the ones we talked about, not the least of which is demand for the program.

264
00:34:46.820 --> 00:34:47.690
Maurice Frumkin: So…

265
00:34:48.980 --> 00:35:00.000
Maurice Frumkin: I… I put this up because I know this is… these are questions that come up a lot. I have… if I have a lower screen group and or a lower lottery number, what are… what are some things that I can do in terms of strategy?

266
00:35:00.170 --> 00:35:04.319
Maurice Frumkin: Number one, talk to your counselor. Talk to us about how to strategize.

267
00:35:04.590 --> 00:35:09.809
Maurice Frumkin: Or if you have a counselor in your school, great. Whoever it is, talk to them, ask them.

268
00:35:10.180 --> 00:35:12.209
Maurice Frumkin: You know, my lottery number's weak.

269
00:35:12.340 --> 00:35:17.500
Maurice Frumkin: I'm in a lower screen group, what should I do? How can I optimize my choices?

270
00:35:18.210 --> 00:35:23.990
Maurice Frumkin: So that I am being smart about this, and again, it's okay to have some long shots.

271
00:35:24.290 --> 00:35:27.189
Maurice Frumkin: But I'm also giving myself as much backup as possible.

272
00:35:27.660 --> 00:35:36.230
Maurice Frumkin: And there are ways that you can utilize certain types of programs, whether it's a screen with an assessment program, a program that has a lower applicant-to-see ratio.

273
00:35:36.540 --> 00:35:46.850
Maurice Frumkin: Audition programs, the SHSAT, talk… exploring more under-the-radar options that don't have the 20 to 1 applicant to say ratios, right? Doesn't mean it's a bad school.

274
00:35:47.580 --> 00:35:50.059
Maurice Frumkin: And looking at your offer chances bars.

275
00:35:50.200 --> 00:35:55.220
Maurice Frumkin: So I want to talk about that in a second. If you're in your My Schools account, you've probably seen this by now.

276
00:35:55.840 --> 00:36:03.980
Maurice Frumkin: This is a great new tool that the DOE introduced last year, so you can start to see your chances of getting into a lot of these programs.

277
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:05.910
Maurice Frumkin: Now…

278
00:36:06.030 --> 00:36:12.080
Maurice Frumkin: If I start to see a program where I have 3 bars, and by the way, if you're in a non-public school.

279
00:36:13.600 --> 00:36:19.089
Maurice Frumkin: The DOE needs to take a little bit of time to generate your screen group.

280
00:36:19.530 --> 00:36:26.120
Maurice Frumkin: And the accurate offers chances bar, so if you're in your profile page and it doesn't tell you what screen group you're in yet.

281
00:36:26.570 --> 00:36:29.650
Maurice Frumkin: Be cautious when you're looking at these offer chances bars.

282
00:36:30.010 --> 00:36:35.899
Maurice Frumkin: So it takes a little bit of time for the DOE to populate screen group, if you're, again, if you're in a non-public school.

283
00:36:36.570 --> 00:36:38.319
Maurice Frumkin: So be cautious about that.

284
00:36:38.560 --> 00:36:42.670
Maurice Frumkin: But the reason why I say that is because these… Little bar graphs?

285
00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:51.259
Maurice Frumkin: are based on your child's information and data, your child's lottery number, your child's screen group, your child's priority group.

286
00:36:52.490 --> 00:36:54.439
Maurice Frumkin: And demand for these programs.

287
00:36:55.050 --> 00:36:57.009
Maurice Frumkin: So, if I'm applying to…

288
00:36:57.120 --> 00:37:02.880
Maurice Frumkin: Global Learning Collaborative, and I get 3 bars, that means I have a 99% chance of getting into that program.

289
00:37:03.620 --> 00:37:14.720
Maurice Frumkin: That's good. We want to see some of those 3-bar programs. If you're developing your list of schools, and you're looking at your application, and this is why I encourage you to start populating your application.

290
00:37:15.490 --> 00:37:19.640
Maurice Frumkin: Because if you have a list of 12 programs, and none of them have 3 bars.

291
00:37:20.210 --> 00:37:26.100
Maurice Frumkin: We want to try to give you some programs that have 3 bars, just to give yourself as much backup as possible.

292
00:37:26.900 --> 00:37:28.720
Maurice Frumkin: So what does two bars mean?

293
00:37:28.820 --> 00:37:33.640
Maurice Frumkin: Two bars means that somewhere in the middle, I have, like, a 50-50 chance. I don't really know for sure.

