Should I go to Stuyvesant or Townsend Harris?

No. Make up your own mind and take responsibility for it.

i went to stuy ('83), but didn't like it that much -- partly because of the long subway ride.

so maybe go with the one that's closer...

In my opinion, closer is usually better, since it lessens any daily travelling stress, so one can have one's mind on one's studies. And, if you are talking about Stuy in Manhattan, I'd always avoid the subway if possible.

Have you talked to your teachers about this? have you talked to your parents about this?

My parents are leaving the choice up to me. I talked to my guidance counselor today and she said that I can wait until after the open house (next Monday) to hand my form in.

Would you mind telling me what else you didn't like about Stuy besides the subway ride?

i barely squeaked in -- i think i got like 148 on the entrance exam (145 was the cutoff).

it was culture shock for me, coming from an "experimental" eight-year school on the upper west side.

keep in mind this was the original building on E 15th street -- it was old, dirty, falling apart.

it took me my freshman and sophomore years to get used to it... or to at least feel somewhat comfortable.

students were highly competitive, and borderline obsessive about getting good grades.

i don't know what it's like now... the change in scenery is undoubtedly an improvement...

Waiting til after the open house is a good idea.

Not to be nosy, but related to my own interest in my high school years, what was the other 'partly'?

We had just landed that summer in California, back again, and I was signed up for a catholic academy that, in long term, affected my life highly, including my being about to buy shoes to join the convent. Talk about proselytizing. A crush on a guy saved me for life. And then I reacted to all that.. over many years.

In my situation, that academy was where my cousin went. I didn't know anyone there. It was also quite far away.

But when we lived in california for a couple of years in my elementary school time, I went to another, more ordinary c. school, easy bus ride access to the accompanying high school if I wanted to go there later. Plus, I still, had I gone there, would have had some of my old first and second grade friends, later met again for a short time in fourth grade (short CA visit by my parents) . Some would have remembered me, shy fourth grader, who they used to play jacks with. I still remember Monica Oliveras as a friend.

I loved my parents, but that was a bad choice by them.

Oops, cross posted.