Students face long odds at many popular schools

Knowing the chances of admission to various schools can help guide students in the application process.

by Dale Mezzacappa

So, what are your chances of being admitted to a particular high school?

By comparing the number of applicants to the number of students accepted, the Notebook was able to compare the District's high schools on how selective they are.

This information, while not widely known, is potentially vital to applicants. Competition is stiff to get into the District's special and citywide admissions schools. But each year thousands of students unknowingly apply to schools where their chances of getting in may be lower than 1 percent. Eighth graders get to list just five schools on their application, and need to be strategic in using those options.

Surprisingly, Central High School, despite its high admission standards, has much better odds for applicants than many of the other selective schools.

The selective school that accepted the smallest percentage of applicants, 7 percent, was Parkway Center City, followed closely by School of the Future at 8 percent, and Science Leadership Academy and Bodine at 9 percent.

Masterman's odds are similarly slim overall – and become virtually nil for anyone who isn't already a middle-school student there.

The chances of Masterman 8th graders being able to continue into the much smaller high school program are about 50-50, but these students take nearly all available slots.

Principal Marge Neff said that this year, only seven or eight students out of about 1,200 applicants from outside Masterman were accepted for 9th grade. That's an acceptance rate of less than 1 percent for outsiders.

Besides having high test scores and grades, outside applicants to Masterman must have already taken Algebra 1 and one year of either French or Spanish, Neff said.

"We look at all the applications, but many don't meet the criteria," Neff said. "The ones that did qualify were wait-listed and a few were accepted."

The Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP) also fills much of its 9th grade of 66 students from the ranks of its middle school. The school received more than 600 applications. Coming from the outside, the odds of getting in are much worse than one in 10.

Central is most popular

Central, which accepts the largest freshman class of all the selective schools, by far has the most applicants — well over 4,000. But since its freshman class has more than 600 students, the odds of being accepted are fairly high – nearly one in four – greater than schools like Dobbins and Saul.

Central President Sheldon Pavel said that he accepted 1,016 students for 9th grade. Of that number 613 enrolled.

Central's requirements are among the most stringent – standardized test scores above the 88th percentile, all As and Bs, the ability to write a coherent essay, few absences and latenesses, and a good disciplinary record.

"If you meet the requirements, you will be accepted," said Pavel. "This school is a microcosm of democracy. My position is that if kids are qualified, I want them to come. I will find a place."

A large portion of Central's applicants are from outside the public school system. Pavel said that students from 383 schools – including some from abroad – applied, and 176 schools are represented among the new enrollees.