294
00:37:34.190 --> 00:37:39.029
Maurice Frumkin: I don't love the two-bar system, that's the one part of this system that I do not like.

295
00:37:39.460 --> 00:37:43.600
Maurice Frumkin: But that's… sort of means you have a 50-50 shot, you don't really know.

296
00:37:44.490 --> 00:37:49.159
Maurice Frumkin: And it is worthwhile to have some 2 bars on your list, absolutely.

297
00:37:49.460 --> 00:37:55.390
Maurice Frumkin: Because that means you have a, you know, you have a legitimate chance of getting into those programs, but we just don't know for sure.

298
00:37:56.450 --> 00:38:09.230
Maurice Frumkin: One bar, on the other hand, means you have about a 1% chance of getting into that program. So if I'm applying to Millennium High School or the Honors Academy at High School for Environmental Studies, I got one bar, that means, can I take a chance? Absolutely.

299
00:38:10.450 --> 00:38:22.130
Maurice Frumkin: Can I list it up top as my second and third choice, even though I know that it's a long shot? Absolutely. You have nothing to lose by doing that, but I know I have about a 1% chance of getting it.

300
00:38:23.090 --> 00:38:28.120
Maurice Frumkin: Beacon High School, if I'm applying to a program with an assessment or an audition.

301
00:38:28.330 --> 00:38:36.200
Maurice Frumkin: you're gonna see three dots. You're not gonna see bars, because they can't predict your chances without knowing how you're gonna do on the audition or the assessment.

302
00:38:36.780 --> 00:38:41.280
Maurice Frumkin: But this bar system is really important. At the end of the day, I like seeing a mix.

303
00:38:42.110 --> 00:38:50.650
Maurice Frumkin: three dots, one bars, 2 bars, and especially having some 3 bars in there, especially when we get to, you know, the end of November, when we're getting to crunch time.

304
00:38:51.640 --> 00:38:55.740
Maurice Frumkin: How many programs should you list? Sorry, I'm just looking at the time, because I want to make sure we have the

305
00:38:56.760 --> 00:38:58.670
Maurice Frumkin: Time for… for questions.

306
00:38:59.290 --> 00:39:04.140
Maurice Frumkin: You know, a nice general rule is to get to at least 12 programs you're willing to consider.

307
00:39:04.610 --> 00:39:07.909
Maurice Frumkin: Again, there's no limit. You can apply to as many as you want.

308
00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:12.610
Maurice Frumkin: But I still recommend up to 12, or I should say at least 12.

309
00:39:12.810 --> 00:39:24.390
Maurice Frumkin: And I say that because we know statistically, for families that list 12 or more, you have a nearly 100% chance of getting matched to one of your programs. But again, if I list 12 programs that all have one bar.

310
00:39:24.810 --> 00:39:32.680
Maurice Frumkin: Right? I get worried. So it also depends on the kinds of programs you're listing, but generally speaking, in aggregate across the city.

311
00:39:32.790 --> 00:39:48.109
Maurice Frumkin: students that list at least 12 have almost 100% chance of getting matched to one of their programs. And how should I rank? I should rank in true preference order. Schools do not see how you rank programs, despite what you may be hearing from them, and, you know, sometimes

312
00:39:48.190 --> 00:39:54.779
Maurice Frumkin: I get frustrated because families hear these things from schools directly. That leads them to believe

313
00:39:54.940 --> 00:39:58.489
Maurice Frumkin: That, you know, if I don't rank a program first, I can't get in.

314
00:39:59.700 --> 00:40:04.289
Maurice Frumkin: And you're led to believe that the school's gonna see how they… how you rank them, and they do not.

315
00:40:04.640 --> 00:40:08.199
Maurice Frumkin: So, at the end of the day, rank in true preference order.

316
00:40:08.390 --> 00:40:11.759
Maurice Frumkin: And we like these applications like Student B.

317
00:40:11.790 --> 00:40:26.829
Maurice Frumkin: you know, at least 12 choices, highly diversified, lots of different kinds of programs. Everybody gets something at the end of the day, but we just want to avoid this situation where, like, student F didn't get matched to any of their choices, because they didn't follow the guidelines that we talked about tonight.

318
00:40:26.840 --> 00:40:37.030
Maurice Frumkin: But some students, you know, may get choices, multiple choices, like students A and B, where they get a specialized high school and maybe something from the main application as well.

