Stuyvesant High School Admissions Profile for Parents

Stuyvesant was founded back in 1904 as a boys school and specifically as a ‘manual training school for boys’ however that has changed over the years. The school today is close to fifty-fifty boys and girls. In 1992 it moved from 15th Street to Battery Park City, creating a new, multi-million dollar building for students. Also, it is no longer a manual training school but rather one of the top schools in New York City, especially for science, mathematics, and technology.

In fact, they are ranked number one for college prep public high schools in New York, public high schools of New York in general, and high schools for STEM in New York. Not only that but they rank in the top 1% of public schools in New York for math proficiency, reading/language arts proficiency, and graduation rate.

Home to national recognition and a strong immigrant population, this Manhattan school selects its students by the rigorous SHSAT examination, which is allowed for students throughout the state.

The school today strives to be a symbol of excellence in education as well as ‘instilling intellectual, moral and humanistic values necessary for each child to achieve his/her maximum potential as a student and as a caring citizen of the world.’

Stuyvesant is a public high school for academically gifted students. As such it does not charge fees but does require that students take and pass the Specialized High Schools Admission Test. For Stuyvesant the primary goal is to find students gifted in mathematics, science and technology; however, there are also advanced electives and humanities courses.

The goal of Stuyvesant is to challenge students in all areas of their academic career and to provide them with a higher level of education than is offered at standard area public schools.

Stuyvesant Quick Facts

Percentage of students accepted to college	99%
Yearly tuition	Free for all accepted students
Number of clubs and organizations	223
Number of sports and athletic teams	40
Student to teacher ratio	21:1
Average Class Size	22
Approximate grade size	55
Student body	Co-ed
Average SAT score	1480-1550
Average ACT score	32-35
Stuyvesant High School Admissions Exam	SHSAT in fall of 8th grade
SHSAT Choice Ranking	Any but Stuyvesant has always been the highest cutoff score. For the SHSAT you must go to the highest choice you rank that you score higher than the cutoff. You do not have a choice after the test. Therefore, Stuyvesant must be placed 1st if you want to go there. Otherwise, you will be placed at your first choice if you score well enough for Stuyvesant.
Website	https://stuy.enschool.org/
Virtual Tour	Virtual Tour Stuyvesant High School NYC
Test Dates, Open House Dates, Information Session Dates	https://stuy.entest.org/Fall%20Term%20Calendar%20%202020%20-%202021%20Posted%20on%20Stuy%20Website.pdf

 

Stuyvesant Academics

Stuyvesant ranks as the number one public high school in New York, and also as the number one high school for STEM in New York. Students are challenged during their time at Stuyvesant, especially in areas related to mathematics, technology, and sciences.

Graduation requirements for Stuyvesant are strict and approximately 99% of students are able to graduate the program. They are required to take 4 years of English, social studies, science, mathematics and physical education, as well as 3 years of a world language, 2 years of technology education, and one year each of music/fine arts and additional electives. They also complete one semester of health education.

Throughout their time at Stuyvesant students will take regents exams in English, global history, US history, living environment, chemistry, physics, integrated algebra, geometry, algebra II, trigonometry, and their language of choice. Those who have already taken a regents exam in a foreign language before attending Stuyvesant are required to begin a new one and take the regents exam prior to graduation.

All students attending Stuyvesant graduate with at least a Regents diploma.

College Preparation Program

Students are given the opportunity to meet with a college counselor throughout their time at Stuyvesant.

The College Now program provides a number of opportunities for the student no matter which school they attend. They are also given the opportunity to participate in dual-enrollment with a local college, which can give them an advantage when it comes time to move on from Stuyvesant.

The program also aids students in college readiness and serves not only students at Stuyvesant but throughout New York City. Students from Stuyvesant can attend classes with Hunter College or City College of New York or may apply to attend at other participating campuses.

