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Regents Exams for Transfer from NJ Private School to NY Public School?

Written by Sally Rubenstone | Sept. 3, 2010

Question: My son and I live in New York, but my son has been attending a private school in New Jersey since freshman year. Senior year he wants to go to his local public school in New York. Will this be possible because of the Regents that New York schools require? He has not taken any Regents exams because they do not have them in New Jersey.

Students transfer into New York public high schools all the time, even as seniors, and from all over the world--including New Jersey ;)

Below is information that I hope will answer your question. You should also contact the guidance department at the public high school your son will attend to get more specific information about how his current credits will transfer and which exams he should expect to take ... and when.

From the New York State Education department (see http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/part100/pages/policytransqainrevision.html )

12. What are the assessment requirements for a transfer student who enters grade 12 in a New York State school for the first time and who wishes to receive a Regents or local diploma?

To receive a Regents or local diploma, the grade 12 student must pass the Regents Comprehensive Examination in English, a Regents examination in mathematics, and a Regents examination in U.S. History and Government or Department-approved alternatives. The principal may exempt the student from the requirement for the Regents examination in science and the Regents examination in Global History and Geography.

13. What are the assessment requirements for a transfer student who enters grade 12 in a New York State school for the first time and who wishes to receive a Regents diploma with advanced designation?

To receive a Regents diploma with advanced designation, the student must pass the Regents Comprehensive Examination in English, two (or three) Regents examinations in mathematics*, a Regents examination in U.S. History and Government, two Regents examinations in science (one in a life science and one in a physical science), and a Regents examination in LOTE or Department-approved alternatives. The principal may exempt a student from the requirement to pass a Regents examination in Global History and Geography.

Hope that helps. Good luck to you and your son as he makes his move.

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.