By Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
This story is part of "N.J.'s hardest-to-get-into high schools," an NJ Advance Media special report on the rise of specialized public high schools for top students around the state.
Long before they start dreaming about applying to college, many New Jersey middle school students are striving to get into some of the state's best high schools.
Over the last few decades, the number of county-run specialized high schools for high-achieving students has spiked in New Jersey. Nearly every county in the state now offers specialized programs and schools run by the country vocational-technical school districts.
Some of the New Jersey schools are ranked among the best public high schools in the country because of their rigorous academics and high-scoring students. Admission is free for students.
How do you get in? In many cases, it's not easy.
Students prepare for a lab at Morris County's Academy for Math, Science and Engineering (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Admissions process
The county-run schools – which are sometimes called magnet schools, career academies and high tech high schools -- are usually only open to students who live in the county. Most require students to apply and take a test in the 8th grade to get in. Some also require interviews. Only a fraction of the students who apply get admitted to many programs.
Students who get in bypass their local high schools and are bused to the county-run academies for four years, where they can get access to specialized classes, top teachers, career training and courses offering college credit.
There are currently at least 20 stand-alone specialized high schools run by New Jersey's county vo-tech districts. There are more than 60 additional career academies for high-achieving students that often operate as "schools within schools" at larger vocational-technical schools, local colleges and traditional local high schools.
Some local schools district offer similar schools tailored for top students, including McNair Academic High School in Jersey City and Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth. Those schools are limited to residents of their cities.
Here is what is offered by the vo-tech districts for high-achieving students in each county, according to the districts and the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools:
Atlantic County
Atlantic County's vo-tech district does not offer a stand-alone specialized high schools for top students. But, Atlantic County Institute of Technology in Mays Landing offers several career academies for high-achieving students.
The four-year programs include an Academy for Math, Engineering and Science, an Academy for Information Technology, an Academy for Health, Science and Medicine, an Academy of Performing Arts, an Academy of Aviation Studies and more.
How to apply: The district requires students to attend an information session in September or October of their 8th grade year to learn how to apply. Students must submit an application, their middle school report cards, PARCC scores and a writing sample. Their guidance counselors will also be asked whether they recommend the applicants for the program.
Who gets in: The district uses a point system to rank students based on their grades, test scores and other factors. Those with the highest rankings are recommended to be admitted to the programs.
Bergen County
Bergen County was among the first in New Jersey to embrace the specialized high school model. Its schools include two stand-alone academies for top students: Bergen County Academies in Hackensack and Bergen Tech- Teterboro.
How to apply: Each school has its own admissions procedures. Bergen County Academies requires 8th graders to attend an open house, apply, submit teacher recommendation letters and take an entrance exam by late February. Then, students are selected for interviews. Bergen Tech-Teterboro has a similar process that requires an application, teacher recommendations and school transcripts.
Who gets in: Bergen County Academies, the most difficult of the schools to get into, limits the number of students admitted from each town in Bergen County. The number of students admitted from each town varies based on the size of the local school district.
Burlington County
Burlington County's vo-tech school district does not have any stand-alone specialized high schools. But, Burlington County Institute of Technology offers career academies for high-achieving students on the Medford Campus.
The programs include an Academy for Performing Arts and an Engineering Academy.
How to apply: Students entering the 9th or 10th grade must submit an application and their report cards before taking an admissions exam. Applicants to the Academy for Performing Arts also need to schedule an audition.
Camden County
Camden County's vo-tech school district does not have any stand-alone specialized high schools. But, Camden County Technical Schools offers a Music Academy, Performing Arts Academy and a Medical Arts Academy on its Gloucester Township campus for high-achieving students.
How to apply: Students in the 8th grade must submit an application, take a 90-minute placement test, and submit their report cards, essays and letters of recommendations. Music and performing arts students also need to audition.
Cape May County
Cape May County's vo-tech school district does not have a stand-alone specialized high school. But, Cape May County Technical High School in Middle Township offers several career programs for top students, including a Pre-Engineering program and a Travel and Tourism program, which uses an eight-unit motel for a classroom.
How to apply: Students must submit an application along with standardized test scores, academic transcripts, attendance and discipline records.
Cumberland County
Cumberland County has traditional vo-tech schools and programs, but the district does not offer any stand-alone specialized high schools or programs designed specifically for high-achieving students.
Gloucester County
Gloucester County vo-tech school district does not have a stand-alone specialized high school. But, Gloucester County Institute of Technology in Sewell offers several career academies for high-achieving students.