Advanced Programs

AP courses are offered in most subjects and students are encouraged to challenge themselves. Stuyvesant offer 30 AP courses, or nearly all subjects, allowing students more opportunities to push themselves and to graduate with an advanced distinction. Approximately 97% of Stuyvesant students take at least one Advanced Placement class.

Scores on SAT/ACT

Students from Stuyvesant go on to some of the best colleges and universities in the country and world. The average SAT score for Stuyvesant students is 1480-1550 and the average ACT is 32-35.

Stuyvesant High School Student Life

Stuyvesant is located on Chambers Street, within Battery Park City. It’s right next to the Borough of Manhattan Community College, Rockefeller Park, Pier 25, the Holland Tunnel, the Hudson River, and plenty of the best that downtown has to offer.

Stuyvesant Sports

There are over 40 different sports available throughout the year at Stuyvesant including girls, boys, and co-ed teams as well as JV and varsity.

• Boys & girls bowling
• Boys & girls cross country
• Varsity & JV football
• Boys & girls swimming
• Boys & girls soccer
• Girls varsity & JV volleyball
• Boys & girls fencing
• Boys & girls golf
• Boys & girls badminton
• Boys & girls tennis
• Boys & girls indoor track
• Boys & girls varsity basketball
• Boys JV basketball
• Boys & girls gymnastics
• Wrestling
• Boys & girls table tennis
• Boys volleyball
• Boys & girls outdoor track
• Boys & girls handball
• Girls softball
• Boys varsity & JV baseball
• Boys & girls lacrosse
• Co-ed cricket
• Co-ed stunt

Stuyvesant Extracurriculars

There are over 220 different extracurricular activities available at Stuyvesant with the ability to select meeting days, categories, and even required levels of involvement. Students can select what works best for their interests and availability.

