GoCPS has announced that families will receive their 2026-2027 Kindergarten through 9th grade school results in February for 9th grade and March for K-8th grade as follows:
Feb 13, 2026 @ 5pm – GoCPS 9th gradehigh school notifications released
Mar 6, 2026 @ 5pm – GoCPS 9th grade high school decisions due
Mar 13, 2026 @ 5pm- GoCPS K-8th grade elementary school notifications released
Apr 3, 2026 @ 5pm – GoCPS K-8th grade elementary school decisions due
It has not been announced yet, but Chicago Early Learning applications for all PK3 & PK4 preschool programs will most likely open in early April 2026. This includes all free PK4 programs at participating CPS schools, and CPS magnet programs such as Drummond (PK3), Suder (PK3) and Inter-American (PK4).
Note: most private school notifications will come BEFORE families receive their results from CPS (free) options, and private schools typically require deposits or signed contracts before the CPS deadline.
It is a good reminder that whether elementary, high school or beyond, school results are NOT a commentary on a student’s (or parent’s!) worth or success. In the same vein, low admission rates do not equal quality, nor does prestige equal success.
GoCPS has helpful Family Training Sessions to explain the application process for K-8th grade Elementary and 9th grade High School Applicants. Be sure to RSVP to view the Zoom sessions. Recordings will be available on the GoCPS Resources page.
Signup form for GoCPS Elementary Training Sessions in English is HERE. Spanish is HERE. GoCPS ES Application Training in English Sessions: Tuesday, September 30th at 10:00 AM Wednesday, October 8th at Noon Thursday, October 16th at 5:00 PM Friday, October 24th at 10:00 AM
Sign up form for GoCPS High School Training Sessions in English is HERE. Spanish HERE. GoCPS HS Application Training in English Sessions: October 7th at 10am October 9th at 12pm October 23rd at 2pm October 28th at 5pm
Admission is only $20/family with pre-registration ($30/family at the door) Need-based vouchers are available upon request.
View our growing list of 2025 participating schools and resources HERE
Knowing how to cast your net wide and increase your options is KEY to a successful Chicago high school search. Join Chicago School GPS as we bring together over 35 participating public, private and boarding high schools & resources, each with unique qualities that you may not have known about prior to coming to our Hidden Gems Fair. PLUS, you can meet helpful resource vendors and partake in informative breakout sessions that will give you clarity on the high school process. Join us for an afternoon designed to make your high school journey a successful one!
Program begins at 1pm with high schools showcasing what makes them unique, and breakout sessions begin at 2pm. Fair ends at 4pm.
Our invaluable breakout sessions offer insights for Middle School Parents and Students on topics such as:
Navigating the private & public high school admissions process High School Entrance Exam Insights (includes HSAT, HSPT & ISEE) Private school scholarship opportunities & resources International Baccalaureate Programs Demystified
Tours of the hosting school will be available from 12-1pm.
Thank You to our 2025 Venue Sponsor: Lycée Français de Chicago
Thank You to our 2025 Presenting Sponsors: Roycemore School, Test Prep Chicago, The Critical Thinking Child, Academic Approach
Thank You to our 2025 Major Sponsors: Scattergood Friends School, Wolcott College Prep, Noble Schools, Bennett Day School
While the process to apply for CPS Kindergarten to 9th grade programs is not first come first serve, CPS applications will be open from 10am on September 23, 2025 to 5pm on November 14, 2025 (so far). Families can apply to any school programs outside of their neighborhood school’s general education program.
Each applicant can apply and rank up to 20 CHOICE programs and up to 6 SELECTIVE ENROLLMENT programs. Elementary applicants do NOT have to test into any CHOICE (magnet, magnet cluster, open enrollment & dual language) programs but they DO have to test for any SELECTIVE ENROLLMENT (Classical, Regional Gifted, Academic Center and RG for English Learners) programs. For high school admissions, all CPS 8th graders can take the High School Admissions Test (HSAT) on Oct 8 at their CPS school while non-CPS 8th graders can register to take the HSAT on either Oct 18, 19, 26 or 27.
More info regarding applying to K-8th grade Elementary programs HERE and info regarding 9th grade High School programs HERE.