319
00:40:38.270 --> 00:40:58.260
Maurice Frumkin: If you're, you know, looking towards the spring and wondering what happens, this is the staggered nature timeline by which results come out, so all the public results come out in early March. If you're applying to independent schools, it should not be an issue, because independent school results come out not too much earlier than public school results.

320
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:13.030
Maurice Frumkin: So there is some overlap in terms of making decisions, and after public school offers come out, there's a big waitlist process. We'll take questions about that, but I'm not gonna… that's a whole other webinar we'll do. This is a good, October checklist.

321
00:41:13.610 --> 00:41:26.150
Maurice Frumkin: Just to… you know, DOE info sessions are still going on if you want to attend one of those. Test prep, audition prep, signing up for school events is really important. You know, if you're not already signing up for school events.

322
00:41:26.280 --> 00:41:33.289
Maurice Frumkin: now's the perfect time to be doing that. October and November, your calendar should be really busy getting to schools and seeing these places.

323
00:41:33.430 --> 00:41:39.220
Maurice Frumkin: You should have logged in, gotten your lottery number, registered for the SHSAT if you choose to do that.

324
00:41:39.510 --> 00:41:43.950
Maurice Frumkin: And, and these are just some key resources.

325
00:41:44.110 --> 00:41:56.300
Maurice Frumkin: Especially, I'll point out, you know, if you don't know about NYC SIFT, it's a great resource to monitor public school events, nycsift.com, and…

326
00:41:56.360 --> 00:42:09.149
Maurice Frumkin: You know, of course, if you're interested in other kinds of schools, these are some good websites to check out also. And the My Schools calendar, make use of it. There are a lot of schools that post events here, but also make use of NYC SIFT.

327
00:42:09.150 --> 00:42:16.550
Maurice Frumkin: And individual school websites, just in case you don't see a school that has an event listed on the My Schools calendar at myschools.nyc.

328
00:42:16.550 --> 00:42:28.150
Maurice Frumkin: This is me, just my contact information, in case you want to talk to me or somebody on my team, happy to speak to you about how we might be able to support you. I'm actually, with that, I'm going to…

329
00:42:28.380 --> 00:42:33.099
Maurice Frumkin: Stop sharing, and invite any questions through the chat.

330
00:42:35.390 --> 00:42:42.169
Maurice Frumkin: So if you have any questions, please feel free to write them in the chat, and we'll take as many as we can.

331
00:42:42.380 --> 00:42:45.130
Maurice Frumkin: So, the first question that I see in the chat is.

332
00:42:45.730 --> 00:42:54.680
Maurice Frumkin: Question about whether or not you do this in 7th or 8th grade. So, all the things we talked about up until now are things that you do in the fall of 8th grade.

333
00:42:54.790 --> 00:43:10.769
Maurice Frumkin: Now, that doesn't mean you can't start preparing before that, but in terms of applying to public schools, you do it in the fall of 8th grade, and then you have the option, also, if you want to do it in the, in the fall of 9th grade, and apply for other schools in 10th grade, you can do that too.

334
00:43:14.390 --> 00:43:16.000
Maurice Frumkin: Other questions?

335
00:43:23.780 --> 00:43:28.580
Maurice Frumkin: Or any myths that you're hearing about, or rumors, happy to try to address those as well.

336
00:43:38.980 --> 00:43:56.029
Maurice Frumkin: Can multiple non-specialized offers be received at the same time, or do you have to reject an offer first to receive another? So, by non-specialized offer, you're talking about the main application, and the answer to that, is that you can only be eligible for up to one match from your main application.

337
00:43:56.140 --> 00:44:00.999
Maurice Frumkin: So, no, you cannot get more than one offer from the main application.

338
00:44:01.650 --> 00:44:10.010
Maurice Frumkin: Now, there is a waitlist process, as I mentioned, so let's say, for my main application, I get matched to my number 4 choice, my fourth choice.

339
00:44:10.530 --> 00:44:14.629
Maurice Frumkin: I'm automatically waitlisted for my top 3.

340
00:44:15.220 --> 00:44:18.879
Maurice Frumkin: And there are some situations where families come off of a waitlist.

341
00:44:19.290 --> 00:44:34.190
Maurice Frumkin: So that's an opportunity. If you get an offer from a waitlist, you can swap out. You know, you can choose it or not. It's up to you. DOE usually gives you about a week to decide if you want to take an offer from a waitlist, but you can decide you don't want to and keep your current offer.

