Hi. My son currently goes to Hunter and just got accepted to Stuyvesant as an incoming freshman. We’re in the process of making the hard decision - switching or staying at Hunter. Anyone who went through the same situation willing to offer advice?
My son went to Stuyvesant and I hold the students there in the highest regard. From what I’ve observed, they are vivacious, classy, cool, and of course smart. Sure, academics permeate throughout, but they have so many other interests. They’re into athletics, music, art, dance (hip hop and acappella are my fav), hanging out, writing, community service, etc. There are about 3,000 students, over 32 athletic teams, 150+ clubs (or form your own!), numerous student newspapers and publications, etc. That school is thriving and is a flurry of activities.
I remember watching one of their shows/productions (there are a lot of productions going on all the time!), with the audience filled with students in the auditorium, and usually, the performers are met by the audience with much hollering, cheering, and the rowdiness and boisterousness of a typical high school, but when a particularly cringe-worthy (but still pretty interesting) performer came on, not one student laughed or snickered at him. In fact, we can hear a pin drop in auditorium, then, all of the students took out their phones, turned on the phone light, and waved their phones in the air in unison. The entire auditorium swaying with their phone lights in the air in silence. That’s class (these are 15-18 year olds.)
Stuyvesant is also top notch in activities/disciplines across the board. IE: a high school may have a great debate team or a renowned robotics team, etc. but Stuyvesant excels in areas all across the board: intel winners, NMF finalists, aptitude scores, writing, robotics, etc. and their athletes are amazing. The list is super long. In fact, if your son does attend Stuy, you’ll get emails of weekly or biweekly newsletters, and in it, the accolades, achievements and invitations of the students probably take up half of the newsletter, which feels like a tome after a few weeks of receiving them, because there’s really a lot going on.
Of course, I’m making observations about the general student body as a whole, because individually, they’re obviously all different from one another. I’m sure there are the usual unhappiness or the not-so-great experiences, and the usual teenage angst too, as there would be anywhere, in school and in life.
Also, public school wise, Stuyvesant is housed in a beautiful building located in the Financial/Battery Park City districts. The hallways of the building are filled with light from the outside, and nice views of lower Manhattan. We did look at Hunter (but the grade school though), but thought it lacked windows, but honestly, I don’t think my son even noticed these things. Anyway, those were not the reasons why he chose Stuyvesant, I’m just pointing out some of my observations from many years ago, and am not disparaging another school, as I am not familiar with Hunter, and it is obviously also a much esteemed high school. Anyway, my friends went to Stuy when it was in a rundown building decades ago, and they thrived in that old building anyway.
And maybe it’s not unique to Stuy, but I also noticed that it introduced him to some new cultural aspects such as bubble tea and halal food, both of which he loves now, lol.
Another thing, in a public school of this size, there is definitely less hand holding, if any. If they need anything, they have to be able to reach out on their own accord.
Of course, all of this is only my opinion and observation as a parent. My son did say that he has met so many brilliant kids, and said he’s glad he went there.
As an aside, maybe important or not, I’ve heard that Hunter limits college applications to only (only! 
) 8 private schools, not sure if there is a limit on public universities, if that is a consideration to you at all later on down the line.
Having just come out of the college admissions process, my son noticed that almost all of his classmates (even ‘slackers’ as he called them) are so bright, and voiced the frustration that the majority of Stuy students cannot get into ‘elite’ colleges but of course ‘elite’ colleges can only take so many from each high school. He’s not voicing them from an entitlement point of view, as probably half (?) of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, but he noticed that many of them seem sad around college admission days, and obviously, no one wants their peers to feel bad, because the students have worked so hard and are so smart. But even with this in mind, the number of students eventually attending ‘elite’ colleges are staggering. First world problems, I know, and we’re grateful, but just pointing out that it is a trying time for many seniors.
My son and his friends say, ‘we will not let Stuyvesant (or insertschoolname_here) be our defining achievement.’ That goes for college as well, there is so much expectation for these students because the bar is already set so high. I’m sure many of these kids are or will be great contributors to society, no matter what college they attend, and anyway, it’s the students that makes the school what it is today, the school does not make the student.
Are you and your son able to visit the accepted students day and get a sense of the feel? Hopefully someone who is familiar with both schools can give their opinion.
Wow, this response turned out so long but it’s still not enough to capture the experience of his 4 years there.
@Amacord Congratulations on great options for high school in NYC. How have you found Hunter? Has your son enter in K or 7th? I have a son at Speyer Legacy and we are debating having him sit for the Hunter exam. I would only want to do this if we planned to stay 7-12th (otherwise we would rather apply out of Speyer for high school) so you post is intriguing. What have been the main pros and cons of Hunter in your view?
My husband and his brother went to Hunter k-12. They are children of immigrants and had no idea what Hunter was. Someone came to his preschool and sent his parents a letter that said they thought it would be a good choice for him.
They both attended Columbia. I know for my husband he got accepted into Columbia early decision so he didn’t apply anywhere else though he had an application ready to go for MIT and another IVY league. He had no problem at all earning his Bachelors at Columbia and had a job at graduation. He does have a master’s but went to a local school for that since work paid.
He is still in touch with some of his classmates from Hunter. He now regrets that he didn’t take advantage of the offer to see Hamilton that was offered early on to Hunter alumni since it was produced by a Hunter alumni. He loved the school but I don’t think he ever said he loved the physical building. His brother also had no issues getting into Columbia and has a successful career as well. His info isn’t current but if you want info from after it became coed I can ask.