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.
Paramus borders Fair Lawn directly, and MindzQ Education's center at 19-03 Maple Ave is a 10-12 minute, 7-8 mile drive from either of Paramus's public middle schools — East Brook Middle School (190 Spring Valley Road) and West Brook Middle School (560 Roosevelt Boulevard) — measured school-to-center; actual distance from other parts of Paramus may vary slightly. Paramus has run its own high school since 1957, and most public-school BCA applicants from town are current 8th graders at one of these two schools.
Paramus is also home to a number of private schools — Visitation Academy, Primoris Academy, and Paramus Catholic High School among them — and families there are just as welcome to explore BCA, which ranks among the top three high schools in the state. MindzQ Education's BCA prep program works the same way regardless of which school a student currently attends: a diagnostic test to establish a baseline, then a study plan built around the child's actual target exam date, not their current school's calendar.
About 10-12 minutes by car — 7-8 miles, measured from either East Brook or West Brook Middle School; distance from other parts of Paramus may vary slightly.
Yes. BCA eligibility is based on Bergen County residency and current grade level, not which school a student currently attends — private-school 8th graders (e.g., from Visitation Academy, Primoris Academy, or Paramus Catholic) are just as eligible to apply as public-school students, and MindzQ Education's program works the same way for both.
East Brook Middle School and West Brook Middle School are Paramus's two public middle schools; most public-school applicants come from one of the two.
BCA offers seven specialized, career-focused academies (engineering, science, art, technology, music, theatre, finance) not available in a traditional comprehensive high school program, and is consistently ranked among the top public high schools in New Jersey — families apply as an addition to, not necessarily a replacement for, their home high school option.
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.
“We had a wonderful experience with MindZQ while preparing our son for the BCA/BT entrance exam. After a very frustrating situation with another test prep center that scheduled a session and then abruptly cancelled it, I was truly at my wits' end. Finding MindZQ felt like a stroke of luck. Ms. Nidhi and her incredible team went above and beyond to ensure our son was thoroughly prepared for what is a very challenging entrance exam… I feel extremely fortunate that we found MindZQ.”
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.