If your family is anticipating a waitlist offer from CPS preschools, elementary or 9th grade spots, CPS has shared that they will update waitlists throughout the next few months until the 20th day of school for Selective Enrollment (test-based) programs and until January 2026 for Choice (lottery based) programs. PK3 and PK4 programs will have a color coded indicator of whether programs have immediate availability, limited availability, or if they are almost full. Because all CPS based application programs required families to put their school choices in order from most preferred to least preferred, CPS is now able to provide waitlist numbers (highlighted in yellow on the EnrollWise portal) to families who were not offered a selective enrollment seat or who were not offered their more preferred Choice or preschool seats.
Waitlist numbers can go up or down depending on scores for selective enrollment or depending on selection priorities (special needs, siblings, etc) for Choice or preschool options. Waitlists will move 2x per week for high school and elementary, and will be in “real time” for preschool. Kindergarten through 9th grade waitlist offers will go out by 10am Tuesdays and Fridays and expire within 2 business days on Thursdays and Mondays at 11:59pm, respectively.
GoCPS announced that results for the 2025-2026 school year application will be released in the GoCPS portal on:
March 14, 2025 for 9th grade (high school) offers and April 11, 2025 for Kindergarten through 8th grade (elementary school) offers.
Students can receive one offer each for Choice and Selective Enrollment programs and their neighborhood school is always an option. There will be an opportunity to tour offered programs and then a deadline to accept or decline their offer(s). A Rolling Waitlist will go into effect after that time. Good luck to students!
The deadline for Selective Enrollment Elementary applicants who have not tested yet and need to request a resheduled date is Feb 2, 2025. Last day for Kindergarten SEES testing is Feb 21, 2025 and last day for 1st-8th grade SEES testing is Feb 16, 2025. Email gocpstestingteam@cps.edu or call 773-553-2060 to reschedule.
Families have more time to apply to next year’s Kindergarten through 9th grade Chicago Public School (CPS) programs via the online portal at https://www.apply.cps.edu/. The new deadline is Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 5pm.
High School (9th grade) resources are at https://www.cps.edu/gocps/resources/high-school-resources/ and families can view the GoCPS webinar on 2025-2026 High School applications HERE. For high school transfers into 10th-12th grade, contact each individual high school for information.
Preschool applications for 3 and 4 year olds are on a separate timeline and do not open until April 2025 for the 2025-2026 school year. Check out the preschool website at https://www.cps.edu/ChicagoEarlyLearning/
CPS announced a change to their elementary “Choice” admissions process that will require RANKING up to 20 Choice options, instead of just listing 20 with no order. That means a family can only get up to ONE Choice program AND up to ONE Selective Enrollment program in additional to their guaranteed neighborhood school. Preliminary info was released in this email: https://mailchi.mp/cps.edu/gocps-monthly-memo-for-school-leaders-administrators-17584631?e=8f974d4b4b
“ES Choice Single Best Offer:
Another important update for the upcoming application cycle is that the elementary choice selections process is moving to the single best offer model.
This is the model currently in place for all other GoCPS programs (Selective Enrollment Elementary Schools, Grade 9, and PreK admissions. Please see below for further information on the process.
How It Works:
Students select up to 20 choice programs they want to include on their application AND RANK them in order of preference.
They will be considered for all programs on the application and receive up to 1 offer from the highest-ranked program for which they qualify, based on seat availability, their status for the specific program’s selection process (such as lottery number or priority preferences), and the status of other students who applied to those programs.
Students who receive offers will be placed on the waitlist for all programs that are ranked higher than the one they received an offer to.
The decision to implement the single best offer model for Elementary Choice is rooted in making the process as equitable and straightforward for families as possible. Please be sure to rank your choice programs in order of preference and apply to schools that are of interest for you and your child. If you have questions about the ranking process for elementary school choice programs, please sign up for one of our trainings. “
They also changed their portal from SchoolMint to EnrollWise, so all families will need to create a new account in EnrollWise for 2025-2026 applications.
Knowing how to cast your net wide and increase your options is KEY to a successful Chicago high school search. Join Chicago School GPS as we bring together over 35 participating public, private and boarding high schools & resources, each with unique qualities that you may not have known about prior to coming to our Hidden Gems Fair. PLUS, you can meet helpful resource vendors and partake in informative breakout sessions that will give you clarity on the high school process. Join us for an afternoon designed to make your high school journey a successful one!
