Expert Webinar: NYC High School Admissions Essays

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Find out which high schools consider essays as part of the application and how to craft the essay to get you accepted to your dream school!

Learn about high school admissions.

Many NYC public schools ask for supplements, like essays, as part of the application process. For students with a less favorable lottery number or slighly lower GPA, the essay can be the most important piece of the application. The consortium schools, like The Beacon School, are famous for their application supplements. We will explain how to outline and draft your essay expertly, how essay grading works, and which schools accept them.

Find your topic & voice.

High schools look to your essay to learn what grades and tests can’t show them: who you are as a person, student, and community member. They want to know what you Want most, to hear your Original voice, and to see your Wisdom (maturity), also known as your WOW. We’ll help you understand how to find a topic and voice that WOWs readers.

Write a stand-out high school admission essay.

Our panel of experts will give you their best tips and share fantastic essays that earned entry into the most competitive schools! We will also review grading rubrics so you know how your essay will be reviewed and what makes a 100/100 essay.

Our Expert Panel

Brandon Lewis is an Advanced English teach at The Beacon School in Manhattan. He has also taught online literature courses to graduate and undergraduate students for Harvard University (“Whitman to Hip-hop” is his favorite! Students get to read Kendrick Lamar lyrics as poetry…). When not working with students, or spending time with his two little kids, Brandon puts on his writer’s hat and publishes poetry, nonfiction, book reviews, and interviews in such places as American Poetry Review, The Massachusetts Review, The Missouri Review, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Barrow Street, and Narrative Magazine. He has won a few prizes in poetry, received an MFA in Creative Writing under the direction of Carolyn Forché, Alan Cheuse, and others mentors at George Mason, and seems to always be reading three very different books at a time.

Katie Miller is an Education and Admissions Consultant who has been advocating for parents and children in public school education for the last 15 years. Katie is an expert on navigating the complex New York City public school admissions process and works closely with families to ensure they feel confident, informed and supported. Katie created Katherine Miller Consulting 5 years ago in order to work more closely on fostering creative public / private partnerships, and to share her expertise on the interplay between education, parenting and community. She has also served in a number of volunteer leadership positions at her children’s public schools, including P.S. 87, M.S. 54 (Booker T. Washington Middle School), West End Secondary School (WESS), The Beacon School, and LaGuardia. Katie also acts as a consultant to a variety of youth arts organizations. Before her career as an education and small business consultant, Katie was the Director of Civil Justice at Common Good, and a Litigation Associate at Cleary Gottlieb. Katie graduated from Amherst College and received a joint J.D./ M.A. from Cornell Law School and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Lisa Speransky is the founder of Ivy Tutors Network, a New York City-based education company. The company’s core belief is that education isn’t one size fits all. That may sound simple, but understanding this concept opens the door to really enjoying learning. For over 20 years and countless success stories — from learning to read and count to getting into the college of your dreams— we’ve proven that personalized education can breed a love of learning that leads to confidence and to goal-crushing in all its forms! Lisa is a product of the NYC public school system, graduating from PS 87, MS 54, and the Bronx High School of Science before completing her BA at Columbia University.