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Because every student is unique, at City Schools all students choose the high schools they want to attend. It's not too early to start thinking about high school as early as 3rd or 4th grade, so that all the doors are open for getting into top-choice schools and programs, including those that have academic entrance criteria or special admission requirements.
Updated Choice
For families who missed the original choice application deadline or want to try to apply to a different school than the one they were placed in, we offer a second round of choice.
Fill out the updated choice application and either mail it to 200 E. North Ave, Enrollment Choice and Transfers, Baltimore, MD 21202 or email it. If you do not have access to download, print, or email the updated application, please call 410-396-8600.
The deadline to fill out the updated choice application or decline a placement has been extended to April 27. Decision letters will be mailed out by May 15th. If families do not fill out a choice application, students will be assigned a school.
Middle school updated choice application and decline statement: English | Spanish
High school updated choice application and decline statement: English | Spanish
Admission Types
Academic entrance criteria
Students can apply to these schools if they meet the composite score requirements. (Scroll down for information about composite scores.)
- Baltimore City College
- Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
- Carver Vocational-Technical High School
- Edmondson-Westside High School
- Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School
- Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
- Western High School (all girls)
Specialized
These schools have a specific process for admission. Contact each school for more information.
- Baltimore Design School: Interest survey (grades 6 to 8); portfolio (grades 9 to 12)
- Baltimore School for the Arts: Audition
- Bard High School Early College: Choice application and interview
- Ingenuity Project at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute: Separate application and testing
- National Academy Foundation: Choice application and interview
- P-TECH at Carver, P-TECH at New Era, and P-TECH at Paul Laurence Dunbar: Contact the individual schools for information
School-based lottery
Some charter schools have their own application process, with a lottery that takes place at the individual school. Contact each school for information.
- Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women (all girls)
- City Neighbors High School
- Coppin Academy
- Green Street Academy
Choice lottery
These schools have no specific entrance criteria or admission process. If more students select a school than the school can serve, students are selected by lottery.
- Academy for College and Career Exploration
- Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts
- Benjamin Franklin High School at Masonville Cove
- Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy West (all boys)
- ConneXions: A Community Based Arts School
- Digital Harbor High School
- Forest Park High School
- Frederick Douglass High School
- Independence School Local I High
- NACA Freedom and Democracy Academy II
- New Era Academy
- Patterson High School
- The Reach! Partnership School
- Reginald F. Lewis High School
- Renaissance Academy
- Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy
Placement
For students with specific needs — for example, those returning to school after dropping out or those with special needs that can't be met in a general education setting — the district offers alternative placements. Contact the Enrollment, Choice, and Transfers department at 410-396-8600 for information and assistance.
Composite Scores
Composite scores are calculated to determine if students are eligible for schools with entrance criteria. The calculation varies for different schools, as shown below.
For high school admission, the score includes results from 7th grade and the first quarter of 8th grade. Taking honors classes or advanced programs in middle school can increase a score and make it easier to get in to some schools. Also, meeting the minimum requirement does not guarantee acceptance. Students are ranked by score and admitted in order until school capacity is reached. Students interested in Baltimore City College and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute usually need to score significantly higher than the required minimum to be admitted.
Baltimore City College, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Western
Minimum composite score of 610, calculated as follows:
Standardized test reading percentile + standardized test math percentile + (math grade x2) + (English grade x2) + (overall grade x2)
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Minimum composite score of 610, calculated as follows:
Standardized test reading percentile + standardized test math percentile + (math grade x3) + English grade + (overall grade x2)
Carver, Edmondson-Westside, Mergenthaler
Minimum composite score of 475, calculated as follows:
Standardized test reading percentile + standardized test math percentile + math grade + science grade + English grade + overall grade + attendance percentage
Students who are learning English for the first time
Students who are in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs can participate fully in the choice process.
Some schools that participate in middle or high school choice are ESOL sites; however, services are adjusted as necessary to ensure all English learners are able to participate fully in the choice process.
For more information, contact the school counselor or choice liaison at your school.
Students not currently enrolled in City Schools
If you live in Baltimore City and would like to enroll in one of our high schools for the current school year, please call 410-396-8962.
If you live in Baltimore City and would like to enroll in one of our high schools for next year, follow these steps:
- Fill out the updated choice application.
- Gather required documents.
- If you are interested in applying for a school with entrance criteria, you will also need to submit results from the PARCC assessment. If your school doesn't administer the PARCC, please call 410-396-8962 to schedule a time to take the i-Ready achievement tests.
- Take all the paperwork to 200 E. North Avenue, room 106, by April 26.
Don't live in Baltimore City? Read this information.