How to Apply

Please read this page carefully before applying. We encourage all interested families to reach out — we’re always happy to let you know whether space may be available.

For students entering 11th or 12th grade, please note that Urban Academy is not a credit recovery school. Students are expected to remain at Urban for a minimum of two years in order to complete graduation requirements.

We have always insisted that students visit Urban Academy in order to apply, since we think the only way to decide a school is right for you is to see it while classes are running.

Application Steps

1. Watch Our Documentary

Start by watching our 32-minute documentary about Urban Academy and our discussion-based classrooms, featuring footage from a variety of classes in action.

If you’re still interested after watching, move on to the next step.

2. Schedule a Visit

Student visits are required as part of the application process. (Parent information sessions are described below.)

During the School Year prospective students will:

Observe two classes
Participate in a brief interview
Complete an application which requires writing an essay along with other writing components.
To schedule a visit, email urban@urbanacademy.org with “ADMISSIONS” in the subject line and include your child’s name, grade, and current school. We will respond with available visit dates.

During the Summer prospective students may attend one of our summer open houses, where they will:

Participate in a debate style discussion with current students
Tour the school
Have an opportunity to ask questions

Summer dates will be announced in advance. To register, email urban@urbanacademy.org with “ADMISSIONS” in the subject line and include your child’s name, grade, and current school.

Information for 8th Grade Applicants

Although Urban Academy is listed on the NYC MySchools High School application, our admissions process is completely separate.

We offer a longer admissions timeline, giving 8th grade students more flexibility to explore and apply — including during the spring semester of 8th grade.

Students interested in applying during the fall of 8th grade may begin visiting and applying in November. Applications remain open throughout the entire 8th grade year, including through June.

To get started, follow the steps above to inquire and apply.

3. Application Review

Once your visit and application are complete, we will review your materials and follow up with next steps.

Please include:

A recent school transcript
Any relevant learning accommodation documents, such as an IEP or 504 Plan

Step One: Visiting

If you are interested in attending Urban, as a first step, you must visit Urban. Call the school to make an appointment for a visit. (212.570.5284— Anyone who answers the phone can set up the appointment.) We do insist that students visit on their own. If a parent/guardian would like to visit, he or she can come to a parent tour at another time (we have one each month -- look under Upcoming Events). All you need to bring is a transcript from your current school and a pen.

You must come on time! Visits begin at 8:15, and students who arrive late will be rescheduled to another day.

During the visit, you will sit in on morning classes. You will also have a chance to talk to students who already attend Urban. The visit is really an opportunity for you to see if Urban is, in fact, the kind of school that you would like to attend.

During the afternoon of the visit, you will fill out an application, which takes between 1-3 hours, depending on how fast you work. You can have as much time as you need, and it is not an entrance exam -- there is no cut-off score. We use it just to get a sense of what you are like as a person and a student. If you are accepted and decide to attend, we use it to figure out which math class is at the right level for you.

Step Two: The Take-Home Application

After you are finished filling out the application in school, you will be given an interview date (usually within two weeks) and the take-home portion of the application, which is very short (basically, two short writing pieces about yourself and your world). You have to complete the take-home application before you return for your interview.

Step Three: The Interview

The last stage is when you come back for an interview. You will meet with two teachers, or a teacher and a student, and have an informal talk about where you are in school currently, why you want to come to Urban, and so on.

Once these three steps have been completed, a committee makes a decision based on the student's application, his or her transcript, and the number of spaces that we have open.

The Decision

We do not operate our admissions on a rolling basis (where first come are first served). Instead, we hold all the applications until we are done with all interviews, and go through them during the last weeks of the term. This means a long wait for those who visited and interviewed at the beginning of the semester, and we are sorry about that— but we don't want to disadvantage those students who realize they want to change schools near the end of the semester. We send out acceptance/rejection letters a few weeks before the end of the term, and accepted students have a week or so to decide whether they will attend.

During the first two weeks of each semester, we open up the process for any available spots.

— Parent Participation —

Parent Tours are held once a month during the school year at 8:45 AM. The tour includes peeking into a class or two and background on the school. There is also a question/answer session. Parent tours last for about 1 hour. The next tour is Thursday 6/11.

Email us at urban@urbanacademy.org if you’re hoping to join one of the tours and let us know which one you’re interested in. (Parents of students who have just begun at Urban are welcome to join as well.)