Admissions Criteria

The Townsend Harris admission criteria for students applying for Fall 2027 will be posted here when the MySchools application opens on October 6, 2026.

Brand New to NYC?

If you're new to New York City, please click here to learn how to enroll in a New York City public school. You cannot enroll at Townsend Harris directly.

Interested in Transferring?

Transferring from one NYCPS school to another during the school year is a centralized process managed by the NYCPS Office of Student Enrollment. You can learn more on the NYCPS Transfers webpage. Townsend Harris cannot initiate the transfer process. You will have to visit a Family Welcome Center. Please note that requesting a transfer is not a guarantee of receiving one.

Applying for the 2027/2028 School Year

NYCPS HS Admissions Timeline for all Schools

Tuesday, October 6, 2026: High School Application, LaGuardia Application, and Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) Registration Opens
Friday, October 30, 2026: SHSAT Registration Closes
Wednesday, November 18, 2026: SHSAT School Day
Friday, December 4, 2026: High School and LaGuardia Applications Close; deadline to submit additional materials in MySchools

You can find this timeline and more information on the NYCPS High School webpage.

The Townsend Harris admission criteria for students applying for Fall 2027 will be posted here when the MySchools application opens on October 6, 2026.

NYCPS Family Information Sessions

During these sessions, the NYCPS Office of Student Enrollment will cover exploring high schools and programs, building a balanced application, registering for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), auditioning for arts programs, and understanding how offers are made. After each presentation, they will respond to your questions.

Wednesday, October 7, 6pm to7pm| Event in English and interpretation provided in Arabic, Bangla, Chinese (Mandarin), Russian and American Sign Language (ASL).
Thursday, October 8, 5pm to 6pm | Event in English and interpretation provided in French, Haitian Creole, Spanish, Urdu and ASL.
Tuesday, October 13, 6pm to 7pm | Event held in English and interpretation provided in Albanian, Korean, Ukrainian, Uzbek and ASL.
Thursday, October 15, 6pm to 7pm | This event will focus on how students with disabilities (SWD) participate in high school admissions. Event held in English and interpretation provided in Arabic, Bangla, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish and ASL.
Thursday, October 22, 6pm to to 7pm | Event held in Spanish.
Tuesday, November 10, 6pm to 7pm | Event held in Chinese (Mandarin).
Monday, November 23, 5pm to 6pm | Event held in English and interpretation provided in Bangla, Chinese (Cantonese), Russian, Spanish, ASL.

Links for each Information Session can be found on the NYCPS High School webpage.