Admission Process and Testing
Admissions for the Fall 2013 Kindergarten class are now complete. No applications can be accepted for children born in 2008. Though there may be changes to the process for next year, reading the information below is a good introduction to HCES's process. For specific information on applying for Fall 2014, please check back this summer.
We thank you for your interest in HCES.
The Kindergarten Process
Age Requirements
Applicants for the September 2013 kindergarten class must be born during 2008: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008.
Residency Requirement
Only Manhattan residents may apply to HCES. Parents must be able to document their home address as of the date of application and must remain residents of Manhattan as long as their children attend HCES. All families whose children progress to Round 2 will be required to submit New York State income tax documentation to prove residency. No addresses that contain a P.O. Box, a business name,“in care of” a third party, or outside of Manhattan will be accepted.
The Application Requirements and Process
PLEASE READ ALL OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO CREATE, EDIT OR SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR YOUR CHILD.
Applications to HCES must be completed via our online form. A link to the application site is available at the bottom of this page
THE LAST DAY TO SUBMIT AN ONLINE APPLICATION TO HCES IS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND, 2012 AT 4PM WHEN THE SYSTEM WILL CLOSE.
When you arrive at the application site, you will create a new application and be assigned an application identification code. An email will be sent to your address giving you directions for editing and submitting the application. You may click the link in that email to fill out and submit the application OR copy and paste your ID code into the screen where you have been working.
If applying for twins, parents must create separate applications for each child using different, unique email addresses.
There is an administrative fee of $70.00, payable online by credit/debit card using our secure system. If you wish to pay by money order (no personal checks or cash will be accepted) you may choose this option and follow the instructions for remitting payment. Applications are not complete until payment is received.
A reduced administrative fee of $35.00 and waived testing fees are granted to families who can demonstrate financial need.
If you would like to request a fee waiver please choose this option at “checkout”. When you do, you must pay the reduced fee ($35.00) and furnish the admissions office with income documentation for BOTH parents (in the form of 2011 1040 tax return forms, or documentation of grant awards/public assistance). If you need assistance meeting these requirements, please call the Admissions Office to assist you.
Once you have submitted and paid for your application, you will receive two confirming emails, one with instructions for the next steps and one acknowledging the receipt of your payment. The first of these emails will also appear on the screen at submission. All the information you need for scheduling an appointment for the modified Stanford-Binet exam with one of Hunter’s approved testers will be printed there, including your child’s ID number and the deadline for testing.
From the date of submission of the application, families will have a three week window within which they must schedule AND complete their child’s testing. Please make sure that you are available during this time period before you submit your application.
Those who apply between August 20th and September 3rd will have a deadline of September 22nd. Weekend and holiday testing is available. Testing begins on Tuesday, September 4th, 2012.
You will receive contact information for four testers.
Families may contact ONLY one to make an appointment. Testers will not make appointments with families who do not have an ID number or deadline. There are NO exceptions to these deadlines or procedures.
For Speakers of Other Languages
If English is not your primary language and you would like assistance in reading the admissions materials and filling out the application, please call the Admissions Office. We will arrange for a parent volunteer who shares your native language to assist you.
Please note that our testing is only available in English.
Rounds 1 and 2
There are two rounds of assessment for admissions to HCES. In the first round, the parent takes the child to an approved tester, who is trained to give an assessment of intellectual reasoning, a modified Stanford-Binet exam, created specifically for HCES admissions.
Round 1 starts after parents submit their application.
Parents are to call or email ONLY ONE tester to schedule an appointment by the testing deadline indicated in the email. Contacting multiple testers may jeopardize a family’s chance to secure an appointment. Once a parent has scheduled an appointment with one of the testers, the parent will mail:
1) The signed
Confidentiality Consent form, which can be downloaded from a link in the email confirming submission of the application. The Confidentiality Consent form is where parents must affirm that their child has neither been tested with nor been exposed to any test-related materials from the SB-V in the last year.