Program begins at 1pm with high schools showcasing what makes them unique, and breakout sessions begin at 2pm. Fair ends at 4pm.
Our invaluable breakout sessions offer insights for Middle School Parents and Students on topics such as:
Navigating the private & public high school admissions process
High School Entrance Exam Insights (includes CPS HSAT, HSPT & ISEE)
Private school scholarship opportunities & resources
International Baccalaureate Programs Demystified
Why You Should Consider Boarding Schools
Executive Functioning Strategies (tentative)
Tours of the hosting school will be available from 12pm-1pm.
The GoCPS application for Chicago Public School (CPS) Kindergarten through 9th grade 2025-2026 programs will open on Sept 24, 2024 at 10am and close on Nov 15, 2024 (changed to Nov 22) at 5pm. Start your application at https://www.apply.cps.edu/ but know you do not have to complete your application right away, just don’t miss the deadline of 11/15/24 11/22/24!
Learn about Hidden Gem High Schools (public, private, boarding) along with informative IN PERSON seminars on admissions, testing and more on 9/29/24 from 1-4pm. RSVP Here.
Note, CPS preschool applications for 3 & 4 year olds open in the spring.
Students interested in CPS 9th grade programs beyond their neighborhood high school’s general ed program will need to take CPS’ High School Admissions Test (HSAT) during the fall of their 8th grade year. The HSAT exam dates for 2025-2026 high school programs are as follows:
CPS and charter students will take the HSAT at their school on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. CPS students will automatically be given the test and no registration is needed.
Non-CPS students can choose among the weekend dates of October 19, 20, 26 or 27, 2024 to take the exam at a CPS site. Non-CPS students will need to register to take the HSAT via the GoCPS portal. Registration dates have not been released.
While CPS has yet to provide details on the exam and process for 2025-2026, last year’s exam guide can be found HERE.
CPS is releasing 9th grade (high school) selection results on Friday, February 23 at 5pm and K-8th grade (elementary) selection results on Friday, March 22 at 5pm for Fall 2024 entry. Families will have approximately 4 weeks to tour schools and decide to accept or decline their offer(s). Then approximately 2 weeks after the deadline to accept/decline an offer, the real-time, rolling waitlist process occurs for any programs with remaining, unfilled seats. Only selective enrollment high schools (SEHS) offer a holistic Principal’s Discretion process to retry for entry based on an essay, recommendations and supporting documentation.
OCTOBER 24th – 25th – HSAT Re-test for CPS Students
OCTOBER 28th – 29th, NOVEMBER 5th– HSAT Exam for Non-CPS Students
NOVEMBER 9th, 2023 – Application Period Closes
DECEMBER 1st, 2023 – Re-rank Period Closes
FEBRUARY 23rd, 2024 – Results Released
FEBRUARY 28th, 2024 – SEHS Principal Discretion Process Opens
MARCH 15th, 2024 – Accept/Decline Deadline
MARCH 15th, 2024 – SEHS Principal Discretion Application Closes
APRIL 1st, 2024 – Rolling Waitlist Process Opens
APRIL 19th, 2024 – SEHS Principal Discretion Results Released
2 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER OFFER ISSUED – Waitlist Accept/Decline Deadline
Elementary School
SEPTEMBER 13th, 2023 – Application Period Opens
NOVEMBER 9th, 2023 – Application Period Closes
DECEMBER 1st, 2024 – Re-rank Period Closes
MARCH 22nd, 2024 – Results Released
APRIL 19th, 2024 – Accept/Decline Deadline
MAY 1st, 2024 – Rolling Waitlist Process Opens
2 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER OFFER ISSUED – Waitlist Accept/Decline Deadline
For anyone who missed applying to CPS schools during the Fall application cycle, you can do so during the rolling waitlist process which opens on 4/1/24 for high schools and 5/1/24 for elementary schools. Public preschools (for 3 and 4 year olds) have separate applications available on April 9 at https://www.cps.edu/ChicagoEarlyLearning
The December 14, 2023 announcement by the Chicago Board of Education regarding Mayor Johnson’s plan to prioritize neighborhood schools and reduce reliance on selective enrollment and magnet programs has caused worry among parents wondering what it could mean to their family’s school options.
