Guides
The Hunter College schools (HCES & HCHS)
Last reviewed Jun 16, 2026 · Official source, current cycle · Verify dates and rules with the official source before acting.
The Hunter College schools confuse families because they look like one thing and work like another. They are public and tuition-free, so parents assume DOE, MySchools, the usual calendar. None of that is true. The two Hunter College Campus Schools are run by Hunter College / CUNY, with their own application, their own exam, and their own dates, and they admit at exactly two grades. This guide lays out what they are, how each one admits, and how to run Hunter as one more independent shot alongside everything else. Hunter's qualifying rules, exam content, and dates change every cycle, so confirm the specifics for your child on Hunter's official admissions pages before acting.
How it works in 60 seconds
- The Hunter College Campus Schools, HCES (elementary) and HCHS (high school), are public and tuition-free, but run by Hunter College / CUNY, not the NYC DOE.
- They are entirely outside MySchools. You apply through Hunter's own system, on Hunter's own calendar.
- There are two entry points only: Kindergarten at HCES and 7th grade at HCHS. No 9th-grade entry, no other entry grade.
- HCHS admission is two steps: a student must first qualify on 5th-grade state test scores (or an approved alternative), then sit the Hunter entrance exam held in January.
- Hunter is a separate, parallel shot. Applying to it never touches your DOE match, the SHSAT, charter, or private processes, run it alongside whatever else fits.
What the Hunter schools are
The single most important fact, the one that reframes everything else: the Hunter schools are public but not DOE.
- Public and tuition-free. Both HCES and HCHS are administered and funded by Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY), and no tuition is charged. "Public" here is broader than "DOE", exactly like charter schools, Hunter is publicly funded but run by a different body.
- Not the NYC DOE, and not on MySchools. Because CUNY runs them, the Hunter schools have their own application, their own admissions exam, and their own calendar. You will not find them in MySchools, and a DOE timeline tells you nothing about Hunter's deadlines.
- Selective and gifted-focused. Hunter describes its schools as serving intellectually talented and gifted students, and admission at both grades is highly competitive.
Practically, that means Hunter is a fully separate track you opt into on its own schedule, not a box you check inside the DOE system.
Hunter College Elementary (HCES)
HCES is the elementary school, and its one public entry point is Kindergarten.
- Entry at Kindergarten only. Children apply for Kindergarten the year before they would start; there is no later elementary entry point.
- Its own two-round assessment. HCES runs its own admissions process: families apply through Hunter's portal (there is an application fee plus a separate testing fee, with reduced-fee options for eligible families), and Round 1 is an individually administered cognitive test (currently the Stanford-Binet) given by Hunter-approved child psychologists. Children whose Round 1 scores advance are invited to Round 2, a small-group assessment at the school, from which the final class is selected; in a recent cycle roughly 2,500 families applied for about 50 Kindergarten seats. It is Hunter's own process, not a DOE gifted-and-talented test.
- Residency requirement, confirm the current rule. HCES restricts admission by residency. Historically it was effectively Manhattan-only; in recent cycles Hunter's stated rule is that a child must hold primary residency in one of the five boroughs of New York City as of a set date in the application year (NYC meaning the five boroughs, not surrounding counties). Residency rules can shift, so verify the exact current boundary and the cutoff date on Hunter's official HCES admissions page before relying on it.
- HCES feeds into the high school. Students admitted to HCES at Kindergarten and in good academic standing continue into Hunter College High School, they move up into 7th grade without re-applying and without sitting the HCHS entrance exam. That makes the Kindergarten door, in effect, the long path to a 13-year run; it is also why HCES admission is so competitive.
Hunter College High School (HCHS)
HCHS is the high school, and the one public entry point is 7th grade, this is a 7–12 school, so a child who isn't already an HCES student enters in 7th grade or not at all.
