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Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
The only specialized school in Queens — small, science-led, on a college campus.
Where it is
Jamaica, Queens — on the York College campus, the only specialized school in the borough.
How big it is
About 500 students — small by design, with the tight-knit culture that follows.
Queens Science is what its name says: a compact mathematics-and-science school on the York College campus, and the only one of the eight in Queens — which matters, because for many families in the borough every other specialized school means an hour-plus commute each way. Proximity is a real academic input; tired students learn less.
Its cutoff regularly sits near the top of the table — above several more famous names — driven by exactly that geography: strong Queens students ranking their borough's school first. Treat it as the serious science school it is, not as a fallback with a college address.
The cutoff, with its year attached
"2026 Admissions" means the exam sat in Fall 2025 — a finished cycle, published by NYC Public Schools. The Fall 2026 exam decides 2027 Admissions, and its cutoffs do not exist yet. A cutoff is the score of the LAST student admitted — an output of one year's applicants and seats, not a pass mark anyone set.
Lowest qualifying score, 2026 Admissions (8th grade)
531
Source: NYC Public Schools, checked 2026-08-17 · NYC Public Schools ↗ · How cutoffs actually work →
How a seat here is actually won
- One exam, nothing else. No grades, essays, interviews or attendance records — admission to this school is decided by the SHSAT alone, for 8th graders and first-time 9th graders who live in NYC.
- Rank by real preference. Offers walk down the citywide score list, each student getting the highest school on their OWN ranked list with a seat left — putting this school lower 'to be safe' can only cost you a seat you would have won.
- Registration closes weeks before the test and is not automatic. The dates, and the three ways to register, are on the test-date page.
Registration deadline and dates →Sit a free full-length practice test →
The official Fall 2026 SHSAT will be computer-adaptive. SHSATus currently provides fixed-form digital practice based on DOE-published content areas and question types. It does not reproduce the DOE's adaptive item-selection or scoring algorithm.
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