How to Get into Staten Island Technical High School

This blog post was most recently updated on May 28, 2024.

Staten Island Technical High School Overview

Photo from https://www.siths.org/, Fair use

Staten Island Technical High School (SITHS) is a top-rated public magnet high school in NYC, and one of the 9 specialized high schools. For approximately 1330 students, Staten Island Tech offers a completely free college-preparatory education, including specialized courses in science and engineering. With amazing academics, a diverse student body, and exciting extracurriculars, SITHS is truly unique. Want to apply? Here’s what you need to know…

Where is Staten Island Technical High School located?

Photo by Tdorante10 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Staten Island Technical High School is located at 485 Clawson Street, Staten Island, NY 10306. It is the only specialized high school on Staten Island.

What does Staten Island Tech specialize in?

Staten Island Tech offers a specialized curriculum in science and engineering. The school’s Pre-Engineering Career & Technical Educational (CTE) program allows students to take a variety of courses to prepare them both for college and the workforce. In fact, 68% of SiTHS graduates pursue a STEM related career. These courses include “Computer Design and Civil Engineering,“ “Electronics,” and “Robotics Engineering and Design.”

Another special feature of Staten Island Tech: Russian is the only foreign language offered to students, which goes back to the school’s founding during the end of the Cold War period.

Staten Island Tech offers a wide variety of AP courses (15 subjects total) and encourages its students to be well rounded and community minded. SITHS has strong athletics, theater, and community service programs, in addition to over 80 clubs and affinity groups.

SITHS Rankings

According to US News’ 2024 rankings, Staten Island Technical is ranked #5 in New York City and #50 nationally.

Staten Island Technical High School Admission Requirements

There is only one admission requirement for the Staten Island Technical High School: the SHSAT, which is typically given the last weekend of October. That’s right. Staten Island Tech does not look at your grades or attendance, and there are no additional interviews or application essays.

What score do you need to get into Staten Island Tech?

Historically Staten Island Tech has the 2nd highest SHSAT cut-off score, though in 2023 they were tied for third highest with Bronx Science. Students must still score relatively high on the SHSAT compared to other students who took it that year, and have SITHS highly ranked, in order to be accepted.

The DOE began releasing cutoff scores in 2022.

SHSAT Score Cut-offs 2023

• Stuyvesant 561

• Bronx Science 521

• Brooklyn Latin 493

• Brooklyn Technical 503

• HSMSE @ CCNY 518

• HSAS @ Lehman 510

• Queens Science @ York College 527

• Staten Island Tech 521

Staten Island Technical High School Acceptance Rate

This year, Staten Island Tech offered seats to only 287 of the approximately 26,000 students who took the SHSAT in the fall. This means that the acceptance rate is approximately 1%.

Staten Island Technical High School Admission Process

Although the admissions process for Staten Island Tech is simple, it’s not necessarily easy. To apply to SITHS, students must register for and take the SHSAT (Specialized High School Admissions Test), an exam that is both difficult and competitive. According to the NYC Department of Education, out of the approximately 28,000 students who take the SHSAT in a typical year, only about 5000 receive an offer from one of the specialized high schools. Students rank the schools in order of preference, and then score above a certain cut-off score to be accepted to the school of their choice.

IMPORTANT! If you want to get into Staten Island Technical High School specifically, you need to rank it as your first choice school when registering for the SHSAT. Students are automatically placed in their highest choice school for which they score higher than the cutoff. It is not possible to change your first choice after the test, which means that if you score high enough for SITHS, but ranked Queens Science first, you will get into Queens Science but NOT SITHS.

Getting into Staten Island Technical High School in 5 Steps!

1. Research Staten Island Tech and the other specialized high schools. You can learn more about the specialized high schools here and by visiting each of their individual websites. We highly recommend attending any tours or information sessions that are available, either in-person or online.
2. Take a diagnostic SHSAT. Ivy Tutors Network can both administer the diagnostic and send you a comprehensive score report. Mock testing is the best way to assess your strengths and weaknesses, which you can then use as a roadmap for future study.
3. Study for the SHSAT. We recommend students start studying for the SHSAT in the second semester of 7th grade if they are taking it as an 8th grader, or the second semester of 8th grade if they are taking it as a 9th grader. The key to mastering the SHSAT lies in ample and consistent practice. Students not only need to become confident in the material covered on the test, they also need to practice important testing skills, like time management and concentration.
4. Take additional proctored practice tests after several months of study, and/or a month before the test date, to gauge progress, inform the long-term test prep plan, and build confidence. Like the diagnostic test, these tests should be timed and proctored (by a parent or tutor), re-creating the actual test conditions. After each practice test, students should make sure to understand why they got each problem wrong (yes, all of them!) before moving on to more practice. Since it is up to students to decide how they divide their time between sections on the SHSAT, they should also experiment with different timing and test-taking strategies to figure out what the best approach is for them.
5. Register for the SHSAT. In order to take the test, you will also need to register for the SHSAT and rank your schools in order or preference. Students can register through their MySchools account or their school counselor.

Regular SHSAT Tutoring is a great way to create the structure and reinforcement students often need to practice consistently and see results. The brilliant and caring SHSAT tutors at Ivy Tutors Network have helped countless excel on the SHSAT and get into their top choice schools. Our tutors are experts at helping students learn essential test-taking strategies, fill in content gaps, and build confidence.

Join our SHSAT Classes, an exclusive online workshop tailored for small groups. Here, students participate in a diagnostic exam, delve into course content, and master valuable tricks and strategies for acting the SHSAT.