Townsend Harris High School:

Total Student Population: 1,105

According to insideschools.org, Townsend Harris High School focuses around subject in the humanities. The school also benefits from being located within the campus of Queens College, as professors from the school hold lectures. The school is named after Townsend Harris, who played a part in the creation of the CUNY system. In order to be accepted, some requirements include having at least a 90 grade point average, along with high standardized reading and math scores.

The graph below displays the student population of Townsend Harris High School by ethnicity using percentages obtained from the statistics listed on schools.nyc.gov. As shown by the graph, the largest percentage of students are Asian, with moderate amounts of white and Hispanic students, and lower amounts of the other ethnicities. 

STUDENT INTERVIEWS:
Based on the interviews, the overall review of this school were highly positive. Those interviewed included an Asian Female who recently graduated, a multi-racial female in 12th grade, and a black male in 11th grade.

 Audition Process:

• “My high school application experience wasn’t really that stressful. I was happy with my acceptance.”
• “I applied for Townsend Harris for non-specialized schools and put it as my first choice.”
• “Overall my application to Townsend went smoothly, it was my first choice.”

Security:

• “The security supervised the entrances and exits of the students. They don’t really target specific individuals, but also treat everyone equally.”
• “The security is efficient; there are security guards by every exit and entrance of our school and we have to show ID every time we enter or exit the school. Security does not target certain groups.”
• “I never saw any instances where I felt the security treated anyone unfairly.”

Peer Relations:

• “I’ve never had a bad experience with my fellow peers.”
• “The students in my school are some of the kindest people I know and people are accepting of each other and treat each other with respect.”
• “I never ran into many problems with my peers, everyone I know is for the most part kind to me.”

Teacher and Student Relations:

• “I’ve never really experienced unfair treatment from the faculty at Townsend Harris. The teachers treated students equally.”
• “The teachers are caring and if I ask for help they will definitely provide advice and assistance.”
• “The teachers seem to treat all the students fairly at all times, and offer help to anyone who needs it.”

Guidance Support:

• “The guidance office as whole was very helpful in the college application process. I’ve never had a bad experience with my guidance counselor.”
• “Guidance counselors have meetings with you every year to assist you in planning out your college plans and checking in on your progress.”
• “My guidance counselor has been helpful as I think about applying for college.”

John Bowne High School:

Total Student Population: 3,515

According to insideschools.org, John Bowne High School is best known for its program in agriculture, with programs in science and writing as well. The school school is described as a “small city” and has a problem with overcrowding. Compared to Townsend Harris High School, the requirements to be accepted are lower, with an 85 grade point average and 3’s or 4’s on standardized tests need to get into the honors program. Students who are zoned for the school are given priority in acceptance.

The graph below displays the student population of John Bowne High School by ethnicity using percentages obtained from the statistics listed on schools.nyc.gov. As shown by the graph, the largest percentage of students are Hispanic, with moderate amounts of Asian and Black students, and lower amounts of the other ethnicities.

STUDENT INTERVIEWS: 
Based on the interviews, the overall review of this school were positive for the most part. Those interviewed included a Hispanic male and a white female both in 12th grade.

Audition Process:

• “Applying to the school was void of many obstacles. Honestly, I enjoy the school greatly, I’d gladly go through all of it again.”
• “I faced no problems in applying to the school.”

Security:

• “The staff always seems observant in many aspects of school life, although a few fights have broken out.”
• “I’ve noticed only a few problems in terms of security, everyone usually seems alert.”

Peer Relations:

• “I haven’t personally experienced problems with my peers.”
• “Some of the students can be rude, but I’ve made some close friends.”

Teacher and Student Relations:

• “All of my teachers have been kind and respectful to everyone.”
• “There’s always one or two poor teachers, but all in all, they have all been great.”

Guidance Support:

• “My guidance counselor helped me greatly and was patient with me. I got into the college I wanted, so I have no complaints.”
• “There have been a few times where I’ve both heard about guidance counselors canceling appointments. One time in recent memory I was stuck waiting for my counselor for quite a while.”

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Sources

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