Does LaGuardia High School use the SHSAT?
Short answer
No: LaGuardia High School admits students by audition, not the SHSAT, and requires a final grade of at least 65 in English, math, science and social studies. The other eight Specialized High Schools use the SHSAT.
No. LaGuardia High School is a Specialized High School, but it’s the one that doesn’t use the SHSAT. It admits students by audition.
The eight schools that do use the SHSAT
- The Bronx High School of Science
- The Brooklyn Latin School
- Brooklyn Technical High School
- High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College
- High School of American Studies at Lehman College
- Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
- Staten Island Technical High School
- Stuyvesant High School
How LaGuardia admissions work
- Auditions, not a test. Students can audition for up to six studios, and may receive an offer to each studio they qualify for.
- There’s a grade requirement. Students need a final grade of at least 65 in English, math, science and social studies.
- It has its own deadline. The regular NYC high school application and the LaGuardia application close Friday, December 4, 2026. SHSAT registration closes earlier, on October 30.
Because they’re separate processes, a student interested in both LaGuardia and a testing school handles the SHSAT and the LaGuardia audition separately.