• Stuyswing
• Stuyvesant book club
• Stuyvesant factory farming awareness coalition
• Stuyvesant study society
• Stuyvesant RTS games club
• Students for animal rights club
• StuyPy
• Renaissance women
• StuyViridian
• Big Sibs
• Cartoon club
• Sports discussion club
• Architecture club
• Stuy pong
• Mathematics and computer science research
• Stuy webtoon
• Stuyvesant wellness council
• Stuyvesant Japanese media club
• Stuy birdies
• Stuyvesant patriots club
• Stuyvesant film club
• Stuyvesant cycling team
• The scrapbook
• Stuyvesant red cross
• Realpolitalk
• Thunder
• Latin and mythology club
• Antares
• StuyPixel
• DiscussHer
• Life skills
• Stuyvesant linguistics club
• Stuyvesant tech giveback
• StuyLaunch
• The ethics forum
• Stuyvesant Envirothon club
• Math goals for girls
• Stuy smile
• Stuyvesant students for Biden
• Stuyvesant young democrats
• Stuyvesant research club
• Stuyvesant business club
• Stuy skate
• Stuyvesant creative writing club
• StuyGallop
• Stuyvesant sailing
• Stuynomics
• Stuyvesant physical fitness club
• Stuy pen pals
• Investment club
• Stuy USACF
• Stuy naach
• Caliper literary magazine
• Pstuychology
• Stuyvesant feminist society
• Stuyvesant financial literacy club
• Stuy women in science
• GYLTxStuy
• Dance culture club
• Stuy strums
• Operation smile
• Stuy voices
• Stuyvesant national science honor society
• Stuyvesant sticky fingers (boys & girls)
• StuyLaw
• Computer interaction club
• Stuy supports senior citizens
• Stuyvesant DECA
• Stuyvesant Spectator
• Art club
• StuySquad
• Gu Zheng club
• Artasia
• Mu Alpha Theta Stuy
• Machine learning club
• Stuyvesant Muslim students association
• Project kaleidoscope
• Stuy brawl stars club
• History club
• Stuy BPA
• Students demand action Stuyvesant
• Student union
• Stuyvesant science Olympiad
• Plant club
• Stuyvesant save the children
• StuyNeuro
• Stuyvesant science bowl
• Stuyvesant piano club
• Stuy comics
• Youth science initiative
• Stuyvesant theater community
• StuyFlight
• Teens for public health
• Stuy STEM goes red
• Business bulletin
• Stuy artistic beading club
• Redefy Stuyvesant
• Stuyvesant women in physics and engineering
• StuyMag
• Stuyvesant competitive computing club
• Heschel
• STEMinism
• The Moonlight
• Doorstep donations
• Stuyvesant metallurgical society
• Students against destructive decisions
• Stuyvesant climbing club
• Stuyvesant seekers Christian fellowship
• Stuyvesant alumni mentoring program
• Stuyvesant Spanish club
• Remote buddies
• Stuyvesant anti-landphobia coalition
• Stuyvesant TILE
• Stuyvesant sports podcast club
• Stuy scrapbooking and collaging
• South Asian youth association
• Stuyvesant taekwondo association
• Stuyvesant television club
• ACLU at Stuy
• Project love
• Stuy rocketry team
• StuyUNHCR
• The pet peeps
• Charity a la mode
• Tap club
• Stuy go club
• stuyFixIt
• Stuyvesant association for screenwriting
• Stuyvesant biology Olympiad
• StuyMath
• Stuyvesant robotics
• Stuyvesant physics team
• Stuyvesant pre-med
• Be a leader association
• Global research and consulting
• Stuyvesant competitive gaming club
• Stuyvesant math survey
• ACS chem club
• Stuyvesant Pokémon Go club
• Stuyvesant Asian coalition
• Stock market competition and mentoring club
• Stuy K-pop
• StuyWis
• Russian culture
• Stuy proteomics
• Stuyvesant ARISTA
• StuyOrigami
• Stuyvesant Rubik’s Cube Club
• Stuyvesant animal association
• Stuyvesant game devs
• StuyD&D
• Stuyvesant black students league
• Test activity
• Stuy WIBC
• StuyDesign
• Stuyvesant music association
• Stuyvesant soccer club
• Stuyvesant spoken word team
• StuyPhilo
• Care for the cure
• Stuyvesant girls who code
• Stuyvesant cheerleading
• Digital photography club
• Stuyvesant future physicians
• Stuy novelly
• Stuy data
• Project sibsupport
• Stuyvesant trading card games club
• Stuy cybersecurity community
• Stuyvesant motorsports club
• StuyHacks
• Whisky bravo
• Anterograde
• Stuyvesant voice the unheard
• Stuyvesant thirst project
• Stuyvesant girl up
• Coalition Z
• Stuyvesant Jewish student union
• Speech and debate
• Stuy gunplay club
• Stuy entomology
• Stuyvesant clay charms club
• Stuy sketch
• Stuyvesant music production
• Humans of Stuy
• Stuyvesant road runners
• Stuyvesant spectrum
• Stuyvesant league club
• Stuy homeless coalition
• The Stuyvesant Indicator
• Truecrime.stuy
• StuySky
• Stuyvesant key club
• Super Stuy Bros.
• Stuyvesant environmental club
• Belly club
• Intro to programming and CS club
• Stuyvesant papercrafts
• Among Stuy
• Stuy eats
• Chinese culture club
• Active minds
• StuyGiveology
• Society of mobile apps development
• NBA club
• Stuyvesant transit & urbanism association
• Chess club
• Stuyvesant fencing club
• Stuy Forza
• Stuy step
• 4-H
• Stuy startup
• Women against patriarchy
• ASPIRA
• Stuyvesant a Capella
• Stuyvesant model United Nations
• Stuyvesant quiz bowl
• Stuyvesant cultural preservation club
• StuyFlow
• Stuy choreo
• Stuyvesant cooking club
• Board games club
• Lacrosse club

Stuyvesant High School Famous Alumni

Many people have graduated from Stuyvesant, including many Fields and Nobel prize winners. Some graduates include the following:

