21. Millennium High School

75 Broad St., Manhattan

Admission: Grades, test scores, priority to residents south of Houston

Enrollment: 618

Average Class Size: 30

Average Daily Attendance: 95%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 97%

College Ready: 65%

# taking SAT: 140

Average Total SAT score: 1589

# taking AP tests: 86

AP pass rate: 71%

Small school in a high-rise near Wall Street boasts river views. Students take core classes in grades 9 and 10, electives in 11 and 12. Advisors stay with groups of students for four years. Everyone must read 25 books a year and do 20 hours of community service. Engaging courses like 20th century social movements, poetry in exile, New York stories, race in America. Six AP classes, plus Spanish and Mandarin. Lots of activities, but only handful of sports.

22. Midwood High School

2839 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn

Admission: Grades, test scores, attendance

Enrollment: 3,938

Average Class Size: 32

Average Daily Attendance: 93%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 87%

College Ready: 58%

# taking SAT: 725

Average Total SAT score: 1527

# taking AP tests: 745

AP pass rate: 62%

Popular, overcrowded school with three “institutes.” Two are highly selective — medical science and humanities — that draw gifted students throughout Brooklyn and send finalists to the Intel Science Talent Search. A third serves zoned kids who choose from four courses of study: law/leadership community service; pre-engineering/technology; performing arts; or communication/media arts. Strong on drama and music. Sixteen APs. Students use a courtroom, robotics lab and TV studio. Variety of activities, sports and more than 50 clubs.

23. Manhattan / Hunter Science High School

122 Amsterdam Ave., Manhattan

Admission: Open to NYC residents; grades,test scores for early college Enrollment: 437

Average Class Size: 21

Average Daily Attendance: 95%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 93%

College Ready: 76%

# taking SAT: 80

Average Total SAT score: 1275

# taking AP tests: None.

Rigorous small school preps students for college. Kids, who wear uniforms, spend three years in classes on the top floor of the MLK complex, and their whole fourth year at the Hunter College campus on the Upper East Side, Grads complete several college courses, a four-year research program and a community service project. Mix of sports and clubs.

24. Academy of American Studies

28-04 41st Ave., Queens

Admission: Grades, test scores; priority to Queens students

Enrollment: 706

Average Class Size: 31

Average Daily Attendance: 93%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 81%

College Ready: 54%

# taking SAT: 120

Average Total SAT score: 1522

# taking AP tests: 101

AP pass rate: 70%

Students trace their family roots and visit historic sites like Gettysburg and Plymouth for research in this creative small school. Everyone takes three years of American history, plus all the basics. Last year. three freshmen won a city women’s history award for a project on veiling in Islam. Five APs. Propaganda and critical thinking is the College Now course. Journalism, playwriting, piano among electives.

25. Benjamin N. Cardozo High School

57-00 223rd St., Queens

Admission: Open to Queens students

Enrollment: 4,018

Average Class Size: 32

Average Daily Attendance: 92%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 80%

College Ready: 47%

# taking SAT: 697

Average Total SAT score: 1529

# taking AP tests: 676

AP pass rate: 70%

One of the best large schools, extremely popular and overcrowded. Bright students seek seats in the Da Vinci Math and Science Institute, which cultivates Intel Science contenders, the Law and Humanities Institute, top-notch arts classes and 17 APs. A Weill Cornell Medical School scholars program and Saturday science seminar among activities. Loads of sports and clubs.

26. Brooklyn College Academy

2900 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn

Admission: Priority to continuing 8th graders, then to Brooklyn students

Enrollment: 534

Average Class Size: 26

Average Daily Attendance: 95%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 96%

College Ready: 33%

# taking SAT: 109

Average Total SAT score: 1365

# taking AP tests: None

Motivated kids who can handle the freedom of a college campus like it here — and earn college credit. Juniors and seniors take classes from anthropology to calculus to theater at Brooklyn College, about a mile way. Grades 7-10 start in a renovated warehouse but use the college cafeteria, gym, library.

27. Riverdale / Kingsbridge Academy

660 W. 237th St.,

Bronx

Admission: Grades, test scores, priority to continuing 8th graders

Enrollment: 634

Average Class Size: 28

Average Daily Attendance: 90%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 80%

College Ready: 27%

# taking SAT: 101

Average Total SAT score: 1424

# taking AP tests: 133

AP pass rate: 65%

Supportive 6-12 school in chic neighborhood has vibrant science program. Nine APs and College Now. Also strong on humanities and arts with a ceramic studio, poetry café and Shakespeare competition. Tutoring and college counseling. Friday-night teen center. New cheerleading squad.