They include an Academy of Allied Health and Medical Science, an Academy of Engineering, an Academy of Finance and Business Management and an Academy of Information Technology and Digital Communications.
How to apply: Students in the 8th grade considering applying are required to go the school for a "shadow visit" to sit in on classes. Students must submit an application, academic records and standardized test scores by January of their 8th grade year. Acceptance letters go out in March.
Hudson County
Hudson County's vo-tech district has one of the state's largest county-run specialized high schools for top students – High Tech High School in North Bergen.
How to apply: Applications should be submitted in the fall of students' 8th grade year. Applicants must submit their middle school transcripts, standardized test scores, attendance records, letters of recommendation and an essay. Some programs also require a portfolio or an audition.
Who gets in: An admissions review committee evaluates the applications for the freshman class. The committee uses census data to determine how many students to admit from each town in Hudson County, school officials said.
Students attend an event for newly-accepted students at the Biomedical Sciences Academy at North Hunterdon High School in 2016. (Biomedical Sciences Academy photo)
Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County's vo-tech district has three academies for high-achieving students, all operating in partnerships with local high schools. The Computer Science and Software Engineering Academy, which opened in 2015, is located at Delaware Valley Regional High School. The Biomedical Sciences Academy, launched in 2016, is located at North Hunterdon High School and a new Environmental Sustainability and Engineering Academy, operating in partnership with Voorhees High School, will open in September.
How to apply: The academies are open to all students in the county. Students in the 8th grade are required to submit an application, schedule an interview and take a placement exam.
Essex County
Essex County has traditional vo-tech schools and programs, but the district does not offer any stand-alone specialized high schools or programs designed specifically for high-achieving students.
Mercer County
Mercer County has a stand-alone specialized high school for top students: a Health Sciences Academy at the district's Assunpink Center campus. The district also offers a STEM Academy at Mercer County Community College.
How to apply: Students can apply online in the fall of their 8th grade year. Then, their guidance counselors submit their transcripts.
Students at lunch at Middlesex County's Academy for Science, Math and Engineering Technology in Edison. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Middlesex County
Middlesex County has two stand-alone career academies for high-achieving students: the Academy for Science, Math and Engineering Technology, located on the campus of Middlesex County College in Edison, and the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences in Woodbridge.
How to apply: Students must attend a mandatory information session and submit an application by November of their 8th grade year. Admission will be based on middle school transcripts, interviews and students' scores on an admissions exam that tests reading, math and vocabulary.
Who gets in: At least one student from every school district in Middlesex County will be admitted if the municipality has an applicant who meets the schools' minimum standards. This year, 42 students were admitted out of the 330 to 340 who applied to the Academy for Science, Math and Engineering Technology, school officials said. At the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences, about 75 students were admitted out of the 330 to 340 who applied.
Monmouth County
Monmouth County's vo-tech district has the state's most extensive network of specialized high schools for top students. The countywide schools include: the Academy of Allied Health and Science in Neptune; the Academy of Law and Public Safety in Long Branch (for 11th and 12th grades); Biotechnology High School in Freehold; Communications High School in Wall; High Technology High School on the campus of Brookdale Community College; and the Marine Academy of Science and Technology in Highlands.
How to apply: Students in the 8th grade must submit an application, attend an information session and take an entrance exam. Admission is based on exam scores and 7th and 8th grade transcripts. Applications for the Law and Public Safety Academy are submitted in 10th grade and an entrance exam is not required.
Who gets in: Students are ranked based on their grades and test scores. The highest-ranking students from each school district in the country will be admitted so every town in the county will be represented in the specialized high schools. At Communications High School, for example, 80 students are admitted out of about 400 applicants each year. Out-of-county students are permitted to apply to the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, though Ocean County students are excluded because their vo-tech district has a similar school.
Morris County
Morris County's vo-tech district has two stand-alone specialized high schools for top students: the Academy for Environmental Science, located at Jefferson High School; and the Academy for Mathematics, Science and Engineering, located at Rockaway High School. A new Academy for Biotechnology, located at Mountain Lakes High School, is expected to open in the fall.
Morris County School of Technology in Denville also has nearly a dozen special programs that operate as "schools within schools," including an Academy for Computer and Information Sciences, an Academy for Finance and International Business, an Academy for Health Care Sciences and an Academy for Visual and Performing Arts.
How to apply: The admissions process starts in September and ends in December. Students in the 8th grade can apply to only one academy. Students are admitted based on their 7th grade transcripts, an interview and the results of an admissions exam.
