Hunter College High School (HCHS) is a part of the Hunter College Campus Schools, the laboratory schools of the City University of New York administered by Hunter College. The only entry years at Hunter College Campus Schools are Kindergarten for the Elementary School and Seventh Grade for the High School.
Below is general information for admission to the 7th grade at HCHS. Though we are a high school, HCHS is a 7-12 grade school. 7th grade is the sole entry point for HCHS. We do not accept inquiries or applications for any other grades than 7th grade. We do not accept students for 8th or 9th grade or transfer students for any grade.
PLEASE READ ALL OF THE BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON THE ENTRANCE EXAM. WE WILL MAIL EXAM TICKETS BY MONDAY DECEMBER 12. IF YOU HAVE APPLIED AND DO NOT RECEIVE A TICKET BY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20TH, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND SCHOOL NAME. WE WILL NOT RESPOND TO PHONE INQUIRIES ABOUT TICKETS.
Hunter College High School Admission Process
Entrance to HCHS is by exam only. The exam is open only to students who are New York City residents. Students must qualify to take the Entrance Exam by achieving qualifying scores on 5th grade NY State-wide tests. The qualifying score changes each year.
THE ELIGIBILITY SCORES FOR THE 2012 ENTRANCE EXAM ARE 689 IN ELA AND 722 IN MATH .
Students in independent and parochial schools must have scored in the 90th national percentile of the Reading Comprehension and Math tests used at their schools and have those scores reported directly to the Admissions office.
We will arrange a qualifying examination for students for whom no scores are available (if they were sick on the testing days or if their home school does not require annual testing), if the principal of the home school submits a letter of recommendation with evidence of the student’s academic qualifications to the Admissions office.
Below are all the materials you will need to submit an application for your child to sit for the 2012 Hunter College High School Entrance Exam. In order to avoid common errors, please read the entire “HCHS 2012 Overview of the Application Process” before downloading and submitting your application.
- HCHS 2012 Overview of the Application Process
- HCHS 2012 Candidate Application Form
- HCHS 2012 Reduced Fee Application Form
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS HAS NOW PASSED. WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE FALL 2012 7TH GRADE CLASS.
ONCE YOU APPLY, PLEASE NOTE:
- Due to the large volume of applicants, we will not respond to individual requests for confirmation of receipt of applications. If you do not receive an exam ticket by December 20th, you may send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We will not respond to requests for information before this date.
- You will receive an exam ticket in mid-December. It will include all the information you need for test day.
- The best and fastest way to contact the Admissions Office with questions is to send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). In your email, please include your name, your child’s name, your child’s school, and a daytime phone number where you can be reached.
- Students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch may apply for a reduced administrative fee for the entrance exam. Applications must be accompanied by a money order for the reduced fee of $32.50, the completed Reduced Fee Application form and documentation for BOTH parents. If you receive a notice that your application has been rejected, you must pay the balance of the $65.00 administrative fee BY MONEY ORDER as soon as you receive notice. Without proper payment, your child’s application will be considered incomplete. Until payment is made, your child will not receive an admittance ticket for the exam. If you feel your application has been rejected in error, please send the appropriate documentation to support your request. Applications are often rejected when a tax return indicates assets (i.e. savings) that would enable a family to pay the fee, regardless of annual income.
- If you paid the administrative fee with a personal check this will be returned to you. You must pay the $65.00 administrative fee BY MONEY ORDER as soon as you receive notice. Without proper payment, your child’s application will be considered incomplete. Until payment is made, your child will not receive an admittance ticket for the exam.
- If you have applied to HCHS and your child does not have the qualifying scores on the NY State exams or the 90th national percentile or above on tests used at his/her independent school, the application will be returned to you. There are no exceptions to the eligibility requirements and we will not respond to requests for exceptions in any case.
THE ENTRANCE EXAM
In December, all applicants who are eligible to sit for the Entrance Exam will be mailed admittance tickets for test day. The test will be given on JANUARY 6TH, 2012 at one of three locations:
1. HCHS at 94th St. between Park and Madison Avenues
2. Hunter College – West Building at 68th St. and Lexington Avenue
3. Hunter College – North Building at 69th St. between Park and Lexington Avenues
Your child will be assigned a location and room for the Exam. Mailings will include information about pick up and drop off and will refer students to comprehensive information about test day.
TESTING, SCORING and SELECTION
The Entrance Exam consists of two multiple-choice sections covering English and Math and a writing assignment. Students have three hours to complete the Exam. It is given once per year, with no make-up dates or rescheduling. For the 2011-2012 year, the Exam will be given on January 6th, 2012. In the event of inclement weather, the snow date is scheduled for January 13th, 2012.
The multiple-choice sections are computer-scored and hand-checked for accuracy. A cut off score is established, allowing the top approximately 500 scorers to have their essays read by a panel of HCHS English faculty. Essays are read “blind”; at all times, students are identified solely by their HCHS Identification numbers. Readers do not know the students’ identities at any point in the assessment process. The students who write the top approximately 170 essays are selected for admission to HCHS.
HCHS also maintains a wait list pool of 20 to 30 students. If admitted students decline admission or withdraw from HCHS prior to the beginning of 7th grade, students from the wait list will be offered admission at HCHS’s discretion. No students will be admitted from the wait list after 7th grade.
HCHS does not rescore exams, reread essays, or reconsider admissions decisions. HCHS does not share or publish any portion of the Exam and does not endorse any test preparation service or agency.
Visiting Hunter College High School
We do not have a visitation program for prospective students. Those offered admission or placed on the wait list will be invited to Hunter Day on the afternoon of March 13, 2012, a program introducing parents and students to all aspects of academic and student life at the school. Information about Hunter Day accompanies all letters of admission and offers of places on the wait list.
Students are required to accept or decline their offers of admission within one week of the Hunter Day program.
For a more in-depth look at what HCHS offers in the classroom, there is extensive information about the curriculum available on the HCHS Homepage. See the 2011-2012 Course Catalog, among other options, on that page.
Hunter College Elementary School (HCES)
For information about applying for the HCES September 2012 Kindergarten Class, please visit the elementary school’s website at http://hces.hunter.cuny.edu.
