10th grade transfer application and waitlist - where for art thou?
/By Joyce Szuflita
First, it is not accurate for me to call it “a transfer” although that is the way we all think about it. The DoE uses “transfer” language for different programs. When speaking with the DoE about changing schools at 10th grade, call it the “10th grade application”.
The 10th grade application process exists, but specific information about it is rarely seen on the DoE’s website. I have only found one mention of it under “who can apply?” buried in general high school information. The answer is: A current eighth grade or first-time ninth grade student. That’s it! Here is the story of the 10th grade “transfer”.
The waitlists that were in place in 8th grade for a 9th grade entry, go away in fall. In the fall of 9th grade, there is an opportunity to do a new application for a new 10th grade placement. There is always little to no information on the DoE website about this, but it follows all the protocols and timelines that the 8th grade application follows.
There are seats available at most schools, although a few popular schools will not offer 10th grade seats. Whether they do or not is listed on their MY SCHOOLS directory page. The 10th grade application uses the same admissions criteria as the 9th grade application. The results come out at the same time in early March. At that point families can choose to take the new offer or remain at their current school. This year families were confused by the admission letter they received. It has always been the case that if you get a new 10th grade placement, you get to decide between that and your current school. The letter said that you didn’t have to do anything to accept your new offer, but it didn’t give a mechanism to reject the offer. To do that, you just need to contact your current guidance counselor and tell them that you would like to remain in your current school. If you were applying from outside a DoE school, you should contact the Family Welcome Center.
There are new waitlists in place at this point. As with the 9th grade waitlists, families who applied to schools they ranked higher than their offer are automatically listed on the waitlist for those schools. They are ranked on the waitlists as they would have been on the 9th grade waitlists. If a school is screened or audition, you are listed according to your Group or audition score. If you the list is for an Ed Opt or Open school, your new waitlist lottery number is used. You can add your name manually at that time, even if you didn't participate in the process. Because the application happens so early, when new 9th grade students have barely had any time in their schools to determine if it is a fit or not, many students miss the 10th grade application. The ability to opt in later, with a waitlist is a great newish opportunity. There is a time sensitive aspect to adding your name manually as there is with the 9th grade waitlists, so opt in as soon as possible. Your name will remain on the list through the fall. The wait lists may move or not.
To add your name, you may have to dig for it a little. You go into your account on MY SCHOOLS, search for your favorite schools, check them and then you can add your name to their waitlist. You may need to play around with the pages for a minute, because it is not intuitive for many people.
The Specialized HS and LaGuardia are always a separate process. There are never waitlists for these schools. The SHSAT test is given in the fall of 8th grade for anyone living and attending school in NYC in the fall. It is given at the end of the summer for anyone who has moved into the City after the first test is given. A new harder test is given in the fall for any 9th grader who wants to try for a 10th grade SHS seat. And even though there is absolutely no mention of it, I wouldn’t doubt that the 10th grade test could also be given in the summer for new arrivals.
The same is true for LaGuardia auditions.
