For Fall 2026 admissions, screened programs will admit the top-performing applicants from across each middle school and citywide. Students will be admitted to screened programs in group order, starting with students in group one.
Students fall into a screened admissions groups based on the average of their final seventh-grade core course grades (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies). This average must fall into the top percentage of students citywide or at a student’s school in order to fall within a certain admissions group.
To learn what average grades are needed to fall into a group at your child’s NYC public school*, please contact your current school after the start of the application period. These are the average grades needed to fall into the different groups citywide for the Fall 2024 admission process (Fall 2025 Group grades will be available during the application period beginning Oct. 7th):
*Students with an average lower than a 90 will not fall into Group 1, even if they are in the top 15% of their NYC Public School. This will be the case for students with an average lower than an 80 for group 2, lower than a 75 for group 3, and lower than 65 for group 4.
If there are more applicants in group one than available seats at a program, students from group one will be randomly selected for seats using the random number linked to each applicant’s application. If all students in group one can be accommodated at a school, students in group two will be considered next; if there are more applicants in group two than remaining available seats, then students in group two will be randomly selected for available seats. This will continue with subsequent groups until all seats are filled.
Applicants from charter schools are eligible for an admissions group based on the citywide averages and their school averages if their school provides the NYC Public Schools with grades for all students at that charter school. Applicants from non-NYC Public Schools or other charter schools are eligible for an admissions group only by meeting the citywide average.
When the HS application opens, students will be able to see which screened admissions group they are in on their MySchools profile. On the dashboard, click on “Edit profile” just above your child’s name. Scroll down to see the screened admissions group.
Ninth-grade applicants to tenth-grade seats will be grouped based on their final eighth-grade grades.
Diversity in Admissions: Offer Process Explained
How are offers made to screened programs that are participating in Diversity in Admissions (DIA) and do not have an assessment?
At screened programs that have a diversity in admissions (DIA) and do not have an assessment, students in group one who are eligible for DIA are considered first for DIA seats. If there are not enough applicants eligible for DIA in group one to fill DIA seats, students in group two who are eligible for DIA will be considered next. This will continue until all DIA seats are filled.