342
00:44:34.570 --> 00:44:44.870
Maurice Frumkin: If you're like your zoned school, do you still recommend ranking 12? Great question. So, if you have a zoned high school, so if you don't live in Manhattan, for example.

343
00:44:45.360 --> 00:44:52.860
Maurice Frumkin: And you have a zoned high school, and you're interested in going to your zoned high school, you would apply to your… the zoned program at your zoned high school.

344
00:44:53.110 --> 00:45:02.570
Maurice Frumkin: And if you know that you want to go to your zoned high school, you can put your zoned program at your zoned high school number one. It's a guarantee. You don't have to list anything else.

345
00:45:03.510 --> 00:45:22.309
Maurice Frumkin: But there's, you know, usually families like to explore other options if they don't… if they prefer them over their zoned high school, so you can always… you know, the rule of thumb is that if you're applying to your zoned high school, you should always put the zoned program at the bottom of your list. And that can mean putting it fifth, that could mean putting it 12th.

346
00:45:22.510 --> 00:45:29.999
Maurice Frumkin: Wherever you put it at the bottom, it's still going to be a guarantee if you don't get into something that you ranked above that.

347
00:45:31.220 --> 00:45:45.859
Maurice Frumkin: So I hope that answered that question. The percentage that… that locates you in a specific group is an average, or you have to get at least that percentage from each of the four subjects. So the way this… the way you're placed in a screen group

348
00:45:46.150 --> 00:45:55.250
Maurice Frumkin: In a non-public school, is that the DOE sort of takes your average from your core courses.

349
00:45:55.700 --> 00:45:59.550
Maurice Frumkin: And then determines whether or not you meet the citywide

350
00:45:59.610 --> 00:46:10.770
Maurice Frumkin: thresholds for each of the screen groups. So if I meet the threshold for the top 15% citywide, which I believe is 94.33, then I would fall into the top screen group.

351
00:46:10.770 --> 00:46:19.779
Maurice Frumkin: The only difference, with public schools is that for public schools, it's the… they also take the school-specific percentages.

352
00:46:19.880 --> 00:46:25.360
Maurice Frumkin: So if my school-specific top 15%, maybe it's 94.1.

353
00:46:25.780 --> 00:46:35.800
Maurice Frumkin: If I meet that, whatever the lower of the two is, the city-wide and the school-specific, as long as I meet the lower of the two, then I will fall into that screen group.

354
00:46:36.180 --> 00:46:38.820
Maurice Frumkin: So…

355
00:46:39.580 --> 00:46:55.949
Maurice Frumkin: I hope that answers your question, but if I didn't, just let me know. What about newly created high schools? Any idea, any advice on how to know if they look promising? I mean, there… yeah, there are a few scattered throughout the city. I mean, honestly, the best way is to go visit.

356
00:46:55.950 --> 00:47:06.810
Maurice Frumkin: And, you know, there are definitely some advantages with respect to newly created high schools in terms of being part of the development process and having potentially a lot of say.

357
00:47:06.810 --> 00:47:14.629
Maurice Frumkin: over what's offered at that school, and… but there's, you know, a lot of question marks as well. There might be, so…

358
00:47:14.700 --> 00:47:20.320
Maurice Frumkin: I usually recommend the best way is getting to know the school, is getting there in person.

359
00:47:20.550 --> 00:47:25.420
Maurice Frumkin: Talking to the folks, talking to… The administration.

360
00:47:26.630 --> 00:47:44.239
Maurice Frumkin: Myth or fact, if my child is accepted at LaGuardia, they must stay in the studio they were accepted to, or can they switch once they're in? Great question. The answer is, at LaGuardia, they usually offer, an opportunity at the end of 9th grade, if you want to audition for another program, it's an option.

361
00:47:44.470 --> 00:47:52.170
Maurice Frumkin: It's not a guarantee. So… so no. Technically, you don't have to stay in that program for 4 years.

362
00:47:52.390 --> 00:47:56.779
Maurice Frumkin: There's no guarantee you'll get into another program, but they do offer you that opportunity.

363
00:47:57.050 --> 00:48:11.530
Maurice Frumkin: do you have a cheat sheet of questions to ask at the school tours, or any online? You know, I'm… I'm certain that if you googled that, or if you used ChatGBT or something like that, you'll get a bunch of questions to ask at school tours.

364
00:48:12.320 --> 00:48:16.959
Maurice Frumkin: So, they're pretty easy to come by, and if you just googled something like that.

