Infinity and McNair Applications for Fall 2023 Entrance Now Available

McNair Academic and Infinity Institute applications for admission for the 2023-2024 school year are now available. Applications are online and a PSAT score is still a required part of the application. You can view our posts on McNair or Infinity to see how PSAT scores (from the PSAT taken October 2022) affect how applications are evaluated.

New All Girls’ Preparatory Academy in JC!! (accepting applicants this fall)

Starting in September of 2023, there is officially an all girls middle school in Jersey City. Girls’ Preparatory Academy is a college prep middle school for girls only with a college culture. It is co-located in Dr. Charles P. DeFuccio School, P.S. 39 which is right on the West Side of Lincoln Park. (P.S. 39 is located on 214 Plainfield Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07306).

Superintendent Norma Fernandez discussed the topic in the Jersey Journal stating that for all worried P.S. 39 parents, the new program will not displace any P.S. 39 students. In fact, Fernandez explained the school is under capacity and has a lot of extra room right now. It is also in a central location of Jersey City which makes it a great place for the Girls’ Preparatory Academy.

Parents can join one of the Academy’s open houses for school information sessions, application information, tours, and to ask questions:

Saturday, April 22, 9-11 AM

Saturday, April 29, 9-11 AM

The JC Girls’ Preparatory Academy is attached to an organization called “The Young Women’s Leadership Schools.” They have other locations nearby, such as their school in the Bronx. To see their rankings, (state-test scores and more) click here.

McNair/Infinity Acceptance Letters Are Out

The first round of McNair and Infinity Applications have been returned to 8th graders (the class of 2027). Most McNair and Infinity application decisions were sent out on Friday of last week (March 10, 2023). Wait listed students should be aware that McNair and Infinity have to wait for students who recieved acceptance letters to send them their decisions before they send out the second round of letters to those on the waiting list.

McNair Fact: Around 200 students are selected out of a little over 1,000 applications each year.

Pre-K Registration 2023-2024

Jersey City Public Schools Early Childhood Department has announced that Free Pre-K Program Registrations will be available starting March 1st. The JCBOE strongly recommends registration by March 31st. You can apply online by going to the JCBOE website. You can also register online at any local branch of the JC Free Public Library. In order to be eligible for the 2023-24 school year, your child must be 3 years old on or before Oct. 1 2023 (Pre-K3) or must be 4 years old on or before Oct. 1, 2023 (Pre-K4)

To learn how to complete the Pre-K online registration in greater detail, you can watch the Pre-K online registration video to see JCBOE’s YouTube tutorial.

AEP/Infinity Institute Applications (2023-2024) Are Out!

Online applications can be accessed through this link  starting Thursday, February 23, 2023. Completed applications must be submitted by Thursday, March 23, 2023, at 11:59 pm. Jersey City Public School students in 5th and 6th grade who apply to AEP and Infinity Institute will take the OLSAT assessment in their schools during the week of April 24, 2023.

Click here for information on how to prepare for the OLSAT

Click here to see what percentage of the OLSAT determines your chance of getting into AEP

Click here to see what percentage of the OLSAT determines your chance of getting into Infinity Middle School

February 2023 (Monthly Update Post)

  • February 6 marked the end of marking period 2.
  • February 14 is a half day for high school students only because of HS parent conference from 1:30 – 3 pm (12:45 dismissal)
  • February 15 is a half day for elementary school students only because of ES Parent Conference from 1:30 – 3 pm (12:45 dismissal)
  • February 16 is a half day for middle school students only because of MS Parent Conference from 1:30 – 3pm (12:45 dismissal)
  • February 20 is Presidents Day so there is no school (district closed)

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (and how the case has affected JC High Schools admissions systems)

In 2014, the Students for Fair Admissions filed a claim that Harvard discriminated against Asian Americans using race in their admissions process. The courts heard the case in October, and Harvard won. Judges claimed that the system Harvard uses ensures diversity in the school.

What was the end result of the case?

The end result of the case was that Harvard’s admissions system was claimed fair by the judges. One stating that there are, “not currently any available or workable race-neutral alternatives. Finally, there is nothing about Harvard’s admissions process that is at odds with the reason for subjecting racial classifications to strict scrutiny—to ensure ““little or no possibility that the motive for the classification was illegitimate racial prejudice or stereotype.”” (Lawyer Committee Summary of Case – Harvard v. SFFA) To read more about why a federal court ruled in favor of Harvard, you can read the case conclusion (pg. 127-130).

How about Jersey City: Admissions policy at McNair and Infinity high schools are changing?

Around the same time as the SFFA v Harvard case, JCBOE questioned changing the admissions systems for McNair Academic High School and Infinity Institute. If you aren’t familiar with McNair and Infinity, they are two selective high schools in Jersey City. They are competitive public schools that you have to apply to. In 2021, the Jersey City Board of Education looked into changing the admissions policies for the two schools in order to “create more socio-economic diversity.” (JCBOE Aiming to Change the Admissions Policy) Right now, race plays a huge role in the admissions policy, but it may play a less vital role for future applicants. The selection process includes race on top of other major things including middle school grades and your PSAT 8/9 score. To read more about what JCBOE has been brainstorming, click here: Moving to Wealth Based Admissions at McNair and Infinity

Facts about Jersey City’s top high schools 

  • Former board President Mussab Ali said in June, statistics show a downward trend of economically disadvantaged students being admitted to the two schools. 
  • The Department of Education’s school performance reports showed the number of economically disadvantaged students attending the schools decreased by about 10% between the 2017-18 school year and the 2019-2020 school year. 
  • More than half of the 427 students at the Infinity Institute fall under the economically disadvantaged category, meanwhile, at McNair slightly more than a third of the 692 students are considered to be economically disadvantaged.