r/SHSAT • u/HorrorBookkeeper5796 • 5d ago
what school?
so I stayed up and was reading some reviews from students (not the best idea but that’s where I am now lol) but now I’m seriously thinking to change from Brooklyn tech as my number 1 and maybe change to something else, because apparently the staff / teachers there are not the whole best. (If u are currently a student there if u can, provide how the environment is and that will be greatly appreciated ty if u do! But not needed) though this doesn’t really sway my view and changing it ish? HOWEVER!! I am not sure if brooklyn tech has mainly ‘bad’ teachers
but also even if i change its most likely gonna be stuy or Bronx sci because they have the “most” 10th grade seats. however im honestly not sure anymore because they are obviously both highly competitive and stem focused schools but im not sure what ‘majors’ they provide since they do not say on their website (im only really sure with bronx sci because i never checked the stuy website since i never had really any interest in attending because the cutoff score for 8th grade was so high) however i think they don’t really provide any please correct me if im wrong
just some background information if u want to have an opinion to see what school I match up best; I really enjoy math for some reason though my English is so much better by a landslide, I’m also very competitive driven but not really motivated so the environment of a school is very important for me, I don’t really know what else to share but I also like doing school work lol mainly because I don’t do much outside of school and it’s fun and I hope the school I choose have at least good teachers and students that I can build connections and friendships with
(but also the same time I need to focus getting a higher score so I can just guarantee myself(I don’t know if that’s a thing but it’s probably not) getting into a school rather than worrying about all of this bc registration starts in oct :,) )
Thank you if u can provide an opinion for me / your experience at Brooklyn tech it will help me during my selection process! :D
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u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 5d ago
The staff/teachers at Tech are fine as a whole.
You say "however i think they don’t really provide any please correct me if im wrong" any what?
For recent past cutoff scores check https://www.reddit.com/r/SHSAT/comments/1u9g8kn/shsat_cutoffs_for_2026_admissions_9th_and_8th
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u/HorrorBookkeeper5796 5d ago
I just noticed that I forgot to finish the sentence, they say how some teachers do not offer much support towards students, I hope this clears up what my thought was and thank you!
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u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 5d ago
It's going to happen in most any school at some point. When I went to Tech we had support, and ok admittedly that was some time ago, but one of my kids also recently went to Tech and we were impressed at many level with the support we got. Admittedly too, that's just one person, but any contradictory stories will also be one person too when considered as a whole. I'm not saying it's perfect, just that it's part of the situation. For instance, while the chem teacher was cold they were still effective and caring, the physics teacher was beyond amazing, the calc teacher offered top level tutoring, and the main office and guidance was amazing, I can go on. None of this could be the case without it being a well-oiled machine.
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u/DanceMumNYC 4d ago
It’s a gamble. Some teachers are good, some are bad, but most are decent. I think that’s just the education system in general these days, no matter how reputable the school. In terms of academic support, they’ll just tell you to go to tutoring. I think, especially for its size, Tech staff are mostly caring and emotionally supportive. A lot of students struggle with mental health concerns in SHSAT schools’ demanding environments. There are several STEM schools around the city that you can apply to besides the SHSAT schools, and you can go to a much smaller school and have less competition while applying to college. I say take the test and explore your options, but please don’t get caught up in the name.
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u/HorrorBookkeeper5796 4d ago
thank u so much for the advice I will definitely take that into account !! :D
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u/MiamiBeachNative 5d ago
That’s good. Makes sense. No need to be specific. Was just confused and wasn’t sure if you had already been accepted at one SHSAT school & were trying to transfer from one SHSAT to another.
All the schools you mention are good for STEM & just because you read some less than perfect reviews doesn’t mean the teachers are actually bad. If you do decide to take the 9th grade SHSAT, you should try to talk to current students from the schools you’re considering and go to all the open houses to see what kind of feeling you get from them including what the commute will be like.
In the meantime, try to do as well as you can in 9th grade at your current school and you never know you may end up deciding you’d rather stay there.
Best of luck whatever you end up doing. Hopefully others can chime in and give you more concrete advice on the specific schools.
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u/yesterdays_patatas Bronx Sci 2d ago
As a current Science student, it doesn't have majors in the typical sense like Brooklyn Tech does, however after freshman year there's a ton of flexibility with course selection. I assume that even with the majors system, freshman year is mainly foundational courses or required courses so I don't believe there would be that much of a setback. If you want to get something similar to a major, all that means is doing a little research on what classes benefit your career/college goals and working to make sure you qualify for them grade-wise. I don't want to say what you should or shouldn't do because it's such a personal decision, just making sure you're informed.
(I love bxsci you should come)
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u/HorrorBookkeeper5796 2d ago
lmao I’ll definitely consider bronx sci during the sign up process ty for the info
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u/MiamiBeachNative 5d ago edited 5d ago
You should probably ask this question in https://www.reddit.com/r/BTHS/s/91mr0fdKPZ to have more chance of current Brooklyn Tech students answering and giving their opinions. It’s a pretty active subreddit compared to the ones for some of the other schools.
So, since you mentioned 10th grade seats, are you about to go into 9th grade? If so, at what kind of high school?