The admissions dictionary nobody hands you.

MySchools

NYCPS’s online directory and application platform. Families use it to explore programs, build an application, and apply to 12 or more programs they would genuinely attend. Everything else on this list eventually passes through here.

Rank Order

The order you list programs on your application, and the most misunderstood decision in the process. The algorithm works in your favor when you rank honestly: putting a long shot first never costs you a program further down your list. Ranking a less-preferred program above one you genuinely want can result in an offer to the less-preferred choice, ending consideration for programs listed below it.

Priority Group

A program-specific rule that determines which groups of applicants are considered first. Examples may include district or borough priorities and certain Diversity in Admissions priorities. Two students with identical numbers can get different outcomes purely on priority group. Priorities vary by program, so check the current MySchools page.

SWD Seat Group

Whether your child’s application counts toward a school’s students-with-disabilities seats. Having an IEP is not the deciding factor: the threshold is special education instructional programming for more than 20% of the weekly academic program. ICT, Special Class and SETSS count toward it. Speech, OT and PT do not. A 504 plan on its own does not qualify. The designation appears automatically on the application in MySchools, and if it looks wrong, that is a conversation to start with your child’s IEP team in the fall, not in December.

Screened

A program that ranks applicants using criteria, usually a composite of 7th grade course grades across the four core subjects: Math, ELA, Science, and Social Studies. “Screened” doesn’t mean better; it means selective. Every screened program publishes what it looks at, and knowing that is half the strategy.

Open / Unscreened

Programs with no academic screen: seats go by lottery, sometimes with priority groups (like your borough or district). No essay, no test, no grades review. Lottery number luck is real, which is why list strategy matters.

Ed Opt

“Educational Option”: applicants are placed into three academic groups using seventh-grade core course grades. Each group is prioritized for one-third of the seats, with random numbers used when there are more applicants than seats within a group. Some of the city’s most interesting schools are Ed Opt, and families skip them because the name sounds bureaucratic.

Audition Programs

Performing and visual arts programs that admit on audition or portfolio. Audition requirements vary by program. Most audition programs use the audition rather than academic records, while LaGuardia follows a separate process that also includes a minimum academic requirement. Dates land earlier than families expect, which is how talented kids miss them. Confirm current requirements and deadlines in MySchools and through NYCPS.

Match / Offer

For the main high school application, NYCPS seeks to offer the highest-ranked program able to offer the student a seat. SHSAT and LaGuardia results follow separate admissions paths, so a student may receive more than one result. What that means for your particular list is exactly the kind of thing a session is for.

Waitlist

Students are automatically added to the waitlists of programs ranked higher than the program where they received an offer. Families may also join additional waitlists in MySchools. Waitlist offers are not guaranteed, and movement varies by program. A waitlist is not a rejection; it’s a maybe with paperwork.

IEP vs. 504

An IEP (Individualized Education Program) provides special education services; a 504 plan provides accommodations under civil rights law. Neither one limits where your child can apply. Every NYC public high school enrolls students with IEPs and 504s, but what that support actually looks like varies enormously from building to building. That variation is the thing worth asking about, and almost nobody tells you to. For high school admissions seat groups, NYCPS uses the amount of special education instructional programming listed on the student’s current IEP. A 504 Plan by itself does not place a student in the Students with Disabilities seat group.

ICT

“Integrated Co-Teaching”: a general education class staffed by two teachers, one certified in special education, serving a mix of students with and without IEPs. Common across NYC high schools. Staffing, scheduling, and co-teaching practices can affect how ICT works in practice, which is exactly the kind of thing that never appears in a brochure.

SHSAT

The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, used for admission to the eight testing Specialized High Schools (Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech among them). Current eighth graders and first-time ninth graders may register to take it for admission the following fall. Beginning with the fall 2026 administration, the test taken by students applying for the 2027–28 school year, the SHSAT is computer-adaptive at the item level: question difficulty shifts in real time based on how a student is answering. Prep built on old paper practice tests no longer matches the exam. Optional, free, and it takes up more of the conversation than its share of the seats. Worth taking if a specialized school genuinely interests your kid, and not worth reorganizing a childhood around. Certain economically disadvantaged students who score within an eligible range may be invited to apply to the summer Discovery Program. Eligibility is determined by NYCPS and involves additional requirements.

Last reviewed: August 2026. Admissions information can change, sometimes mid-season. Confirm current details through NYCPS and MySchools.