Hunter College High School 2027 Admissions Guide

# Hunter College High School Announces Admissions Criteria for Fall 2027 Entry Hunter College High School (HCHS) has officially released the eligibility requirements and application timeline for students seeking entry into the 7th-grade class for the Fall 2027 term. This cycle serves current 6th-grade students who meet specific residency and academic benchmarks. The application for the upcoming cycle is scheduled to launch on **September 23, 2026**, with the entrance exam set to take place on **January 27, 2027**. ## Core Eligibility Requirements To sit for the HCHS Entrance Exam, candidates must satisfy three primary criteria. Hunter College Campus Schools (HCCS) verifies both score and residency eligibility during the process. 1. **Current Grade Level:** Applicants must be currently enrolled in the 6th grade at a New York City school (public, private, or charter), a neighboring school, or be homeschooled. Homeschooled students must be registered with the NYC Office of Homeschooling. 2. **NYC Residency:** As of September 1 of the application year, applicants must reside full-time in one of the five boroughs of New York City. This must be their primary residence, and the child must be listed as a dependent on the parent’s New York State IT-201 tax form at a permanent NYC address. Property ownership alone or P.O. boxes do not satisfy this requirement. 3. **Qualifying Test Scores:** Students must achieve minimum qualifying scores on approved 5th-grade standardized tests (taken in Fall 2025 or Spring 2026). Notably, families do **not** need an invitation letter to apply if they meet these eligibility standards. ## Qualifying Exam Pathways Eligibility is determined by the type of standardized testing a student participated in during their 5th-grade year. Only one category will apply to each student. ### Pathway 1: NYS Exam Takers For students attending schools that administer the New York State (NYS) Exams, qualification is based on the **Spring 2026 5th-grade** results. Students must meet the minimum scale scores on both exams: * **NYS ELA:** 478 * **NYS Math:** 497 Families can access these scores via their NYC Schools Account (NYCSA). A screenshot or official report showing the student’s name, grade, year, and three-digit scale scores must be uploaded with the application. ### Pathway 2: Non-NYS Standardized Exams Students who attended schools that do not administer NYS exams must have earned at least the **90th national percentile** in both Reading and Math on an approved test taken in 5th grade (Fall 2025 or Spring 2026). Approved exams include: * ERB CTP 5 (Reading Comprehension + Mathematics Parts 1 & 2) * Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) * TerraNova 3 * Stanford 10 (Total Reading + Total Mathematics; abbreviated battery is accepted) **Important Exclusions:** The ISEE and SSAT are **not accepted** for this admissions cycle. Other non-approved tests include NWEA MAP, iReady, and ERB Milestones. If a student took an exam not listed above, families must email the score report to `admissions@hunterschools.org` for approval prior to applying. Only the first sitting of any approved test will be considered; students may not retake tests to achieve a qualifying score. ### Pathway 3: No Standardized Testing History For 6th-grade students who never took an approved standardized exam in 5th grade, Hunter provides a pathway to pursue qualification. However, students who took an approved exam but failed to meet the cutoff scores are not eligible to take a different exam in 6th grade to qualify. ## The Academic Insights Profile (AIP) For students whose NYS or approved standardized scores fall slightly below the required cutoffs, Hunter offers the **Academic Insights Profile (AIP)**. Families who believe they qualify for this alternative review should visit the official AIP page for specific details and instructions. ## Verification and Deadlines * **Application Launch:** September 23, 2026 * **Exam Date:** January 27, 2027 HCCS reserves the right to request additional documentation if information is incomplete or inconsistent. All score reports must be in English and show three-digit scale scores; performance levels or percentage ranges will not be accepted in place of scale scores. Families are encouraged to gather their 5th-grade score reports now to ensure they are ready for the September application opening. --- *Source: [Hunter College High School — Entrance Exam](https://www.hunterschools.org/high-school/admissions/eligibility-for-fall-2027-entry) — automatically synced on 2026-11-02.*