- Entry at 7th grade only, all five boroughs. Current 6th graders who are NYC residents apply for 7th-grade entry. There is no 9th-grade entry and no entry at any other grade. Homeschooled students are eligible to apply (Hunter posts separate qualifying details for them).
- Step one, qualify. Not everyone may sit the exam. A student must first earn a qualifying score on the 5th-grade New York State ELA and Math tests. Students who didn't take those state tests can qualify on an approved alternative standardized test instead. Only students who clear the qualifying bar are invited to the next step.
- Step two, the Hunter entrance exam. Qualified students sit the Hunter College High School entrance exam, held in January. It includes Hunter's own English sections (reading comprehension and a writing assignment) and a math component. Admission is decided on this exam. In a recent cycle roughly 2,500 students sat the exam for about 185 7th-grade seats.
- A note on the exam and the ISEE. Hunter has stated that the entrance exam's math content is licensed from the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE), but the Hunter exam is not an official ISEE administration, sitting it doesn't count as taking the ISEE or restrict a child from taking a real ISEE later. Treat this as a detail that can change year to year and confirm it on Hunter's current exam page.
We deliberately don't print the qualifying cut scores or the exact exam date here. Both are set by Hunter and can move every cycle, so any specific number or date you see floating around is last year's at best, check Hunter's official admissions pages for the year your child is applying.
How it fits with everything else
Hunter is a completely separate, parallel shot, and that's the whole point.
- It doesn't touch the DOE system. Applying to Hunter does not affect your DOE main match, the MySchools application, the SHSAT specialized high schools, or anything else the DOE runs. They are independent processes scored by different bodies on different calendars.
- It doesn't touch charter or private either. A Hunter offer can be held alongside a DOE offer, a charter offer, and any private offers. You're not choosing Hunter instead of applying elsewhere, you pursue it on top of whatever else fits.
- One door each, at K and at 7th. Because the only public entry points are Kindergarten and 7th grade, the natural moments to consider Hunter are the year before Kindergarten and during 6th grade. If you miss both, there's no later public way in.
So the strategy is simple: if Hunter fits your child and the timing lines up, run it as one more independent application, and keep building your DOE list, specialized-test plan, and any charter or private applications exactly as you would anyway. Our how-admissions-works guide maps how all these parallel systems sit side by side.
What most parents miss
DOE, charter, and private are independent shots — run the ones that fit.
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Official source
Official source
Hunter College Campus Schools, AdmissionsHunter's own admissions hub for HCES (Kindergarten) and HCHS (7th grade). Because Hunter is CUNY-run and entirely outside MySchools, its qualifying rules, residency boundary, exam content, and dates are set by Hunter and change every cycle, always confirm the specifics for your child's grade on Hunter's official pages before acting.
Common questions
Are the Hunter College schools public, and is there tuition? Yes, they are public and tuition-free. The catch families miss is who runs them, Hunter College Elementary School (HCES) and Hunter College High School (HCHS) are administered and funded by Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY), not the NYC Department of Education. They have their own application, their own admissions process, and their own calendar, and they sit entirely outside MySchools.
What are the entry points for the Hunter schools? There are only two public entry points. HCES admits at Kindergarten, and HCHS admits at 7th grade. There is no 9th-grade entry and no other entry grade. Students admitted to HCES at Kindergarten and in good academic standing continue into the high school without sitting the entrance exam.
How does admission to Hunter College High School work? It is a two-step process. First a student must qualify, by earning a qualifying score on the 5th-grade New York State ELA and Math tests (or on an approved alternative for students who didn't sit those). Only students who qualify are then invited to sit the Hunter entrance exam, held in January. Confirm the current qualifying rule and exam date on Hunter's official admissions pages before acting.
Does applying to Hunter affect my DOE, charter, or private applications? No. Hunter is a separate, parallel system. Applying to Hunter does not touch your DOE main match, the SHSAT, charter, or private processes, and a Hunter offer can be held alongside whatever else you're pursuing. Run it as one more independent shot if it fits your child.