[3] Its H-shaped building, with six Ionic columns and a Georgian cupola, was constructed in 1940 as part of the Works Projects Administration.

The New York Times reported in 1986, that: "Getting into Midwood High School ... is about as easy as getting into an Ivy League college.

More than 12,000 eager eighth graders applied this year for 450 fall openings in Midwood's highly touted programs in the medical sciences and humanities.

Renowned for its diversity, Midwood students are made up of about 37% Asians, 30% African-American, 24% Whites (Non-Hispanics), 7% Hispanic and 2% Native Americans and other races.

[9] A new science annex, built across the streets from the original building, opened in the summer of 2008 to help ease the overcrowding problem.

In this partnership, Midwood High School remains under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Education.

Placement in the Medical Science and Humanities Institutes is highly competitive and dependent upon strong academic performance.

The Humanities Institute is a challenging program that affords students the opportunity to learn about the world, its different societies and cultures.

The Liberal Arts & Science Institute (formally called the Collegiate Program), serves students who reside in the geographical catchment area.

Among the variety of courses taught at Midwood, the school has its own Law department, with a mock courtroom, housed on the 4th floor of the main building.

Finally, through the department, students have the chance to take internships with the Kings County District Attorneys Office[17] or other law firms in the city.

In 1999, Midwood had the most semifinalists in the Intel STS and Siemens-Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition of any school in the country.

They include teams in baseball, bowling, basketball, cricket, football, golf, cheerleading, handball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, wrestling, and volleyball.

In 2018, the boys' lacrosse team won the city championship in their divisions, defeating Columbus High School.

In 2017, the girls' volleyball team won the city championship in their division by defeating Cardozo High School.

Midwood's girls' bowling team had gone into the semi-final in the past three years, and undefeated division championship.

SING has been responsible for hours of dedication and hard work, as well as fierce competition, among New York City's high school students.

[23] Midwood High School offers a new program to most senior students who need to fill up their schedule with 5.5 hours of class under the new department of education law that was taken into effect September 2012.

Examples include SING, peer tutoring, monitoring for a teacher, and certain clubs that are offered in Midwood High School.