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BannekerPrep by EduAvenues is an independent service, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Benjamin Banneker Academic High School.

About BannekerPrep

A selective school with its own scoring. We help families read it calmly.

BannekerPrep is EduAvenues guidance for DC families applying to Benjamin Banneker Academic High School through My School DC.

Here's what you're up against.

Picture a family in early winter. The My School DC application is open on the laptop, there is an essay box with no spellcheck, and three recommenders who have not yet sent their letters.

Banneker does not use a random lottery. It scores report cards, an essay and three recommendations, invites the highest scorers to interview, and ranks eligible applicants by interview score. The pieces are published, but they sit in several places.

None of that means a student is not ready. It means the useful thing is a calm read of what has actually been published, with the points and the dates in one place.

What Banneker publishes

  • Points: report card review 20 of 50, essay in the My School DC application 6 of 50, recommendations 24 of 50 (three recommendations, 8 points each), and the family interview 15 of 15.
  • The My School DC high school application is due February 1, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Families can edit a submitted application any time before February 1, 2027.
  • Selective high school recommendations are due February 8, 2027 by 5:00 p.m., after the application deadline.
  • An applicant who scores at least 12 of 15 on the interview is considered eligible for admission. If the interview score is below 12, Banneker uses a total score across all components. Eligible applicants are ranked by interview score.
Red brick building of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School seen from the street, with a columned entrance and trees in front

Photo: Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

We went through this. That's why we built it.

Growing up in Fairfax County, I applied to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, and my parents signed me up for a prep program. The instructor had never set foot inside TJ. There were 30 students in a single classroom, almost no feedback on our writing, and templates that had nothing to do with the real application. On test day, we realized we had been preparing for something else.

My friend Vishnu was right there with me, in the same classroom, with the same feeling that families deserved something better. We talked about it all through high school and into college. Vishnu passed away far too young, but his conviction never left me. EduAvenues carries his belief forward: if you are going to do this, do it right, and do it for the families who need it most.

So we built what should have existed.

After UVA's McIntire School of Commerce and five years in financial services, including time at Goldman Sachs and at Evergreen by Alpine Investors in private equity, I walked away because this mattered more. I also served on the Board of Directors of the TJHSST Partnership (Endowment) Fund. This isn't just work for me. It's personal.

DC families deserve that same clarity. This site follows My School DC and Banneker's own rubric, shows where each fact comes from, and says plainly when something has not been published. For help with your own student's situation, start with the EduAvenues high school admissions page.

Today our instructors include graduates of schools like Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Columbia, and UVA, and our team has spent more than a decade helping families through selective admissions. Meet the EduAvenues instructors.

And we built it to fit into your family's life. Lessons are online and self-paced. Prep should work around school, sports, music, and family dinners, not replace them.

Neil Kothari

Co-Founder of EduAvenues®, TJHSST graduate

Then and now

What we actually changed.

What we experienced

Prep taught by people who had never studied the school's application.

What we built

Lessons built from Banneker's own published requirements, last checked November 5, 2026.

What we experienced

Thirty students in a room and almost no feedback on writing.

What we built

Instructor feedback on your student's own writing, with line-by-line notes.

What we experienced

Templates that made every essay sound the same.

What we built

Notes that keep your student's own voice and push for real, specific stories.

What we experienced

Rigid class schedules that took over weekends.

What we built

Online and self-paced, so prep fits around school, activities, and family time.

Google Reviews

What families say about EduAvenues.

Reviews from families across EduAvenues programs, shown as they were written on Google.

These are Google reviews of EduAvenues from families in our programs for many schools. They are not reviews of Banneker.

EduAvenues results

Results from EduAvenues programs.

5.0
Google ratingEduAvenues Google profile, covering every EduAvenues program
$22M+
in scholarshipsEarned by EduAvenues college-admissions students in the most recent cycle
10+
years of admissions prepEduAvenues instruction and feedback, across programs
100+
selective high school admits per cycleEduAvenues TJHSST program, each of the last four cycles
“He loved your courses because you always had clear explanations for not only 'how' but also 'why.' Thank you for providing detailed feedback with patience and time.”
Parent of an 8th graderEduAvenues TJHSST program
“The feedback was really helpful. I felt that after each set, I was able to improve a lot.”
Admitted studentEduAvenues TJHSST program

These results and reviews come from EduAvenues programs for other schools and services. They are not Banneker admissions results, and no program can promise admission.

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