We know that there are concerns around school choice, and we want to be clear: this resolution outlines the Board’s parameters and values as we draft the District’s goals and objectives for the next five years. This resolution is not a vote to close selective enrollment, magnet, or charter schools. This resolution is about ensuring high-quality pre-k–12 pathways in neighborhood schools, prioritizing our most under-resourced communities. To read the full resolution, visit the Board website.
WBEZ attempted to tamp down parent speculation by emphasizing that CPS did not make any changes to the current process for families, and is outlining a goal but any change would need to be voted on by the school board, which will be changing in November 2024: WBEZ Article from 12/21/23
Bottom line: SEHS, SEES & Magnet schools aren’t necessarily going away but resources may shift away from them and more to neighborhood schools. Neighborhood schools house most of the IB (international baccalaureate) programs, many fine & performing arts programs, many dual language programs, etc. Increasing support for those specialty programs housed in neighborhood schools will benefit a greater number and broader range of students. Free Universal PK for all 4 year olds has also served to introduce more families to neighborhood schools throughout Chicago. Strengthening offerings at neighborhood schools can serve to release pressure on parents trying for the limited seats at selective enrollment and magnet programs.
Knowing how to cast your net wide and increase your options is KEY to a successful Chicago high school search. Join Chicago School GPS as we bring together over 35 participating public, private and boarding high schools & resources, each with unique qualities that you may not have known about prior to coming to our Hidden Gems Fair. PLUS, you can meet helpful resource vendors and partake in informative breakout sessions that will give you clarity on the high school process. Join us for an afternoon designed to make your high school journey a successful one!
Program begins at 1pm with high schools showcasing what makes them unique, and breakout sessions begin at 2pm. Fair ends at 4pm.
Our invaluable breakout sessions offer insights for Middle School Parents and Students on topics such as:
Navigating the private & public high school admissions process
High School Entrance Exam Insights (includes CPS HSAT, HSPT & ISEE)
Private school scholarship opportunities & resources
Any current 8th grader interested in applying to CPS programs for 2024-2025 must take a High School Admissions Test. This applies to Selective Enrollment, International Baccalaureate, Magnet, CTE and Service Academy programs.
For current CPS 8th grade students, the test will be administered in their CPS school on Oct. 11, 2023. No pre-registration is required.
For non-CPS students, the first step is to register by Oct. 6 to take the test on either Oct 14, 15 or 21, 2023. Registration is done via a student’s portal at https://cps.schoolmint.com/login
Prior to the start of the new school year, we want to provide you with helpful information and key updates for the GoCPS high school application process and the High School Admissions Test (HSAT).
The GoCPS application will open at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, and all CPS eighth graders — District and charter — will take the HSAT in school on Wednesday, October 11. Registration is not required, as the test will be administered to all CPS eighth graders.
Students who do not attend CPS and are interested in applying to a CPS high school will take the HSAT at either Lane Tech High School or Lindblom High School on October 14, 15, or 21, 2023. Students who do not attend CPS will need to register for testing through the GoCPS application when it opens on September 13, 2023. The deadline to register for the test on October 14 or 15 is October 2, and the deadline to register for the test on October 21 is October 6.
In order to provide more equitable access to all CPS programs, we are pleased to announce that next school year’s HSAT will be offered in English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Polish, and Urdu. This will open more doors of opportunity for our English Learner students. The test length has also been shortened to 60 minutes, responding to concerns that the test was overly burdensome. The content areas for the test are reading and math.
With these changes to the HSAT, the high school admissions scoring rubrics are under revision and will be available by the time the GoCPS application opens on September 13, 2023.
Families must submit GoCPS applications for the 2024-25 school year by Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 5 pm. Families are encouraged to apply to a range of options and rank those options in order of preference. HSAT scores will be released in early to mid-November, so they may not be available for these initial rankings. The GoCPS application will remain open for re-ranking ONLY until November 22, 2023 at 5 pm. Families may return to their previously submitted GoCPS applications during this period to re-rank their school choices based on their HSAT scores. However, no new school choices can be added or removed from an existing application, and no new GoCPS applications will be accepted after the deadline of November 9, 2023 at 5 pm.