• Samuel Spewack – screenwriter, playwright, Tony Award Winner, Academy Award nominee
• Nick Meglin – MAD Magazine editor
• Marv Goldberg – music critic
• Eric Van Lustbader – The Bourne Legacy author
• Alissa Quart – critic, journalist, poet, author
• Joshua Lederberg  – 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Peter Lax  – 1987 Wolf Prize in Mathematics
• Robert Fogel – 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
• Elias Stein – 1999 Wolf Prize in Mathematics
• Paul Cohen – 1966 Fields Medal
• Roald Hoffmann – 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Richard Axel  – 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Stuyvesant High School Admissions Process

The application process for Stuyvesant is quite simple. Students need to be in either the eighth or ninth grade and will need to take the exam for Specialized High School Admissions Test. Then they will be eligible for any of the specialized high schools in the area, including Stuyvesant. The ninth grade exam is much more difficult than the eighth grade exam as the student will need to have learned everything that the freshman of the school have learned in order to keep up.

Students are put on a list for their first choice school according to their score on the SHSAT. Spots at that school are then filled starting with the student who has the highest score and going until that school has no more spaces or students no longer meet the minimum score. At that point, students will be added to a list for their second choice school as long as they meet the minimum score and the process begins again.

Remember, for the SHSAT you must go to the highest choice you rank that you score higher than the cutoff. You do not have a choice after the test. Therefore, Stuyvesant must be placed 1st if you want to go there. Otherwise, you will be placed at your first choice if you score well enough for Stuyvesant because that score will also be higher than the other school.

The cutoff score for Stuyvesant on the SHSAT was 560 for 2020; it is consistently in this area and the hardest specialized high school for which to attain admission.

 

	Stuyvesant	Bronx Science	Lehman	Queens Science	City College	Staten Island Tech	Brooklyn Tech	Brooklyn Latin
2018	559	518	516	511	516	519	493	482
2019	561	526	530	n/a	550	552	492	494
2020	560	525	524	514	519	525	498	488

 

Taking the SHSAT as Entrance Exam for Stuyvesant

Students who wish to attend Stuyvesant must complete the SHSAT exam to be considered for admission. This exam is a standard for specialized high schools in NYC, including Staten Island Technical High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, Bronx High School of Science, High School of American Studies at Lehman College, High School for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at City College of New York, Queens High School of the Sciences at York College, and Brooklyn Latin School. Anything can happen on one test but the most gifted and prepared students in New York generally do well. Stuyvesant must be listed as one of the student’s choices on their exam.

The best way to prepare for the SHSAT exam is through practice tests. We offer practice tests year round. The practice exams make sure that students do not face any surprises on test day. Most students do very poorly the first time they take an SHSAT so practice exams and prep are highly recommended to do well, no matter how bright the student is. You can schedule a practice test or see our schedule of practice tests for the year here.

I work with students throughout their middle school careers to strengthen their academic skills.

My students have earned over $12.8 million dollars in scholarships to NYC’s top private high schools:

Full Breakdown of Scholarships 2022: $3.8 Million

Signup for Your Student’s First High School Admissions Practice Exam or SHSAT Here

Prep for the Stuyvesant High School Admissions Process

Anyone who is looking to get into Stuyvesant or to get their child into Stuy will want to get started early. The school is very competitive, and doing well on the SHSAT is paramount to being accepted. This is the ONLY requirement for admission. There has been much debate and controversy over this in the past few years and many changes to the SHSAT since 2017.

The SHSAT is currently (as of 2021) 57 questions of math and 57 questions of verbal. The verbal section is mostly reading comprehension with about 10 questions of editing/revising. It is 3 hours with no breaks between sections.

The questions are longer and more in depth than many of the other high school admissions exams but the student is given much more time. The math is very difficult and is similar to the easiest questions on the SAT and ACT your junior in high school will take. The reading comprehension is very difficult and involves some poetry. There are many choices that seem like reasonable answers but should be eliminated because of subtle differences making them incorrect.

