Is Hunter College High School Right For My Child?

I've been helping students prepare for the Hunter College High School entrance exam since 2004

, so I know quite a bit about the types of student who are most likely to be accepted to the school. However, it is only in the last year, when New York Academics has provided tutoring to two students who currently attend Hunter that I have gotten greater insight into the school itself. My peek inside indicates to me that Hunter is an excellent school, but not necessarily a good fit for all of the students who are accepted into it.

I don't think anyone will be surprised to learn that Hunter students are expected to do a great deal of high level, challenging work. That is the point, after all. However, it might be useful to have a specific example to illustrate this point. Typical seventh grade assignments might include writing a 3 page, foot-noted research paper on the history of a particular Constitutional amendment (researched largely independently), memorizing about 90 lines for a student-directed play (for a class, not an extra-curricular activity), and writing a short but technical literary analysis of a theme in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is on top of a solid 30 to 45 minutes of math homework and an astonishing amount of thought-provoking science homework every night.

Based on my observations, simply being smart enough to get into Hunter College High School isn't the only characteristic a student needs to succeed once there. In addition, he or she should be internally driven, either by a plain old curiosity or by a desire to succeed. Hunter is an exceptional school; I have been favorably impressed by my peek inside it. But, learning more about it has reaffirmed my belief that it a good match only for students who are genuinely enthusiastic about academics and eager to not only learn a lot, but to work extremely hard as well.

by: Jessie Mathisen

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