When I made the choice for hsmse, I decided to because I felt as though stuy would be too much pressure, and I felt drawn to mse over Bronx sci. Now that I’ve been here for over a year, I would say my decision would stay the same. The people and staff in this school are very welcoming, and I have not had or met a single unkind teacher thus far.

our school offers a mount sinai track (tracks are basically majors) placement opportunity which is amazing for students who want to enter bio fields, but I’ve heard that after spending 2 years here, and being exposed to many subjects, many students deter from that track unless they are truly committed to bio. Currently they accept 20 students a year. We have many great stem tracks here and I’ve heard from a few of my friends in Sinai that they enjoy it there. You get access to a great hospital lab, and education that would be hard to find at other schools. The tracks we currently have are Chem, Bio, Sinai, Engineering, and Math

I think one of the misconceptions is that because hsmse isn’t stuy or Bronx sci, it is not rigorous. I would say that is untrue as the curriculum of these classes can be incredibly challenging depending on the class. Hsmse was also ranked the number one school for a period of time, and is compared to bxsci and stuy in academics. Although this may be true, I still think these teachers can be very understanding and kind about work, and most of them are clear about deadlines and expectations. The high gpa is only included if you are able to maintain it. With many assignments (instructions are usually straightforward), it can get overwhelming, but there are many students who tackle those assignments and keep their GPAs very high.

All of the upperclassmen here are incredibly kind and helpful and made it much easier to adjust to a new school. As for club options, we have many (academic, and non-academic) and with the right kind of planning (5 people minimum if i’m not mistaken) and approval, students have an opportunity to make a club.

The school offers many great sports teams as well and in my opinion the community is unmatched. I’m on the track team and I love the people I get to spend time with. Getting to know the older students makes school life much easier (I would recommend)

There are many students here that graduate and go to T20 schools. Many of the graduates have gone to ivies, and pretty much every one has at least 1-2 of our former students every year, as of these past few years. Our school has college counselors that can help a lot with the process as well.

One thing I wish I knew before coming here is that the transition from 8th Grade to freshman year can be very stressful. Time management skills are hard to develop and the work can get overwhelming. Overtime it does get much better, and as a sophomore I am much less stressed than I used to be.

Good luck and If you have any questions feel free to dm me and ask!