How to choose the right high school at admission: a guide for parents and students

Choosing a high school is one of the first big decisions in a student's life — and one of the most stressful for parents. From working with dozens of families, the panic almost always comes from the same place: too many options, too little clarity. Here is how I structure it, so the choice becomes a rational decision rather than a gamble.

1. Start from your admission average

Since 2023, the high-school admission average is your National Evaluation average (the arithmetic mean of your Romanian and maths grades). The overall middle-school average no longer counts. This number is the anchor of your entire list: based on it, you can realistically see which schools are within reach and which are a beautiful dream.

2. Compare with previous years' cut-offs

Every school and every specialisation has, each year, a "cut-off" — the average of the last admitted student. It's the best indicator of where you stand. Split the schools you're interested in into three baskets:

• Safe — the cut-off is clearly below your average; consider yourself placed.
• Realistic — the cut-off is close to your average, one way or the other.
• Ambitious — the cut-off is above your average; it's a gamble, but worth a try high on the list.

3. Don't choose by name alone

The best school "in general" isn't necessarily the best school for you. What matters is the track (sciences, humanities, technology, vocational), the specialisation, but also practical things: how long you commute every day, what environment and pace suit you. I commuted every day myself, spending hours on the road — it's doable, but it's a real cost worth weighing consciously.

4. The order on your list is everything

Computerised placement goes through your options strictly in the order you wrote them and stops at the first one your average reaches. So the rule is simple: put ambitious options at the top, realistic ones in the middle and safe ones at the bottom — never the other way around. No one "penalises" you for dreaming big, as long as you also have a safety net at the bottom of the list.

Turn the number into a concrete list

This is exactly the step I built AXS Liceu for: you enter your average and immediately see, school by school and on each county's data, where you stand against the cut-offs — and you can build your list of options by baskets, from safe to ambitious. That way an abstract number becomes a clear plan, and the decision stops being a gamble.