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Hunter College High School is one of the top high schools in New York City . Hunter is administered by Hunter College , a division of CUNY, rather than the NYC Department Of Education ; there is no tuition fee and it is publicly funded. Hunter sends a very large percentage of students to top-flight colleges and universities. ADMISSIONS Admission is granted at the seventh grade level only. Each year, approximately 2,500 sixth grade students from the five boroughs of New York City who meet Hunter's standards in reading and mathematics on fifth grade standardized exams (typically minimum scores being 90-95 percentile on both tests) are eligible to take the Hunter College High School Entrance Exam. For example, to enter Hunter during the 2006-2007 school year, sixth grade students must achieve a score of 715 out of 804 on the CTB Reading test and 724 out of 797 on the TEM Math test. Approximately 180 students enter on the basis of the exam. Another 50 enter the 7th grade class from Hunter College Elementary School, though since the 2005-2006 school year this is no longer done. The total enrollment from grades 7 through 12 is approximately 1,200 students. The yearly graduating class is typically made up of 180 students. HISTORY Established in 1869 as "the Female Normal and High School," a lab school to prepare young women to be teachers, Hunter now offers a competitive college preparatory program. Hunter along with the Original , in 1903. In 1914, both schools were named after the Female Normal school's first president, Dr. Thomas Hunter . Despite its success in teaching generations of gifted young women, it was almost closed by Hunter College President Jacqueline Wexler in the early 1970s. Hunter was an all girls school for the first 104 years of its existence. The prototypical Hunter girl was the subject of a song entitled "Sarah Maria Jones," who, the lyrics told, had "Hunter in her bones." The school became co-ed in 1974 as a result of a lawsuit by Hunter College Elementary School parents. The New York Daily News described this development with the headline "Girlie High Gets 1st Freshboys." In January 1982, the school was featured in a New York Magazine article entitled "The Joyful Elite." The high school has occupied a number of buildings throughout its history, including one at the E. 68th St. campus of the College (1940–1970). In the 1970s it was housed for several years on two floors of an office building on Lexington Avenue and 44th Street. The current location (since 1977) is at E. 94th St. between Park and Madison Avenues, occupying the historical 94th street Armory . The brick facade and near-windowless classrooms has led to it being given the popular moniker of ''The Brick Prison'' among its "inmates". The school's Madison Avenue facade appeared in the Terry Gilliam film The Fisher King (1991). The principal, and director of the campus schools, is Dr. John Mucciolo (appointed in 2005). ALUMNAE/ALUMNI Notable alums include:
ACADEMICS All Hunter students pursue an academically enriched six-year program of study. The curriculum is a rigorous college preparatory program that provides a liberal arts education. The majority of subjects are accelerated such that high school study begins in the 8th grade and state educational requirements are completed in the 11th. During the 12th grade, they take electives, attend courses at Hunter College and Columbia University (for transferable credit), and participate in internships. Students in grades 7 and 8 take courses in Communications and Theater. Students in grades 7-9 must take art and music, each for half a year, and then choose one to take in tenth grade. One of the three available foreign language courses ( French , Latin , or Spanish ) must be taken each year in grades 7-10. A year each of biology, chemistry, and physics must be completed in addition to the introductory science classes in 7th and 8th grades. A series of social studies (history), English, and math courses are taught from 7th through 11th grades. (The math curriculum is split into a track of "honors" and a track of "extended honors" classes for students of different strengths after 7th grade). Usually two semesters of physical education are taught each year, including swimming in the 8th grade (held at Hunter College). In 9th grade, students are required to take a CPR course for one semester. Starting in their sophomore year, students are allowed to take electives and Advanced Placement courses. In the 11th grade, there is a choice of P.E. selectives (racquetball, weight training, and lifeguard training, among others). The senior year, however, is free of mandated courses except for a couple of semesters of gym. Electives and Advanced Placement courses are offered by all six academic departments. Electives include (but are not limited to) Computer Science, Calculus, International Relations, Constitutional Law, AP Economics, AP Psychology, AP European History, Western Philosophy, Archeology, introductory Italian language, Journalism, Creative Writing, Joyce's Ulysses, Photography, AP Art History, and Physiology. Every junior and senior is assigned a college guidance counselor. The student-to-counselor ratio at Hunter is lower than the national average and comparable to that of many private high schools (although admittedly the grooming is not as intense as at some of those schools). Today (classes of 2002 through 2005), nearly 99% of Hunter's students go on to college, and 25% accept admission to an Ivy League school {Link without Title} . Hunter students win many honors and awards during their high school careers {Link without Title} , including numerous Scholastic Writing Awards. For example, the 2005 Intel Science Talent Search first-place winner was Hunter senior David Bauer ('05), the 1997 winner was Adam Cohen ('97), and two of New York State's four 2005 Presidential Scholar s were Hunter College High School seniors. The Wall Street Journal recently identified Hunter College High School as the top public school feeder to leading colleges. {Link without Title} . EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES The dozens of clubs and organizations at Hunter cater to a variety of interests, from politics to film and music to knitting. Clubs and organizations at Hunter are student-run and advised by faculty members.
