* September- December: Attend open houses and visit schools. Go on interviews and auditions.
* SEP. 12 – OCT. 10: Register with guidance counselors for the Specialized High School Admissions Test, a test used by a handful of elite schools in New York, such as Stuyvesant, Staten Island Technical and Bronx High School of Science.
Also, registration for auditions for the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.
* SEP. 29 – 30: Citywide high school fair at Brooklyn Technical High School. Students and families can meet representatives from every school.
* OCT. 13 – 14: Borough high school fairs. Locations to be announced.
* OCT 22: Tickets to take the specialized exam available from counselors for students who registered.
* OCT 27-28: Specialized exam given to current 8th grade students.
* NOV. 3: Specialized exam given to current 9th grade students, and 8th and 9th grade students with special needs and approved accommodations.
* NOV. 18: Specialized exam make-up (by permission only), 9th grade Sabbath observers, Sabbath observers with special needs and approved accommodations.
* DEC. 3: Deadline to submit high school applications to middle schools. Students rank up to 12 choices. Selective schools rank applicants; others chosen by lottery.
* February: Students receive a high school match letter if accepted to one of their choices. Students who receive an offer from a specialized school also get a match to one of their other 12 picks. They choose between the specialized and the other school.
Students not matched to any of their choices get a Round 2 application.
* March: New schools announced and fairs for them held. Submit Round 2 applications.
* April: Round 2 match letters sent to students. Appeals to change schools — based on a documented hardship — can then be filed.
The DOE application does not include charter high schools. Contact each charter school directly for application information.