SAT scores didn’t show what I could achieve at Brooklyn Tech
The snow was piling up outside the school window, almost as fast as the anxiety building up in my stomach. After what seemed like hours of waiting, I was called down to my guidance counselor’s office to receive my results on the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or the SHSAT.
Brooklyn Technical High School, one of New York City’s nine specialized high schools, was my dream school. From the wide range of majors and extracurricular activities, enabling students to explore their interests, to the large Asian school community, I thought it was my best shot at climbing the socioeconomic ladder for my family. Not only have many alumni gone on to prestigious universities, but the school also offers lots of college-level courses.
However, first I had to pass the SHSAT. I could hope all I wanted, but if I did not have the score to get in, the dream would stay a dream.
My parents are immigrants, and like other immigrant parents, mine upended their lives so that I could get a top-notch education here. No one in my family has ever even attended high school.