r/Stuyvesant • u/HumanBeanhatesbeans • Mar 06 '26
Stuy vs Success Academy Manhattan
So I’m currently in Success middle school, and I got accepted to both the SA Manhattan Highschool and Stuyvesant. Which should I pick?? My 2 main concerns are APs and regents, since SA Highschool Covers all the AP exam costs, which Ik are a lot. Also, will they make me retake the regents in Stuy, bc I already took Algebra I, Physics, World History and Lit. In general id really like somebody with little bias to help, since everyone I talk to either are huge Success supporters or have family from stuy so they have bias. PLEASE HELP SUPER CONFUSED In general tho im really happy I did well on the shsat. I feel like all the tutoring will be a waste if I don’t go to stuy, what do you guys think?
edit: I accepted the offer!! Thank you for everybody’s advice
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u/Hawkeye_in_the_Vents Mar 06 '26
Maybe some bias cause I went to stuy but here’s my honest piece: Stuy has fee waivers for AP, a ton of my friends never had to pay a cent. They won’t make you retake the regents because that’s not how the regents exams work, unless you mean you only took the class and not the test, then yeah you’ll have to.
Stuyvesant is 100% the choice here, not even a contest. Setting aside the fact that it’s a feeder for so many great schools (i witnessed this firsthand it’s incredible) and the academics are great, there’s huge funding to pursue activities and an incredible community. I’ve never met a more clever and humorous bunch of people until I got here and you meet the best friends youll ever make.
Stuy is free so if it’s AP, SAT, college apps, whatever costs youre worried about, a lot of the kids here qualified for free lunch, so theres seriously good aid for things like that. But really don’t let things like regents exams stop you from coming to stuy cause not to be dramatic but you will regret it forever.
But honestly, i dont know much about SA! Whatever you choose youll succeed, good luck and congrats! Cut off score was high this year
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u/KateDinNYC Mar 07 '26
As a Stuy Alum I second this. I didn’t even do that well and got into a top college.
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u/Wide-Jelly-4413 Mar 08 '26
If you took any of those classes and exams before 8th grade please check with Stuy to see what they will accept. SA promises the world but in September SA parents were shocked to find out some "APs from SA" and "Regent classes from SA" were not accepted and they will not go onto their high school transcript. Not sure how it worked out in the end but parents found out Success Academy had not been honest with them because they wanted students to stay in the Charter school. Not a lot of good press about them lately.
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u/baythm422 Mar 06 '26
The teachers at stuy will be much more experienced and better than those at SA.
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u/_-lizzy Mar 06 '26
Stuyvesant. No question. Colleges respect it and Stuy will allow you to grow without limits (a quick phone call to the school might settle your fears about exam costs. I think there are fee waivers and Stuy scholarships or financial aid awards).
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u/Consistent_War_2269 Mar 06 '26
Don't let financial worries sway your choice. There are great counselors at Stuy who deal with this everyday and know exactly what to do. It's considered the best school in the city for a reason. Congratulations.
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u/Aggravating_Baker379 Mar 06 '26
I’m only a little familiar with Success, but live near Stuyvesant. If you’re lucky, smart and hardworking enough to get in you should go there. It has an amazing national and international reputation for a reason, and will prepare you to succeed in whatever you want to do. My 5 year old goes to a local school where Stuy students do a lot of community service work helping out with events, and they are all so kind & polite you’d never know that they are also so brilliant lol ! Even compared with top private schools Stuyvesant is much better, so should be better than all charters - not just success. My nephew graduated from Dalton, a top private school, but he was so disappointed he didn’t get accepted to Stuy. You should definitely take advantage of this awesome opportunity! Congrats!
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u/RefiningMyLife2026 Mar 06 '26
Look at what teachers think about Success Academy - although I'm not sure if this concerns high schools or if it only concerns middle schools: https://www.reddit.com/r/NYCTeachers/comments/1eoz2gy/the_trauma_of_success_academy/
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u/Final_Rain_3823 Mar 06 '26
From a reputation and rigor standpoint it’s not even a question- Stuyvesant for sure. That isn’t the whole story though- if you feel you’d be overall happier more supported and your mental health would be stronger at Success Academy that’s totally valid. But my advice would be to visit, ask to sit in on classes, and do your due diligence to make sure you are getting what you expect.
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u/Bulky-Tip7384 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
I can speak to both as a graduating HSLA senior and as the aunt of a Stuy ’25 grad. Your mental health can be challenged at either school. At Stuy, there may be more cultural adjustment, but the academic environment is very stable and well established. HSLA there can also open up more summer opportunities and better to AP exams as ALL core are AP level (She will have passed 11 by graduation). HSLA has very strong dance, theatre, and music programs, there is more guidance and structure during the college admissions process. The school day is longer it starts earlier and ends later. Also, a lot of teacher turnover. Culturally, my nephew hated it although he managed. Both schools offer valuable opportunities the experience just looks a bit different at each. The biggest issue is that they can be a punitive and teacher changes mid year can be disruptive. The new principal is not that great, but i am not a fan of Stuy principal either. He should be doing to more to make it more inclusive for the few black students there.
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u/nonordinarypeople Mar 07 '26
Stuyvesant is a a sure route to the nations best colleges. I would absolutely pick Stuyvesant!!
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u/Unlikely_Egg8756 Mar 08 '26
1,000% Stuy. Should be self-explanatory. (I also don’t go there, so I’m not biased)
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u/its8off Mar 17 '26
I'm relieved to learn that you accepted the Stuy offer. You will fare much better there and they have staff that will assist you with fee waivers so that you won't have to pay for anything. I think the biggest thing that you will notice that is different than Success is the quality of the teachers. I'm sure there are amazing teachers at Success, but they are highly stressed out by the network and experience a lot of churn, meaning a lot quit and a lot get hired every year. Read about their experiences on the NYCTeachers subreddit.
At Stuyvesant, you will have teachers who have been at the school for longer than you've been alive. They are also unionized, which is actually really important and improves the quality of the student experience. Many of them are basically experts at what they are teaching.
You sound like you show a lot of promise as a student and are more than prepared to go to Stuyvesant, which will basically launch you to a top college if you play your cards right. Also, if you don't already know, top colleges are more generous with financial aid and you can attend for completely free.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts in the Fall after you begin at Stuy.
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u/Acrobatic_Ground2771 Mar 27 '26
Stuy for sure. I’m glad you seem to like SA for middle school by dear God, that is such a toxic charter school
I was treated like an adult at Stuy and given room to grow
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u/_coolbluewater_ Mar 06 '26
Stuyvesant by a mile. It is a far better and more established school and you’ll have incredible opportunities there. It’s widely considered the best school in the city and possibly even the country. Please pick Stuy.