We will communicate additional details about the GoCPS application process by September 1, 2023. If you have questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact gocps@cps.edu. For questions about the HSAT, please contact assessment@cps.edu.
The CPS K-9th grade application process is beginning and ending earlier than ever. Applicants interested in a program outside of their assigned neighborhood school for 2024-2025 can apply to up to 20 Choice programs and up to 6 Selective Enrollment programs starting at 10am on Sept 13, 2023 and (currently) ending by 5pm on Nov 9, 2023. It is not “first come, first serve” so there is no need to rush to be the first applicant but be sure NOT to miss the application window when it closes on 11/9/23. For programs that require ranking choices, the ranking deadline is 11/22/23, but the original programs must have been added by 11/9/23. Read more at https://www.cps.edu/gocps/
Elementary School
SEPTEMBER 13th, 2023 – Application Period Opens
NOVEMBER 9th, 2023 – Application Period Closes
NOVEMBER 22nd – Re-rank Period Closes
High School
SEPTEMBER 13th, 2023 – Application Period Opens
OCTOBER 11th, 2023 – CPS High School Admissions Exam for CPS Students
OCTOBER 14-15, 21 – CPS High School Admissions Exam for Non-CPS Students
NOVEMBER 9th, 2023 – Application Period Closes
NOVEMBER 22nd, 2023 – Re-rank Period Closes
Sign up for helpful virtual GoCPS Application Family Training sessions during Sept-Nov in English & Spanish HERE.
Because there are so many schools, programs and options for schooling in Chicago, parents who apply to multiple programs may receive more than one offer. Because a student can only attend one school at a time, there actually can be a lot of movement in program availability throughout the summer and into the new school year. Both public (CPS) and private (parochial and independent) schools fill those changing seats by utilizing waitlists before school starts, and sometimes into the new school year.
For private schools, an unfilled seat is a missed tuition and similarly, each student at a public school comes with a per pupil funding amount (until the 20th day of school). Families can add or remove a student from a waitlist if desired during the Rolling Admission cycle.
Preschool (PK3 or PK4): Chicago Early Learning students can get up to one offer out of 5 ranked choices and will be waitlisted for any higher ranked schools they did not qualify for.
Elementary (K-8th grade): CPS applicants can get multiple offers at various Choice (non test-based, non-selective) programs in addition to up to one SEES (test-based, selective enrollment) offer, in addition to a guaranteed neighborhood K-8th grade seat.
For CPS 9th graders (high school), students can get up to one offer each for SEHS and Choice programs as well as a guaranteed neighborhood 9th-12th grade seat.
Private school applicants can get offers for multiple schools at once, too, but a student can only attend one school at a time. Therefore, public and private waitlist movement happens throughout late Spring into Summer and even Fall.
All CPS preschool, elementary, and 9th grade high school programs are using a rolling waitlist system as of late May 2023.
CPS’s new rolling waitlist is meant to simplify what was once a separate transfer process for K-9th grade as well as a separate late application. All CPS applicants can view their GoCPS portal to see which remaining programs have immediate seats to accept (green), which have an open waitlist to join (yellow), and which are full or have a low likelihood of an offer (red). Your student will only be shown programs they are eligible to receive an offer for based on whether they participated in any required admissions screenings and if they met the threshold.
Original waitlists are those programs that you applied to in the Initial Application Process (was open from 9/21/22-12/8/22) and if an offer was not received, students either were automatically waitlisted for any programs that were listed above their offer (for ranked applications such as preschool, selective enrollment or high school) or they can be on multiple, independent waitlists for K-8th grade Choice programs. More info HERE.
Rolling waitlists (updated nightly) will run through the summer into the 20th day of the new school year for Selective Enrollment (SE) programs, through January 2024 for K-9th grade Choice programs, and until Spring 2024 for Preschool programs. You can only be on a Selective Enrollment waitlist if you have not accepted any SE offer, and you can remain on the waitlists for up to 20 Choice K-9th grade programs. Applicants can choose to remove schools from a waitlist if they are no longer interested or can add themselves to a waitlist if desired. Waitlists will re-sort every evening and those based on a point system can cause a student’s waitlist position to go up or down depending on the scores of new waitlist students. Slidedeck about Offer/Waitlists HERE and more info on rolling waitlists HERE.
