Upper Grade Admissions

HOW TO APPLY TO NEST+m UPPER GRADES

Thank you for your interest in the Upper Grades at NEST+m!

As a K-12 school designed to meet the needs of students with advanced academic needs, we are committed to providing all of our students with equity-driven, accelerated instruction. We apply the principles of equity-driven accelerated learning to our Upper Grades admissions process.

Upper Grades Admissions Priorities

Diversity in Admissions: Priority to new applicants who are eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch (FRL) for 66% of seats.
Continuing NEST+m Students: Continuing students at NEST+m have first priority for admission to our Upper Grades program. NEST+m 8th graders that rank NEST+m on their high school application are guaranteed an offer to our Upper Grades program, so long as they do not match to a more preferred school on their application.
Geographic Priority: There is no geographic priority for NEST+m. NEST+m is a citywide school; our students hail from all 5 boroughs.

Upper Grades Admissions Requirements are listed below.

Students who who would like to be considered for admissions to NEST+m must:

RANK NEST+m on their MySchools application (before December 1, 2023)
COMPLETE the NEST+m Essay - See the Essay Prompt | See the Essay Rubric
SUBMIT their work using the Google Submission Form (before December 9, 2023, 11:59pm ET)

FALL 2024 ADMISSIONS

Please see our Welcome Events webpage for Tour information!

NEST+m Upper Grades is a screened high school. NEST+m is NOT a specialized high school.

All current 8th and first-time 9th grade students who live in New York City can apply to high school and test and/or audition to apply to the Specialized High Schools during the 2023-2024 school year.

The application period for Fall 2024 is October 3 - December 1, 2023. Offers will be sent out in early March 2024.

NEST+m is part of the Regular High School Admissions application in your MySchools account. Talk to your child’s current school counselor. They will be your main point of contact through the admissions process.

New to NYC Public Schools?

Contact a Family Welcome Center. Family Welcome Center staff will respond to your request as soon as possible. Visit the new students webpage.

APPLICATION DETAILS

NEST+m Upper Grades Rubric

50% DOE Screened Admissions Group (Learn more about screened high school admissions.)
50% Score on the NEST+m Essay

Seat Availability

9th Grade Total Seats: 150 (General Education: 116/Students with Disabilities: 34)
10th Grade: 0-5 seats; contact the Family Welcome Center to express interest in Fall 2024 10th Grade seat.

Anticipated Seats for New to NEST+m students

General Education: 47-70
Students with Disabilities: 22-25

Diversity in Admissions Program

Yes- Priority to students eligible for free or reduced lunch for 66% of offers.
DIA applies only to offers for non-continuing students (NEST+m 8th graders are not a part of this calculation)

Total Anticipated Offers 2023-2024

Because students can receive multiple offers (Regular HS Application, SHSAT, and LaGuardia) Offers to our UG Program exceed available seats. We anticipate:

General Education: 224 offers
Students with Disabilities: 34 offers
Total New to NEST+m Offers: 153

Waitlist Offers

Yes - waitlist offers will be made

Tour Dates (General Public)

Visit our Welcome Events page for dates and times.

Application Dates & Links

Application Opens: October 3rd, 2023
Application Closed: December 1, 2023
Essay Deadline: Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 11:59pm ET

DOE Application Portal: MySchools

Essay Submission Method: Google Form

IMPORTANT:

There is no sibling priority for students applying to high school.

NEST+m is NOT AFFILIATED with the NEST Autism Spectrum Disorders Program at NYU. Please visit the NEST ASD webpage for more information.

HELPFUL LINKS

Visit the NYC Department of Education website’s High School Enrollment page for more information.
Download the 2024 Admissions Guide.
Watch this helpful video to learn how students get offers to screened schools and specialized high schools.
Set up your MySchools account using the invitation code provided by your school’s Guidance Counselor or at the Family Welcome Center.
Explore school options online in the MySchools high school directory
See our NEST+m College acceptance and matriculation information.

❓Ask your Upper Grades questions HERE and see answers HERE!❓
(Please don't include any identifying information as the questions and answers are open for all to see!)

SUBMITTING THE NEST+m ESSAY

The Essay will be submitted on a Google form. You cannot save in a Google form as you type, so we recommend typing your answers in a separate document and then copying and pasting your responses into the google form.

If you have read all the directions carefully, reviewed the provided resources, and planned your responses, you are ready to complete the NEST+m Essay. See the Rubric for the NEST+m Essay.

All online assessment activities must be submitted by December 9, 2023 at 11:59pm ET
Applicants may only submit the Google form one time
Submissions that are found to be plagiarized will receive a score of zero
Incomplete submissions will receive a low score
You will receive a copy of your responses when you successfully submit your online admissions activity.

SUBMIT YOUR ESSAY using the Google Submission Form.

ADMISSIONS RESULTS

You will receive your child’s Upper Grades offer from the Department of Education in your MySchools account sometime in the Spring. You will be able to log into your MySchools account to see the results, and you will receive a letter by mail. Visit the Department of Education’s High School Admissions webpage to learn more.

We will post Orientation information for admitted students on the Orientation webpage.

TRANSPORTATION

Visit the Transportation webpage for more information. All students who do not ride the public yellow bus will be issued a student Metrocard.