At a Glance
A pocket-sized STEM-focused SHSAT school on the City College campus, drawing top applicants from across New York City
Best suited for
A strong math and science student who thrives in a small, focused, college-prep environment and whose family can manage either SHSAT prep or a longer commute.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- 110 seats for 19,035 applicants — roughly 173 applicants per seat, among the most selective public schools in the country
- Zero suspensions, an exceptional figure that says something real about the school's culture
- Pre-engineering, AP, and STEM programs hosted directly on the City College campus
- PTA raises about $353 per student — nearly seven times the district average
- World languages including Chinese and German, which are uncommon in NYC public schools
Things to consider
- SHSAT-only admissions means families must commit to serious test prep just to be considered
- Teacher-principal trust at 77% is a gap worth probing on a school tour
- The school draws citywide, so most families should expect a meaningful daily commute
- Tiny enrollment of 524 means fewer peers and a narrower social circle than larger high schools
- The surrounding neighborhood's poverty rate is 26.5%, so the school feels somewhat disconnected from its immediate community
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 6
This is a citywide specialized SHSAT school, not a typical District 6 zoned school — the local peer schools listed are mostly elementary charters that don't really compare. Among NYC's specialized high schools, it stands out for intimacy and STEM focus rather than size.
Academics
The school is built around STEM — math, science, AP courses, and a pre-engineering track — and benefits from its City College campus location, which gives students exposure to a college-level environment. World languages including Chinese, German, and Spanish round out a curriculum that's heavy on quantitative disciplines. Proficiency score data isn't reported here, so academic standing has to be read from program design and selectivity rather than test scores — and a 173-to-1 applicant-to-seat ratio says plenty about who gets in.
Culture
Families are deeply satisfied — 93% parent satisfaction and a striking 96% parent-principal trust — and teachers rate instruction quality at 93%, a couple of points above the district average. The notable soft spot is teacher-principal trust at 77%, well below the parent-side numbers and below teacher collegial trust of 91%, which suggests some daylight between staff and leadership worth asking about. Zero suspensions is exceptional for any school and signals a community where discipline isn't an everyday concern.
Community
Students here look very different from the surrounding neighborhood: 30% Asian and 28% White, with a relatively low economic need index of 38.4, pulled in by SHSAT scores from across the city. West Harlem itself skews working-class and Hispanic, with a 26.5% poverty rate and a median household income under $45,000. This is a school that draws outward rather than inward — most students commute in from outside the immediate catchment, and IEP enrollment is relatively low at 7%.
Neighborhood
Manhattanville-West Harlem is a renter-heavy pocket of upper Manhattan with a 26.5% poverty rate and just 5% homeownership, reflecting a neighborhood that's mostly renters rather than owners. Only 8.6% of households have children, and about a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree. It's a neighborhood of longtime residents and young professionals more than young families.
The 1 train at 137 St-City College and the C/B lines at 135 St are both about a five-minute walk; the 1 at 145 St is about nine minutes away.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 195 families responded (34% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
Admission to this Specialized High School is based solely on the score obtained on the Specialized High Schools Admission Test (SHSAT). Students should speak to their guidance counselors in the Fall to register for the SHSAT.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
High school (9th grade): the SHSAT
High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College is one of the eight specialized high schools. This school admits on the SHSAT alone — the test score is the only thing that decides a seat.
- High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College (HSMSE)SHSATTest required108 seats
SHSAT registration
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Oct 30
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Register for the SHSAT through MySchools — registration opens with the high school application in the fall, and the city sets the exact dates each year.
- 2Take the test on a computer on your assigned date.
- 3Rank every specialized school you'd attend on your MySchools list; grades, attendance and essays play no part.
- 4Bring your admission ticket and photo ID to the test centre.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College a good school?
- On Motley, High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College earns an overall rating of 99/100 — the average of the school's four-year graduation rate, the share of its students scoring college-ready (70+) on the English Regents, and its Regents completion rate, shown out of 100.
- What grades does High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College serve?
- High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College?
- High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College admits through the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT).
- Is High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College public, charter, or private?
- High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College is a public school in NYC Community School District 6.
- What neighborhood is High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College in?
- High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College is in Manhattanville-West Harlem, Manhattan.