New York City’s middle school application process is set to begin about a week later than expected due to technical difficulties with the MySchools portal. This delay has likely left many fifth-grade families anxiously refreshing their MySchools accounts on Wednesday afternoon, the original start date for applications. Instead of finding the portal open, they encountered a message from the Education Department indicating that updates were being made and to check back soon. Following this, officials updated the Education Department’s website and reached out to applicants, confirming that the admissions period would now commence next week.
More details regarding this revised timeline are expected to be shared on October 15, as per the information on the Education Department’s website. Jenna Lyle, a spokesperson for the department, stated, “the application close date will be adjusted accordingly.” She explained, “Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties impacting the MySchools website, the opening of the Middle School Application Portal will be delayed until next week.” Lyle reassured families that applications are not handled on a first-come, first-served basis and can be submitted any time during the application window. Notifications have been sent to all prospective applicants via email, and the department expressed its apologies for any inconvenience caused.