Admissions

Excelsior Prep has two admission programs available:

Q42X - Gateway Honors Program. This is a science intensive track available to interested students with a B+ or higher average. Humanities honor roll students, can be enrolled.
Q42W - Humanities Program. This is our typical high school track aimed at graduating students in the customary 4 year schedule, while providing opportunities for Advanced Placement and College Now classes.

*AP Capstone Diploma - Excelsior Prep is the only High School in Queens that offers this program. The AP Capstone Diploma is granted to students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on 4 additional AP Exams of their choosing. This is not an admission program, but is achievable by all students who complete the prerequisite AP classes.

See our Enrollment page for information on joining the Excelsior Prep family.

Offers and Waitlist

All New York City eighth grade students (and all ninth grade applicants) will get high school offer letters. Whenever possible, students will get an offer to the highest possible choice from their high school application.

Each student's offer letter includes:

Up to one offer from the high school application
Waitlist information, including a list of programs where you have been automatically waitlisted, if applicable

Waitlists

Your high school offer letter also includes information about waitlists, including a list of any programs where you have been waitlisted—learn more on the DOE Waitlists page.

You are automatically on the waitlist for any program(s) listed higher on your application than the program where you received an offer.
While waitlists are open, you can also add yourself to waitlists. However, please note that your best chance of getting an offer to any program is to include it as a choice on your original application.
You can use MySchools to check your place on any program's waitlist.
Any waitlist offers are made based on seat availability, admissions priorities, and admissions methods.
Schools will be in touch directly if a seat opens up and they can make you an offer from their waitlist. You will have one week to accept or decline a waitlist offer.
After waitlists close (usually in late summer), your current offer is your final high school offer.

Please note that the Specialized High Schools do NOT have waitlists.

Watch this video to learn how to use MySchools to get information about your offer and waitlists, add yourself to additional waitlists, see where you are on any waitlist, accept or decline offers, and more:

NYC DOE High School Enrollment website