365
00:48:20.400 --> 00:48:22.720
Maurice Frumkin: Other questions? Thank you, these are great.

366
00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:31.060
Maurice Frumkin: We have a few minutes left here.

367
00:48:39.800 --> 00:48:45.899
Maurice Frumkin: Any questions about coming from a non-public school? I know there were some families that are in that situation.

368
00:48:58.080 --> 00:49:02.279
Maurice Frumkin: And let me just say, if I had to boil down the top priorities right now.

369
00:49:03.180 --> 00:49:10.470
Maurice Frumkin: Because I know there's a lot of information out there, and it's confusing. I think, number one, you should be signing up for open houses.

370
00:49:11.330 --> 00:49:23.099
Maurice Frumkin: Number two, you should be, obviously building your list of schools and researching schools. Number three, you should be paying attention to what schools on your list have some kind of extra requirement.

371
00:49:23.910 --> 00:49:26.009
Maurice Frumkin: Just so you don't lose track of that.

372
00:49:26.950 --> 00:49:32.719
Maurice Frumkin: And again, if you're applying to schools like BARD, Beacon, sign up for their in-person assessments.

373
00:49:33.170 --> 00:49:40.669
Maurice Frumkin: And obviously, if your child is taking the SHSAT or auditioning, you want to prepare for those. I mean, those are… those are…

374
00:49:41.030 --> 00:49:44.659
Maurice Frumkin: Probably the top priorities right now to be focusing on.

375
00:49:54.250 --> 00:49:55.890
Maurice Frumkin: Is there anything I missed, or…

376
00:49:56.610 --> 00:49:58.150
Maurice Frumkin: Went through too quickly.

377
00:50:10.370 --> 00:50:12.600
Maurice Frumkin: I think we got to all the questions in the chat.

378
00:50:14.700 --> 00:50:17.070
Maurice Frumkin: So far, any last-minute ones?

379
00:50:22.080 --> 00:50:26.760
Marcia Roesch: I think we should mention that, we'll have a recording of this.

380
00:50:26.930 --> 00:50:28.360
Marcia Roesch: on our website.

381
00:50:31.580 --> 00:50:36.000
Marcia Roesch: For anybody who needs to review, although this was great.

382
00:50:37.200 --> 00:50:39.039
Marcia Roesch: Maurice, thank you.

383
00:50:39.380 --> 00:50:41.390
Maurice Frumkin: I hope so, and…

384
00:50:42.170 --> 00:50:56.319
Maurice Frumkin: you know, I guess I'll leave you with this. There's so many sources of information out there, whether it's Facebook groups or, you know, things that, on the one hand, can really stress you out, so you want to sort of be cautious of that. It's great to get information from a variety of sources.

385
00:50:56.800 --> 00:51:05.299
Maurice Frumkin: But, you know, I guess trust your gut. You know, if you feel like you're on a Facebook group and it's just getting you more stressful than necessary.

386
00:51:05.720 --> 00:51:09.529
Maurice Frumkin: That might be a sign that, you know.

387
00:51:09.740 --> 00:51:14.769
Maurice Frumkin: A lot of the information is also generic and doesn't necessarily apply to your family and your child.

388
00:51:15.660 --> 00:51:21.730
Maurice Frumkin: But I just find personally, if I'm getting stressed out, that's usually a sign to myself to

389
00:51:21.910 --> 00:51:23.870
Maurice Frumkin: Kind of put the brakes on.

390
00:51:25.400 --> 00:51:28.850
Maurice Frumkin: Those kinds of things. And trust your counselor.

391
00:51:34.630 --> 00:51:35.450
Marcia Roesch: advice.

392
00:51:35.650 --> 00:51:38.159
Marcia Roesch: Thank you so much, Maurice, really.

393
00:51:38.750 --> 00:51:41.340
Marcia Roesch: This is very informative.

394
00:51:41.530 --> 00:51:43.020
Maurice Frumkin: Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Kristen.

395
00:51:43.020 --> 00:51:43.670
Marcia Roesch: Yeah.

396
00:51:44.840 --> 00:51:47.219
Maurice Frumkin: Good luck, everyone, and hopefully we'll…

397
00:51:47.410 --> 00:51:50.140
Maurice Frumkin: Have a chance to speak or meet in person sometime soon.

398
00:51:52.700 --> 00:51:55.069
Marcia Roesch: Thank you. Thanks, everyone, for coming.

399
00:51:55.550 --> 00:51:56.770
Maurice Frumkin: Have a good day, everyone.