Advanced tutoring, and especially sessions with small groups or even individually, will help students who are looking to get into Stuyvesant get the help they need to give them a leg up and stay updated on any changes. All provided material throughout the tutoring process (and in life) is cumulative, so the earlier your student starts, the better off they will be when it comes time to apply.

Based on the first practice test, we’ll recommend individual or group tutoring for the SHSAT focusing on math, verbal, or both.

When to Start Prep for Stuyvesant High School

Ideally, students should be incorporating all lessons learned from 5th grade and earlier into their long term memories so that they never forget it, can build more complex topics on top of them, and can readily access them during a test or any time they need them in life. In 5th and 6th grade, ask your students about material they learned last week, last month, and last year to make sure they can still apply it. If they can’t, review it until they can. Practice until they cannot get that type of problem wrong, not just until they get it right. Preparation for the most difficult specialized high school ideally starts before 7th grade.

As someone who got into a specialized high school in NYC, I know the preparation and commitment it takes to succeed. My tutoring team offers group and private tutoring sessions to boost your student’s academic performance and self-confidence for the rigorous private high school admissions season.

First Test for High School Admissions

Our first test for high school entrance occurs between November and April, five months to a year before the NYC SHSAT. We have data from hundreds of students and can give an excellent estimate of where your student is and how they need to improve. This first practice exam is easier than a practice SHSAT but has aspects of it. Students who can get a perfect score on the math of that exam (which is almost no one) can only get about half the math correct on their first SHSAT practice test. For this reason, it’s best to start with this easier exam and work your way up to the SHSAT, unless you are starting in May or later.

This first practice test for 6th and 7th graders is identical every month and only necessary to be taken once. From April to October, we differentiate to focus on each student’s specific schools so take SHSAT and other practice exams between April and October each year.

Comparison of the SHSAT with other high school entrance exams: HSPT and TACHS

The earlier you start, the more prepared your child will be as all learning is cumulative and built upon previous skills and knowledge that they have mastered. Once your student takes a practice test, we will give suggestions on how to improve. We will also suggest potential group (of similar students with similar goals) or individual tutoring. The latest to start group SHSAT prep is in 7th grade.

Start Lessons by Signing up for Your Student’s First High School Admissions Practice Exam Here

Prep Overlaps with Other Private High Schools

The preparation is 100% identical for all NYC specialized high schools: Staten Island Technical High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, Bronx High School of Science, High School of American Studies at Lehman College, High School for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at City College of New York, Queens High School of the Sciences at York College, and Brooklyn Latin School.

Other private high schools in Manhattan you may also consider are Regis High School, Xavier High School, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Marymount School of New York, Loyola School of New York, and Dalton. The first four are either all boys or all girls high schools. These schools tend to be more humanities focused than the math/science heavy specialized high schools. They share similar preparation to the specialized schools and require similar excellence on their tests. The nuances of their admissions processes vary, but we can answer any questions you have about these and train students for the differences in tests.

More information on other high schools and exams in NYC

Prepare for Stuyvesant and Regis simultaneously

Individual and Group Tutoring Sessions

My students have earned admission to some of the most prestigious schools in the country, including Regis, which competes with Stuyvesant as the most prestigious high school in New York City. I work with students to improve their academics to make sure they achieve success in their exams and beyond, even when they already excel.

My students have also earned large scholarships to high-level schools, earning over $12.8 million in financial assistance through merit-based scholarships with 42 students passing the rigorous Regis exam to earn an interview.

In 2022, John’s students earned a combined total of over $3.8 million in scholarships to high school and entrance into multiple specialized high schools, including Stuyvesant.

In 2021, this was over $2.5 million in scholarships.

Most students take a practice test before their first lesson to identify areas of improvement and potentially group similar students with similar goals. We also use this to compare to future practice tests to determine what is working and what isn’t. Call, text, or email us to discuss the best options for your student, including individual one-on-one tutoring or in a group. Online group sessions have rolling starts year-round. You can view availability for groups and tutoring at Book Me.

Contact me for more info or to start tutoring lessons for Stuyvesant and the specialized high schools