Application Preparation
Prepare for the two pieces the school reads
The essay and video together count for 40% of the Grade 9 assessment. The school publishes the questions in advance.
Checked against Townsend Harris's published admissions pages on November 5, 2026.
Testing
The essay and video.
Together they count for 40% of the Grade 9 assessment, and the school publishes the questions.
- Weights
- For Grade 9 entry in fall 2027, the school weighs average course grades at 60%, the essay at 20% and the video at 20%.
- Video
- The 2026-27 video is at most 2 minutes. The student introduces themselves, then names two talents, interests, abilities or gifts that would enrich the school and explains how they would leave it greater than they found it.
- Writing
- The 2026-27 writing task is a humanities response of 250 to 500 words. It asks whether Townsend Harris students should swear to resist anyone who disobeys the law, using a Theodore Roosevelt passage and two resources the school provides.
- Questions and rubric
- The school publishes the current assessment questions and a scoring rubric for families.
- Upload help
- NYC Public Schools offers tips for troubleshooting uploads of additional materials on its High School webpage.
- 01
Read the current questions on the school site first. They change from year to year, so ignore older copies.
- 02
Record the video in a quiet room with steady light, and watch it back for sound.
- 03
Give yourself time to upload in MySchools well before December 4.
Essays
A response that sounds like your student.
- The task
- The 2026-27 writing task is a humanities response of 250 to 500 words. It asks whether Townsend Harris students should swear to resist anyone who disobeys the law, using a Theodore Roosevelt passage and two resources the school provides.
- The oath
- Every Townsend Harris student swears the Ephebic Oath, and the admissions questions are built around it.
- 01
Take a clear position and support it with the two resources the school provides.
- 02
Write it in your own voice, and keep it inside 250 to 500 words.
- 03
Let your student write and revise it. The school is reading how they think.
Preparation plan
A plan that works backward from December 4.
Adjust the pace to your student's schedule. The order matters more than the exact days.
First
Read the questions
The school publishes the 2026-27 essay and video questions. Read both before anything else.
November 10
Go to the open house
It is in person from 5 to 7:30pm and needs no registration.
Early
Draft the essay
Write 250 to 500 words using the two resources the school provides.
Next
Film the video
Two minutes at most: an introduction and an answer about two talents or gifts.
Before December 4
Upload in MySchools
Submit under Additional Materials and keep time for troubleshooting.
After submitting
Watch for March 3
Offers are released after 3pm on March 3, 2027.