Written by Daniel Ahn
Why Hunter?
Housed in a massive red-brick building between Park and
Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side, Hunter College High School is fondly
nicknamed the Brick Prison by its inhabitants. As one of the top-rated schools
in the city, HCHS fosters an environment of academic, creative, and physical
growth, setting standards for its students that the students themselves
continue to expand day after day. The achievements of ‘Hunterites’ themselves
are astounding, with two Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists within the
past three years and several citywide, statewide, and even nationwide victories
for the Quiz Bowl, History Bowl, Science Bowl, Debate, and Math teams. The
athletic teams (all collectively labeled the Hunter Hawks) have reached
citywide championships on many occasions, even defeating other top schools in
the PSAL city championships, as did the girls’ volleyball team in the 2006
season, the boys’ fencing team in 2006 and 2011, the boys’ soccer team in 2010,
the boys’ lacrosse team in 2011 and 2013, and the girls’ lacrosse team in 2011.
Boasting a 25% Ivy League acceptance rate, Hunter has drawn
the notice of colleges across the nation, including 27 students accepted to
Harvard College, 20 students to Princeton, 34 students to Yale, 40 students to
Columbia, 23 to Brown University, 76 to Cornell, 29 to University of
Pennsylvania, and 21 students to Dartmouth College in the past three years, out
of a graduating class of 200. Its impressive track record and the stellar
achievements of its students have made Hunter College High School a leader in secondary
education. What’s more, being a public school, Hunter is absolutely free to
attend. The low cost and great rewards of attending Hunter have, as might be
expected, resulted in a fiercely competitive admissions process.
How Do I Get Into
Hunter?
Although the rewards of going to Hunter, a top tier
education and a greatly increased chance of acceptance into many prestigious
colleges, are great, the competition for the school’s limited spots is even
greater. Unless one gets accepted into HCHS via Hunter College Elementary
School (Approximately 50 students come through this way each year), prospective
students must first qualify for the school’s admissions test by placing above
the 90th percentile of test takers on the fifth grade standardized
reading and math tests and being NYC residents. Around 2,000 students are
chosen to take the test in sixth grade and only around 150 students are chosen
each year through the test.
How is the
experience?
Hunter Testimonials
The story that perhaps best encapsulates the Hunter
experience happened to me on a trip to Washington D.C., in my junior year. I
was a member of Washington Seminar, a program that begins with research on
current political issues and culminates in a three day trip to the capital to
meet with people to whom we had been writing letters as part of our
assignments. Highlights of the trip in prior years included Supreme Court
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and this year, one of our most anticipated
appointments was with the Secretary of the Treasury, Jacob Lew.
After passing through various security checkpoints into the
Treasury Building, we were led to a conference room where, a few minutes later,
the Secretary himself walked in. After some brief words of welcome, he smiled
and said (paraphrased), “I was unsure if I would be able to meet with you guys,
but after telling my wife about it, I had no choice. She graduated from Hunter
back in ’76 and demanded that I check up on you guys.”