2) The fee of
$325.00 (payable by check or money order);
3) A self-addressed stamped envelope
All materials should be sent to testers via REGULAR mail. Testers cannot accept certified mail or any other forms of delivery that require a signature or person for receipt.
Parents are not permitted to be in the room with their child during the test.
The test is available only in English. Children must have adequate fundamental skills in English to benefit from the HCES program. Please contact the Admissions Office for more specific information about testing children from households that speak languages other than English.
Please contact the Admissions Office for information about possible testing accommodations for children with documented learning or physical difficulties.
A NOTE ABOUT “PREPPING” FOR TESTING:
HCES strongly discourages exposing children to the Stanford-Binet V prior to the formal administration of the exam for the purpose of admission to HCES. Testers are required to inform the Director of Admissions if there is evidence that a child has had previous experience with the exam or specific exam activities. HCES reserves the right to disqualify any child from competition for admission if there is evidence that testing for HCES is not the child’s first experience with the exam.
Testers will send a report of each child’s score to their parents and to the Admissions Office. In December, the Director of Admissions will determine the eligibility score for Round 2 based upon the range of scores of the full pool and the approximately 250 spaces available for the on-site assessment. In mid-December, the eligibility score will be posted on this website and parents will receive a letter as to whether or not their child will receive further consideration. Children who score at or above an eligibility score are invited to
Round 2.
For admission to the Fall 2013 Kindergarten class, Round 2 will take place over TWO weekends: January 19th and 20th AND January 26th and 27th, 2013. Families who are applying to HCES should not make travel arrangements or schedule NYC Department of Education Gifted and Talented testing for these weekends. Children will be assigned an appointment within these four days. We cannot take scheduling requests. Please note that the first weekend is the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King holiday weekend.
If a child is invited to Round 2, there will two additional forms to complete. The Parents’ Observation Form and the Preschool Teacher Observation Form request specific information about the child’s observed behaviors in short written responses from parents and teachers. There is no essay or recommendation. 2011 NY State tax returns must be provided by all families as proof of residency.
At Round 2, children meet in groups of nine where trained consultants observe the child’s behaviors in individual and group tasks, as well as their interaction with peers and a teacher. The testing room simulates a preschool classroom.
The Director of Admissions offers placement to 25 boys and 25 girls based upon the recommendations of the HCES Admissions Committee. All evaluative information used in the selection process is de-identified, so that the Admissions Selection Committee makes decisions without knowledge of the child’s name, family or other identifying factors. Neither siblings of HCES students nor "legacies" are given preference of any kind in the process.
Selection is primarily determined by the observations collected during Round 2.
Families will be informed, via email and regular mail, of admissions decisions on Friday, February 8th, 2013. Families will have until Friday, February 15th to accept or decline the offer of admission.
A waiting list of 12 boys and 12 girls is generated from the Round 2 finalists. The first 6 wait listed children on each list are ranked 1-6. After those places, admission is offered at the discretion of the Selection Committee. The waiting list remains active until the beginning of school in September 2013.
Visiting HCES
There will be five open houses where families can get a taste of HCES life and have questions answered by administrators, teachers, and current parents.
Only two people may attend for each applicant. Daytime visits are reserved for those families offered admission or places on the wait list. There is no childcare available at the open houses.
Information about attending an open house will be in your application confirmation.
Day-time visits to the school are scheduled for parents of children who are offered admission or placement on the waiting lists only. Parents of admitted children will be able to see classes in session and meet the principal and other staff before returning the enrollment papers for their child. We regret that we cannot accommodate all who are interested in seeing the school in action.
The Admissions Office is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9:00am-4:00pm and Wednesday from 9:00am-12:00pm. We are closed on Fridays.
Far more children seek admission to the Hunter College Elementary School than can be accommodated. Our process is solely for selecting children for admission to our small school. Many, many children who do not progress to Round 2 or are not offered admission are intellectually gifted.
Thank you for your interest in Hunter College Elementary School.