Because CPS is funded on a per pupil spending model and their budgeting is set by the 20th day of school, most waitlist movement is seen at the end of the summer, just before school starts. Neighborhood & magnet cluster schools typically refrain from calling waitlist families until close to the start of school (Aug 21) and that can affect all other waitlists as well. Families should be ready to accept or decline a spot within 2 business days from receiving a call.
Families may need to stay patient, but much movement happens toward the end of the summer as public & private waitlists become more active at that time. Good luck to all families and don’t be surprised if your child is offered a spot at the start of the school year.
From a recent cps.edu newsletter: Release Dates Announced for GoCPS Offers
GoCPS is now in the final stages of preparing offers for the 2023–24 school year. High school offers will be released on Friday, March 24, 2023 after 5 p.m., and elementary school offers will be released on Friday, April 21, 2023 after 5 p.m. Families who have completed an application should log into their GoCPS accounts to make sure that all information is correct. For questions, please call (773) 553-2060 or email gocps@cps.edu.
High School dates to note:
SEPTEMBER 21st, 2022 – Application Period Opens
OCTOBER 26th, 2022 – CPS High School Admissions Exam for CPS Students
NOVEMBER 5-6,12-13 – CPS High School Admissions Exam for Non-CPS Students
DECEMBER 8th, 2022 – Application Period Closes
MARCH 24th, 2023 – Results Released
MARCH 29th, 2023 – Principal Discretion Process Opens
APRIL 14th, 2023 – Accept/Decline Deadline
APRIL 14th, 2023 – Principal Discretion Application Closes
APRIL 24th, 2023 – Rolling Waitlist Process Opens
2 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER OFFER ISSUED – Waitlist Accept/Decline Deadline
APRIL 28th, 2023 – Principal Discretion Results Released
Elementary School dates to note:
SEPTEMBER 21st, 2022 – Application Period Opens
DECEMBER 8th, 2022 – Application Period Closes
APRIL 21st, 2023 – Results Released
MAY 12th, 2023 – Accept/Decline Deadline
MAY 22nd, 2023 – Rolling Waitlist Process Opens
2 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER OFFER ISSUED – Waitlist Accept/Decline Deadline
The GoCPS Kindergarten through 9th grade application portal for 2023-2024 has been extended to Thursday, December 8th at 5pm. https://www.cps.edu/gocps/
A parent’s school search typically starts by sitting down at the computer and typing in “Best Elementary/High Schools” in your area. The results are populated with hits from sources such as GreatSchools, Niche, Schooldigger or School Sparrow, but what do these results mean, and should parents just add the #1 school to their list while ignoring the other schools closer or more familiar to them? How reliable are the ratings and how should a parent use them?
The fact of the matter is that school ratings and rankings are a very messy, very inexact method to quantify schools. Because they are summarized in a “number” or “grade” or listed in a “ranking order”, parents tend to put undue emphasis on ratings/rankings yet aren’t aware of what is being measured. While test scores are typically the largest component to rankings, “School Fit” is much more than test performance and is ultimately a very personal matter that can even vary within a family from child to child. What truly qualifies as “best” for one family may not be well suited to another. While it is understandable that parents need some metric to start with, the metrics used can be skewed, out of date, or not reflective of the cohort your family will be entering the school with.
Common misunderstandings of rankings:
Ratings typically put the greatest emphasis on test scores, so better resourced families often have higher test scores and those family resources continue to benefit their children throughout their education
Ratings/rankings are not set in stone and can change as demographics in a school changes
Ratings typically reflect 3rd to 8th grade, so younger families should be wary of looking at metrics that may include a very different demographic than the one their family will be in school with
Ratings often lump in all programs within a school, so those with a higher population of students with learning needs may still be a great or even better option for your student but the “rankings” may not reflect the level of supports
Schools can and do change and schools in gentrifying areas may have more resources added to the school by the time your family will be attending
Using rankings and ratings to be the first or only metric in choosing a school can also serve to negatively suppress positive changes at a school. Instead, we highly recommend that families tour their local school or those near them as well as talk to families with children their age who may have older siblings at the school. Reaching out to a school’s parent group or attending local school council (LSC) meetings is also a great way to get the “real time” scoop on a school.
