So I’m moving to Buffalo in the state of New York this March. Having schooled all the way under the Indian curriculum and school, I have no idea about what it will be like as a senior in an American high school. What is the process to attain high school equivalency in New York? What is the school like? Do I have to plan my curriculum? I have read on cc about senior year course load and stuff. Here in india, we don’t get to decide stuff. We choose stream and learn the fixed set of subjects. And what about APs and other things like Dual Enrollment. I just want to know a typical senior year over there. I read about TSAC on the NYSED website. Is it mandatory? And if it is, can I take it anytime and earn an equivalence?
Thank you very much for any help!
Hi–Welcome!! We’re so lucky to have you coming here!
Probably check the Buffalo city department of education website. That will tell you whether the school districts are zoned or not for admissions purposes. Once you figure out what school you will be in, based on your zone probably, you can contact the school to find out what your requirements are. They will probably look at your record and try to see what courses you’ve taken, what are equivalent here. NYS has something called “regents” which may or may not apply in your case. You will need to see the rules. But for most NYState students to graduate from HS you will need to pass a few regents tests, I think the minimum is 5 in specific subjects. My guess is that you will find them fairly straight forward, and there are places where you can get online tests to practice.
- Earth Science
- Bio (living environment)
- English
- And I think two math regents.
There may be a social studies regents too. Here is the website–
http://www.nysedregents.org/
Regents can determine what in-state NYS colleges may accept you, but no one outside of NYS really cares about them.
I’m unclear whether since you’re coming so late in HS if any of these requirements can be waived. I think that there may be a way for the school to use past work to waive regents, but I’m not sure. In any event, they aren’t that hard, although I’d take them seriously enough to practice. There are some tricky conventions like you need to show all of your work for some math problems and you need to know how to do things like read a topographical map. That sort of thing. Find the epicenter for an earthquake. If you practice, you can do this with ease.
If you graduate from NYS school you should be eligible for some in-state scholarships. One is tuition assistance if you are going into a STEM subject and stay in the state and are in the top 10% of the class. (https://www.hesc.ny.gov/pay-for-college/financial-aid/types-of-financial-aid/nys-grants-scholarships-awards/nys-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem-incentive-program.html) The other – only proposed at this point – is free tuition for families making under $125K per year, moving up to $150K over time. This hasn’t yet been passed, but might be passed soon.
Best of luck and welcome!
Get a warm coat for Buffalo and be sure to visit Niagara Falls and ride the Maid of the Mist.
I just wanted to add that every school system in the US is slightly different. Until you know exactly where you are going to live and what school you are going to go to, you can’t really do too much planning. Once you have an exact location and know your school, you can contact them. They will help walk you through all your questions.
@Dustyfeathers @me29034 Thank you very much for the time. This is why I love cc!