Students must choose which three schools they wish to apply to and indicate them in order of preference on the day of the exam. The test is offered to all eighth and ninth grade students residing within the 5 boroughs of New York City, however the majority of the applicants are eighth graders.
The results of the SHSAT are ordered from the highest score to the lowest score. The list is processed in order by score, with each students being placed in their most-preferred school that still has open seats, and continuing until there are no remaining open seats at any school.