It is somewhat pre-ordaining to use rankings to choose a school because if test scores are a big factor in ratings/rankings, then children who have advantages and resources from birth are certainly going to test better overall and the schools near them will reap the benefits of well resourced students and parents. While new parents may be more swayed by rankings, eventually parents come to realize that academics alone are not a single trait to look for in a school and social emotional factors as well as culture, climate and community are just as impactful yet are hard to capture in objective metrics because they are inherently more subjective. School visits can be invaluable to dispel pre-conceptions or help a family picture themselves in a school, but people gravitate toward or crave the easier route of following rankings.
Parents who blindly follow blanket rankings/ratings may well pass up a school their student could grow and thrive at in favor of one that a 3rd party metric says is 10 spots “above” the other school yet that family needs to drive across town to attend. In the end there may not be any marked difference in outcome for their particular child attending one or the other, but the lifestyle impact is can be much greater at the farther school. One school’s overall scores may be lower because it serves a broader range of backgrounds or has more special needs students, but that doesn’t mean your child’s success can happen only from one and not the other. What your child can achieve and what they score on an exam does NOT have to be the “average” number. Ultimately, the greatest arbiter of student success is parent involvement in their children’s lives beyond one school over another school, public or private, city or suburbs.
Knowing how to cast your net wide and increase your options is KEY to a successful Chicago high school search. Join Chicago School GPS as we bring together over 35 participating public, private and boarding high schools & resources, each with unique qualities that you may not have known about prior to coming to our Hidden Gems Fair. PLUS, you can meet helpful resource vendors and partake in informative breakout sessions that will give you clarity on the high school process. Join us for an afternoon designed to make your high school journey a successful one!
Program begins at 1pm with high schools showcasing what makes them unique, and breakout sessions begin at 1:45pm. Fair ends at 4pm.
Our invaluable breakout sessions offer insights for Middle School Parents and Students on topics such as:
Navigating the private & public high school admissions process
High School Entrance Exam Insights (includes CPS HSAT, HSPT & ISEE)
Private school scholarship opportunities & resources
September 14th, 2022 – Application Period Opens December 2nd, 2022- – Application Period Closes TBD- Results Released TBD- Accept/Decline Deadline TBD- Waitlist Process Opens 2 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER OFFER ISSUED- Waitlist Accept/Decline Deadline
September 14th, 2022- Application Period Opens October 26th, 2022- CPS High School Admissions Exam for CPS Students 11/5-6, 11/12-13 – CPS High School Admissions Exam for Non-CPS Students December 2nd, 2022- Application Period Closes TBD- Results Released TBD- Principal Discretion Process Opens TBD- Accept/Decline Deadline TBD- Principal Discretion Application Closes TBD- Waitlist Process Opens 2 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER OFFER ISSUED- Waitlist Accept/Decline Deadline TBD- Principal Discretion Results Released
GoCPS will release Round 1 offers for 2022-2023 Elementary Magnet (including Suder & Drummond), Open Enrollment, Magnet Cluster and Selective Enrollment Gifted, Classical and Academic Center programs on 4/29/22. The deadline to accept or decline offers is 5/13/22. https://go.cps.edu/
Current 8th graders who applied to Chicago Public Schools for Fall 2022 will receive their Round 1 results at 5pm on Friday, March 18. Good luck to all applicants! From https://go.cps.edu/
Families interested in Chicago Public School programs for 3 year olds through 9th grade for the 2022-2023 school year must submit applications by 5pm on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021 at https://cps.schoolmint.com/login.
If your child will be 3 by Sept 1, 2022, then they can submit a CHOICE (lottery based) application for Drummond & Suder.
If your child will be 4 by Sept 1, 2022, then they can submit a CHOICE (lottery based) application for Inter-American.
If your child will be 5 by Sept 1, 2022 or applying to grades K-8, then they can submit up to 20 CHOICE (lottery) elementary applications for magnet, magnet cluster, and open enrollment elementary schools AND they can submit up to 6 SELECTIVE ENROLLMENT (test based) elementary applications for Classical and Regional Gifted Programs, as well as up to 6 Academic Centers (7th & 8th grade). Selective enrollment options will need to be ranked in order of preference and a test date must be scheduled. Elementary Choice programs do not have to be ranked and no test is required.
