![Incoming Student Union President junior Aki Bejamin and other SU candidates sitting on stage while waiting to give their speeches during the May 18 SU Debate. Aki said he plans to “burn [the SU] all down and start anew.”](https://thhsclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_9600-e1782439128607-1200x1131.jpg)
Some members of the incoming class of 2029 spent time at Townsend Harris gaining experience in various extracurricular programs. In recent years, the admissions process for THHS has seen some significant changes, and this year’s freshmen shared some of their thoughts about the experience.
The THHS application process has been generally the same for the past two years. Students have been required to write one essay on a specific prompt and create a video to discuss how they would contribute to the school community. This year’s admissions prompt focused on the importance of community service.
Incoming freshman Aryan Sheakh said, “I believe that the admissions process was fair and the prompt was pretty easy because it kind of ties into [the community service] I will have to do at THHS.”
Some students discussed changes other schools have made to the admissions process. The Specialized High School Admission Test will be digital this fall for the first time. Other screened schools have had in-person admissions assessments. THHS applicants complete their materials at home.
Some students said they prefer to have time to work on the admissions prompts at home.
“It was much easier for me to do at home rather than coming into the school and doing it,” said incoming freshman Adu Adeye.
Jodie Lasoff, the Townsend Harris Parent Coordinator, is part of the team that reads student admissions. According to Ms. Lasoff, thousands of students apply for only a few hundred spots. Nonetheless, she said she enjoys reading the work that students submit and seeing the different responses. “It’s one of my favorite things,” she said. As to why THHS stopped requiring two essays for the application and instead started requiring one essay and one video, Ms. Lasoff said, “We weren’t getting enough from a second essay. We could really get the information we needed from one essay…One essay was really enough.”
With the admissions process now over, the class of 2029 is preparing to enter THHS officially next Thursday as schools across the city open for the 2025-2026 school year.
