Since 2021, our BCA cohorts have delivered strong results — the 2025 cohort saw about 90% of students receive BCA interview invites. Book a free assessment and see where your child stands.
Families near Roy W. Brown Middle School (130 S Washington Ave) — Bergenfield's public middle school — make the trip to MindzQ Education's Fair Lawn center regularly: about 23-30 minutes, 9 miles measured from the school (actual distance from other parts of Bergenfield may vary), and tell us it's worth it. One recent BCA parent, after driving half an hour each way for sessions, called it “well worth it.” Bergenfield runs its own K-12 public school district rather than sending students to a regional system, so nearly every Bergenfield BCA applicant comes from that same school.
Because BCA prep classes run at off-peak hours or on weekends, that trip doesn't compete with rush hour — and MindzQ Education's block is within walking distance of coffee shops, lunch spots, and a grocery store, so a parent dropping off can run errands or just get some work done during the session. Families from Bergenfield most often travel alongside neighbors from Dumont, New Milford, and Teaneck, and weekly-session carpooling between these towns is common.
Families make the trip regularly — usually one weekly session rather than daily visits — and since classes run at off-peak hours or on weekends, the drive doesn't compete with rush hour. That 23-30 minute, 9-mile figure is measured from Roy W. Brown Middle School specifically; actual drive time from other parts of Bergenfield may vary. Many families also coordinate carpools with other Bergenfield, Dumont, or Teaneck families.
No — Bergenfield operates its own K-12 public school district, so BCA applicants come directly from Roy W. Brown Middle School (130 S Washington Ave).
Yes — several Bergenfield families pair BCA prep with ongoing math or reading tutoring, particularly during the Spring Warm-Up months before the fall exam push begins.
Bergenfield, Dumont, New Milford, and Teaneck families travel to the same Fair Lawn center; MindzQ maintains a dedicated Bergenfield page and can build one for a neighboring town on request.
MindzQ Education offers a unique Bergen County Academies Prep program tailored for competitive students aspiring to attend a prestigious magnet school in Bergen county NJ. Our BCA prep program is available to all rising 8th graders who intend to apply to BCA/BT. Applicants are required to take a diagnostic test for evaluation.
Bergen County Academies (BCA) is a public magnet high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey.
BCA serves students in the ninth through twelfth grades from Bergen County only. Bergen County Academies is a public high school that accepts students at no cost; the expenses are covered by the student's home district. The school features seven specialized college-preparatory programs, each known as an "academy."
The Bergen County Academies offer seven distinct specialized high school programs, each focusing on a different career path. Students can explore their passion for science, art, technology, music, theatre, cooking, design, or finance. BCA allows students to complement their studies with electives and clubs that cross academy boundaries, enabling them to explore multiple fields of study.
Known for their rigorous academic environment and broad opportunities, BCA and BCTS set the stage for a successful academic career for their students.
The BCA application process is completed in three phases.
Register online; the application portal will open in the fall.
In late February, all applicants to the Bergen County Academies will be notified of their application status. Interview invitations will be sent to students who are progressing to Phase 2.
Students who interview receive decision letters in mid-April.
“Mindzq has been an amazing tutoring experience for my son… Their tutoring sessions were thorough and I liked how they gave homework for the kids to work on. It was rigorous preparation, but reasonable and commensurate with the high level of study that accompanies the BCA test. My son did make it to the interview round and they offered complimentary interview preparation sessions that have been incredibly helpful… We had to drive 1/2 hour for these sessions and it was well worth it.”
MindzQ Education has structured BCA test preparation into two distinct sessions — a Spring Warm-Up Session and a Summer-Fall Stimulation Session. Each session is meticulously designed to cover all the necessary topics and strategies crucial for achieving success in the BCA entrance exam.
Our spring classes focus on remediation and building a solid foundation in English and essential math concepts. By addressing and reinforcing these core topics in the spring, we help students solidify their grasp of essential algebraic principles and more, thus eliminating the need for reiteration during the summer sessions.
Students planning to apply to BCA or BCTS who have uncertainties about previously studied concepts. These sessions comprehensively cover foundational areas, from divisibility rules in math to grammar rules in English, so students are confident heading into Summer-Fall stimulation test prep.
View BCA Spring Class Schedule 2026Rigorously designed to delve deeper into the complexities of the exam materials. Our comprehensive BCA preparation course begins in the summer and extends through the end of November, ensuring students are well-prepared and confident.
Advanced math topics that frequently appear on past BCA entrance exams — number systems (base 10 and base 2), functions and their operations, expressions and polynomials, and the fundamentals of statistics — to build a robust mathematical foundation.
Enhancing critical reading and thinking skills, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and proficient writing, plus logical reasoning and comprehension — skills that also help with the application essay.
From September to December, students take a series of weekly simulated tests to get comfortable with the pressure and format of the real exam.
Every student planning to sit for the entrance exam. We recommend joining from the start of summer right through fall — continuous preparation is key to mastering the exam's challenges.
Bergen County Academies (BCA) is a public magnet high school in Hackensack, NJ, serving grades 9–12 from Bergen County only. There's no cost to attend — expenses are covered by the student's home district. BCA offers seven specialized college-preparatory programs, called "academies," each focused on a different career path such as science, art, technology, music, theatre, cooking, design, or finance. Read more about BCA.
Only students currently in 8th grade who are Bergen County residents (as of September the year prior to enrollment) may apply. Each applicant may submit only one application to BCA and/or BCTS, and the application window closes November 30th of the year before the intended enrollment. Full eligibility criteria.
The BCA application is completed in three phases: (1) register online when the portal opens in the fall, (2) in late February, applicants are notified of their status and interview invitations go out, and (3) students who interview receive decision letters in mid-April. See the full application timeline.
The BCA/BCTS entrance exam takes place on the first Saturday and Sunday of December and takes about 2 hours. The Math test has 40 multiple-choice questions; the English test involves reading a passage and writing an essay in 45 minutes. Exact calendar dates are set by Bergen County Academies each year — check the official BCA admissions site for this year's dates.
Applicants write an essay explaining their academy choice (up to 400 words) and highlighting personal achievements (up to 100 words). Students applying to both BCA and BCTS need two distinct essays, and it's best to start drafting early in the admission process. Full essay guidance.
MindzQ's Spring Warm-Up classes focus on remediation and building a solid foundation in English and essential math concepts, ahead of the Summer-Fall Stimulation session. View the BCA Spring Class Schedule 2026 (PDF).
MindzQ's Summer-Fall Stimulation classes run from summer through the end of November, covering advanced math (number systems, functions, expressions/polynomials, statistics), English (critical reading, writing, grammar), and weekly simulated tests from September to December. See the full topic breakdown, or contact us for the current schedule.
