FAQ About Admissions
Admissions FAQ for Families
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does the admissions process for Beacon work, in general?
When will The Beacon School begin accepting applications for admission for 2021-22?
What steps can I take before Beacon begins accepting admissions applications?
What materials do I need to prepare for my application?
How do I apply for admission to Beacon?
What are the deadlines to apply?
I have a sibling at the school, will this help my chances for admission?
How do I know that my application has been received?
If I forget part of the application, how do I submit it to the school?
My grades were impacted by the on-going health crisis. Will this impact my application?
My middle school record shows some absences, how will this impact my application?
How many seats are there, and should I even bother applying?
How does the admissions process for Beacon work, in general?
Students who are interested in attending Beacon submit their Screened Consortium School application through MySchools. School staff then receive applications, use the rubric to assess every application we receive, and we rank the applications based on the results. The Department of Education uses the ranked applications and the applicant’s MySchools School Choice Form to create offers to qualifying applicants who either accept or reject the invitation to attend our school. For each student who accepts their offer, the number of seats we have available decreases by one. Offers continue to be sent to students in rank order until enough students have accepted to fill all the seats for our incoming class.
When will The Beacon School begin accepting applications for admission for Fall 2022?
Applications open on January 27th, 2022 and the deadline for submitting applications is March 1st, 2022.
Do I have a better chance if I submit my application sooner?
No, the order in which applications are received doesn’t play any role in our admissions process. It’s very important that your application is complete, and that you submit your application on MySchools. Don’t wait until the last day to submit your application to avoid any technology problems that might cause stress.
What steps can I take before Beacon begins accepting admissions applications?
- Make sure that your parent or guardian has created their MySchools account and updated their contact information
- Sign up to receive reminders and announcements using this form
How do I apply for admission to Beacon?
Applications will open on January 27th, 2022. When that happens, you can apply to Beacon by submitting an application on the MySchools website.
What materials do I need to prepare for my application?
Our application consists of an Essay in response to the Screened Consortium Schools prompt. Information about the application, including the essay prompt and the rubric, can be found on our website.
I am going into 10th grade - how do I apply?
Students entering 10th grade in Fall, 2022 must apply for a transfer through the DOE Family Welcome Center.
I have a sibling at the school, will this help my chances for admission?
No, Beacon doesn’t rank applications differently based on having a sibling at the school. Applications are all assessed based on the same criteria, and then ranked based on the results. The best way to help your chances for admission is to ask your sibling and other family members to read your materials and give you constructive feedback so that you can make sure everything you submit reflects your strengths.
How do I know that my application has been received?
The application is sent through the MySchools website and you’ll be able to check that it is received by checking in MySchools.
My grades were impacted by the on-going health crisis. Will this impact my application?
For Fall, 2022 Admissions at Beacon, grades from 7th Grade and Fall of 8th Grade in English, math, science and social studies are considered and count for 20% of the application score. The other 80% is the score on the application essay.
My middle school record shows some absences, how will this impact my application?
There won’t be any negative impact. The city has confirmed that attendance and punctuality will not be used to assess applications for 2022, no matter the year in which the absence or lateness occurred.
How many seats are there, and should I even bother applying?
If you are interested in Beacon and you think it’s a place you’d like to be, then you should definitely apply. While we have a high number of applications each year for a limited number of seats, you can give yourself a really good chance of being offered a seat in our incoming class by making sure your application materials reflect you and your unique passions and by ranking Beacon at the top of your list of schools.
More information will be added as we continue to receive questions...