The General Organization (G.O.) represents the student body. The executive board is elected by students. These officers organize school activities and communicate with the administration and faculty. The G.O. organizes school-wide events such as Spirit Day, a school-wide outdoor recreation day held in October, and Carnival, held at the end of the year. Term Councils plan grade-wide events such as dances and fundraisers, as well as Semiformal and Prom.
Hunter has many student publications, including ''What's What,'' the official school newspaper since 1922, and its rival independent paper, ''The Observer.'' Weekly circulations include What's G.O.ing on, a joint presentation of the G.O. and What's What. There is a long-standing rivalry between What's What and the Observer. Student-produced magazines include ''thedeepend'' (humor), ''Chapter 11'' (humor), ''Discord'' (humor and culture), ''Tapestry'' (science fiction and fantasy), ''Radicals'' (math), ''The Desk'' (literary magazine for lower-termers), ''Argus'' (literary), and Annals, the school's yearbook.
Students can choose to further pursue their academic interests through school activities such as the Hunter United Nations Society (HUNS), Federal Reserve Challenge {Link without Title} (economics), Mock Trial, Debate Team, Math Team, the Hunter Chess Team and the Washington Seminar. The Hunter Chess Team is famous nationwide for winning numerous tournaments and championships. The Washington Seminar on Government in Action was introduced in the 1950s; students selected for this program research public policy issues throughout the year. They arrange meetings with various public figures in Washington, and then meet with them for questioning and discussion during a three-day trip in May.
Students with substantial musical training can choose to enroll in the String Ensembles, Band, and Chorus. They have recently been made into classes and occur during the lunch period. In 2002, they toured in Spain, performing a number of collaborative pieces. The string ensembles divide into "Strings" and "Chamber Orchestra," the latter being a much more selective group. They have performed a number of both contemporary and traditional pieces. The band is a woodwind-brass-precussion ensemble, and their focus is mainly on contemporary music, though they sometimes branch off into classical pieces such as the Mozart's horn concerto in E flat. Chorus is divided into the concert choir and the chamber chorus. Concert choir is a larger group than the chamber choir, and consists of members from the tenth to twelth grades. There is also a selective jazz chorus, which focuses solely on jazz and pop. The Jazz band performs arrangements of jazz music.
In the 2004-2005 school year, forty percent of Hunter students in the ninth to twelfth grades were members of at least one varsity sport. Hunter has nine girls' sports, ten boys' sports, and one co-ed sport, which compete in the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) in baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, swimming, volleyball, cross-country, indoor track, outdoor track, tennis, bowling, and fencing. Hunter's sports teams are usually not among the top in the city, yet they are surprisingly competitive for the school's size. In 1988, the boys volleyball team won the New York City PSAL title. In more recent years, a few teams have made runs at the city championship. In 2005, the boys volleyball team finished 4th in the city, the girls soccer team nearly made it to the finals, and coed fencing finished 3rd in the city. In the winter of 2005, coed fencing captured the city title. This was quickly followed, on November 22, 2005, with the Hunter Girls Varsity Volleyball team's defeat of JFK High School to become New York City Champions. Boy's and girl's swimming have also found recent success. The Athletic Association works to increase school spirit around sports events, including varsity teams and intramural tournaments, and through the sale of Hunter apparel. SCHOOL EVENTS
STUDENT CULTURE
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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