28. Manhattan Center For Science and Mathematics

260 Pleasant Ave., Manhattan

Admission: Merit, priority to students at Isaac Newton Middle School for Math & Science

Enrollment: 1,696

Average Class Size: 31

Average Daily Attendance: 94%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 88%

College Ready: 56%

# taking SAT: 312

Average Total SAT score: 1491

# taking AP tests: 328

AP pass rate: 61%

Challenging courses in a close-knit environment with focus on math, science and liberal arts. Twelve APs, plus Spanish, French and Mandarin. Horticulture on the rooftop greenhouse and a Moodle Mega Math Club among highlights. International exchange program. Relationship with the Children’s Aid Society provides an extended day and extra activities.

29. Professional Performing Arts High School

328 W. 48th St., Manhattan

Admission: Artistic talent

Enrollment: 382

Average Class Size: 30

Average Daily Attendance: 94%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 92%

College Ready: 31%

# taking SAT: 69

Average Total SAT score: 1459

# taking AP tests: 20

AP pass rate: 75%

Aspiring performers flock to this 6-12 Hell’s Kitchen school. Kids get training from the Actors Institute, Alvin Ailey and other industry leaders. Only two APs. Juniors and seniors can take college courses at NYC universities. The 100-year-old building has a renovated auditorium, black box theater and science labs. No team sports.

30. Frederick Douglass Academy

2581 7th Ave., Manhattan

Admission: Grades, test scores, priority to continuing 8th graders

Enrollment: 1,123

Average Class Size: 27

Average Daily Attendance: 88%

DOE Grade: D

Graduation rate: 83%

College Ready: 46%

# taking SAT: 216

Average Total SAT score: 1412

# taking AP tests: 163

AP pass rate: 70%

Distinguished 6-12 school with strict rules and opportunities galore, including worldwide travel. Offers 12 APs and four languages, including Latin and Japanese, Reel Works filmmaking class, famous samba band, Shakespeare, robotics, new pre-engineering program with CUNY. Karate among 20 sports. After-school and weekend tutoring, SAT prep.

31. Science, Technology and Research Early College High School at Erasmus

911 Flatbush Ave. Brooklyn

Admission: Priority to continuing 8th graders, then Brooklyn students

Enrollment: 285

Average Class Size: 23

Average Daily Attendance: 96%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 99%

College Ready: 28%

# taking SAT: 68

Average Total SAT score: 1285

# taking AP tests: None

Self-sufficient students shed their uniforms after morning classes, then take the subway to Brooklyn College for the afternoon — earning 30 or more college credits. The 6-12 STAR school also has a partnership with CUNY’s science-oriented Gateway Institute. Rich variety of courses from archeology to Web design. Hectic but time for activities, music, sports.

32. Bayside High School

32-24 Corporal Kennedy St., Queens

Admission: Open to Queens students; grades, test scores for special programs

Enrollment: 3,575

Average Class Size: 33

Average Daily Attendance: 93%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 80%

College Ready: 50%

# taking SAT: 732

Average Total SAT score: 1470

# taking AP tests: 480

AP pass rate: 60%

Successful and packed to 176% capacity, Bayside is described as a big city school with a suburban feel. Last year it launched seven career and technical programs including digital art and design, computer programming, environmental science, and international relations. Offers 21 APs and six languages. Activities, sports and clubs for every interest.

33. Young Women’s Leadership School

105 E. 106th St. Manhattan

Admission: Grades, test scores; no boys

Enrollment: 280

Average Class Size: 25

Average Daily Attendance: 93%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 100%

College Ready: 42%

# taking SAT: 48

Average Total SAT score: 1366

# taking AP tests: 41

AP pass rate: 53%

East Harlem’s flagship program for a network of all-girl schools that take struggling kids from low-income homes and prepares them for college. Aims to instill “self-efficacy and community responsibility.” Five APs and College Now. Mount Sinai medical mentors. Internships for seniors. Strong in robotics. Active in music, drama, community service, track.

34. Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School

160-20 Goethals Ave., Queens

Admission: Grades,test scores, priority to continuing 8th graders

Enrollment: 453

Average Class Size: 28

Average Daily Attendance: 94%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 93%

College Ready: 57%

# taking SAT: 89

Average Total SAT score: 1572

# taking AP tests: 89

AP pass rate: 42%

Small, rigorous 6-12 school focuses on health careers. The new building is next to Queens Hospital, with a library that students use for research, plus volunteer opportunities and internships. They learn in cardiovascular and DNA labs, even a mock doctor’s office with patient table. Seven APs and College Now. Few sports, lots of activities and clubs.

35. Francis Lewis High School

58-20 Utopia Pkwy., Queens

Admission: Zoned and screened

Enrollment: 4,460

Average Class Size: 30

Average Daily Attendance: 92%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 74%

College Ready: 47%

# taking SAT: 808

Average Total SAT score: 1441

# taking AP tests: 696

AP pass rate: 56%

Queens kids cram into this popular, overcrowded school for a huge academic menu and 30 sports teams that rouse tremendous school spirit. Specialized programs in law, health science, forensics, engineering, art, drama and music. Twenty-one APs, seven languages. Big ROTC unit. Broadway-style show, international festival, concerts. More than 100 clubs.

36. Talent Unlimited High School

317 E. 67th St., Manhattan

Admission: Audition

Enrollment: 419

Average Class Size: 26

Average Daily Attendance: 92%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 93%

College Ready: 33%

# taking SAT: 124

Average Total SAT score: 1380

# taking AP tests: 30

AP pass rate: 62%

Small tight-knit school for kids with “exceptional talent.” Classrooms come alive with students dancing, acting, singing and playing instruments. Training at Martha Graham dance center, career-based internships. Arts mix with academics — history is learned through plays. Four APs, Spanish, College Now.

37. Hostos-Lincoln Academy of Science

475 Grand Concourse, Bronx

Admission: Grades, test scores; priority to continuing 8th graders

Enrollment: 315

Average Class Size: 22

Average Daily Attendance: 90%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 84%

College Ready: 41%

# taking SAT: 62

Average Total SAT score: 1372

# taking AP tests: 64

AP pass rate: 36%

Students graduate with both a Regents diploma and associate degree from Hostos Community College, where this small school is nestled. A health science program offers internships at Lincoln Hospital. Four APs and Spanish. After-school and weekend tutoring.

38. Benjamin Banneker Academy

71-77 Clinton Ave., Brooklyn

Admission: Grades, test scores; priority to local students

Enrollment: 829

Average Class Size: 29

Average Daily Attendance: 91%

DOE Grade: B

Graduation rate: 92%

College Ready: 39%

# taking SAT: 168

Average Total SAT score: 1398

# taking AP tests: 132

AP pass rate: 42%

Challenging school with themes that honor African-American artists and leaders. Students choose from programs in pre-engineering, pre-medicine, humanities and media communications. Nine APs, French and Spanish. Housed in a renovated former Drake’s cake factory in Clinton Hill. Rich array of clubs, charities and sports.

39. Manhattan Village Academy

43 W. 22 St., Manhattan

Admission: Grades, test scores, attendance

Enrollment: 449

Average Class Size: 21

Average Daily Attendance: 96%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 98%

College Ready: No Regents, portfolios

# taking SAT: 90

Average Total SAT score: 1416

# taking AP tests: 42

AP pass rate: 42%

Engaging school in renovated Chelsea office building prides itself on a high graduation rate for African-American males. Students get advisors and compile portfolios aimed at getting into top college. Four-year science research program, three APs, Latin and Spanish. Hosted an Israeli-Palestinian peace debate. Salsa and anime among clubs. Basketball teams.

40. Edward R. Murrow High School

1600 Ave. L, Brooklyn

Admission: Open to Brooklynites; some programs screened or audition

Enrollment: 3,949

Average Class Size: 31

Average Daily Attendance: 91%

DOE Grade: A

Graduation rate: 75%

College Ready: 40%

# taking SAT: 685

Average Total SAT score: 1443

# taking AP tests: 397

AP pass rate: 53%

A “non-traditional environment” with free periods to study or socialize sets this school apart. Wide array of classes include Holocaust/African/Latin literature, NYC history and “Virtual Enterprise,” a student-run global business. Twenty-two APs, five languages, TV studio, greenhouse, planetarium. Fitness and sports in seven gyms.