Who gets in: Last year, more than 200 students applied for 26 spots in the freshman class at the Academy for Mathematics, Science and Engineering, the district's top-rated school, school officials said. This year, the district is doubling the size of the freshman class to 48 students. Students are admitted to all of the academies based on their grades, test scores and interviews.
Ocean County
Ocean County's vo-tech district has two stand-alone specialized high schools for top students: the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences in Manahawkin and the Performing Arts Academy in Lakehurst.
The district also has an Academy of Law and Public Safety for 11th and 12th graders at the Ocean County Fire and First Aid Training Center in Waretown.
How to apply: Students must attend an information session and may apply to only one academy. Eighth graders apply to the Marine Academy and Performing Arts Academy in December and take an admissions test in January. Performing arts applicants must also audition. Academy of Law and Public Safety applicants apply by March in a separate application system.
Who gets in: Applicants are given scores based on their 7th and 8th grade transcripts, performance on the admissions test and auditions. Those with the top scores are offered admission.
A student waits in front of Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne. (Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Passaic County
Passaic County's vo-tech district does not have stand-alone specialized high school for top students. But, the county has several academies for high-achieving students at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne.
The programs include the Academy for Criminal Justice, the Academy of Finance, the Academy of Information Technology, the Academy of Medical Arts and a School of Performing Arts.
How to apply: Students apply between between Nov. 1 and Feb. 1 by filling out an application. All applicants must be county residents entering the 9th or 10th grade.
Who gets in: Students are admitted based on two years of school transcripts, attendance and discipline records and standardized test scores. Performing arts students also must audition.
Salem County
Salem County's vo-tech district does not have stand-alone specialized high schools for the county's top students. But, the county offers nearly a dozen academies, including several housed within local high schools.
The programs include: an Academy for Communications at Woodstown High School; an Academy of Creative and Performing Arts: Dance, Drama and Visual Arts at Schalick High School; an Academy for Engineering at Penns Grove High School; and an Academy for Graphics Technology; an Academy for Creative and Performing Arts: Instrumental and Vocal Music at Pennsville Memorial High School; and an Academy for Biological and Medical Sciences and an Academy for Energy Applications at Career and Technical High School in Pilesgrove.
How to apply: Students applying to the arts, science and technology academies must submit an application by March. Students must also take an admissions test. Some of the academies, including the performing arts and communications academies, also require interviews, portfolios or auditions.
Somerset County
Somerset County's vo-tech district does not have a stand-alone specialized high school for top students. But, the district has an Academy for Health and Medical Sciences that operates as a "school within a school" at Somerset County Vocational Technical High School in Bridgewater and Raritan Valley Community College.
How to apply: Students in both Hunterdon and Somerset counties can apply to the academy in the fall of their 8th grade year. An interview and an admissions test are required.
Who gets in: Students are admitted based on their middle school grade point averages, standardized test scores and the results of their admission tests and personal interviews. Once admitted, students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average or higher to remain at the academy.
Sussex County
Sussex County has traditional vo-tech schools and programs, but the district does not offer any stand-alone specialized high schools or programs designed specifically for high-achieving students.
Students in a modern dance class at Union County's Academy for Performing Arts in Scotch Plains. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Union County
Union County's vo-tech district has one of the oldest and most extensive specialized high school systems for high-achieving students in the state. The county has four stand-alone academies in Scotch Plains: Union County Magnet School for Math, Science and Technology; Academy for Allied Health Sciences; Academy for Information Technology; and the Academy for Performing Arts.
Union County Tech in Scotch Plains also has several programs for top students, including a School of Design, a Sustainable Science Academy and a Teacher Education Academy.
How to apply: Students apply to the academies in December of their 8th grade year after attending a mandatory information session in the fall. Applicants take an admissions exam in January. Applicants in the performing arts academy also audition for a spot at the school.
Who gets in: Last year, about 1,500 students applied for 500 to 600 seats at the district's five schools, district officials said. Students are ranked based on their 7th and 8th grade transcripts and their admissions test scores. Students are divided by town and the top-ranked students in each of Union County's 21 municipalities are admitted. The system helps ensure that students from every town in the county are represented in the schools, district officials said.
Warren County
Warren County's vo-tech district does not have any stand-alone specialized high schools. But Warren County Technical High School in Washington has a Health Science and an Engineering program for high-achieving students.
How to apply: Students in the 8th grade must submit an application, report cards, essays and letters of recommendation and schedule an interview.
Students walk through the halls on Union County's vo-tech complex in Scotch Plains, home to Union County Magnet School and several other specialized high schools. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
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