If your child is applying to 9th grade, then they can choose up to 20 CHOICE high school programs (some high schools have multiple programs within them such as International Baccalaureate, CTE, fine arts, magnet, etc) and up to 6 SELECTIVE ENROLLMENT programs. Both CHOICE and SELECTIVE ENROLLMENT high schools options must be ranked in order of preference, as as a single offer is given for each type. In many cases, a CPS HS Admissions Test must also be taken, and in some cases, additional screenings are required.
This is also the deadline to add or subtract schools and re-rank any Selective Enrollment or high school choices. Any CPS testing dates must be requested by this deadline as well.
Notifications should arrive in the spring, with high school notifications coming a month before elementary notifications. More information and FAQs for preschool, elementary and high school at https://go.cps.edu/
One’s neighborhood school is always guaranteed and does not require an application.
Chicago Public Schools are now accepting applications for the 2022-2023 school year until Dec. 15, 2021. Families can explore https://go.cps.edu/ to learn about the school options and request an account at https://cps.schoolmint.com/login. One account per family and each student can be added as they become eligible to apply to CPS programs. A CPS Student ID can be requested through the portal for any student not already in the CPS system.
Always apply one year before a program begins, and CPS has a Sept 1st cutoff date to be eligible for preschool through 1st grade programs. An “age exception” is provided only for families with a fall birthday child who wants to start K or 1st grade early.
You do NOT have to apply to your assigned neighborhood school and there is never a deadline to register at your neighborhood school. For all other programs, including a neighborhood school that is not your own, CPS allows for “Open Enrollment” and you can apply to programs for which your student is age-eligible or meets a pre-requisite via a GoCPSCHOICE (up to 20 lottery or minimal criteria based admission programs) and/orSEES (up to 6 ranked test based admission programs) application. Read more about CPS school types here: Elementary and High School.
Scoring rubrics have been updated for this application cycle to reflect the discontinuation of NWEA MAP testing for 5th through 9th grade programs. There are no scoring rubrics and no cutoffs will be posted for K-8th grade Classical or Regional Gifted Center Selective Enrollment programs.
CPS Elementary programs: only 7th grade Academic Centers have a scoring rubric listed HERE.
Find helpful CPS FAQ’s on the application process HERE: https://go.cps.edu/about-gocps/faq/elementary (be sure to click on the proper tab: HS, Elem or Preschool)Each student can apply up to 20 CHOICE programs (multiple offers for elementary programs listed in no particular order, and single offer for ranked high school programs) AND up to 6 ranked Selective Enrollment programs (single offer for elementary or high school). If testing is required, you will be asked to choose a test date AFTER you choose the school programs that require testing.Good luck to families applying for Fall 2022 CPS programs! More info at https://go.cps.edu/about-gocps
NOVEMBER TESTING DATES ANNOUNCED FOR CPS HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS EXAM
Beginning this year, the Chicago Public Schools will not use the NWEA MAP exam for the GoCPS eligibility or selection process for any schools or programs. For students applying to ninth grade, no schools or programs will have minimum eligibility requirements based on NWEA. Instead, a single admissions exam, the CPS High School Admissions Test, will be available for all students.
The CPS High School Admissions Test will be available to all current CPS students applying to ninth grade on Tuesday, November 9th, 2021. Students will take the exam at their school during the school day.
The CPS High School Admissions Test will be available to all non-CPS students applying to ninth grade at a designated CPS location on the following dates:
Saturday, November 13th, 2021
Sunday, November 14th, 2021
Saturday, November 20th, 2021
Sunday, November 21st, 2021
Registration information for all students will be forthcoming.
For Non-CPS students, these are the four testing dates for this application cycle. Please hold these dates now to ensure that you are available to test if you are planning to apply to a CPS high school.
Using one test will streamline the GoCPS application process by decreasing the number of exams required, and allowing the same single exam to be applied to the selection processes for all programs, where applicable.
For students applying to fifth through eighth grades, eligibility to take the admissions exam(s) for academic centers, classical schools and regional gifted centers will be based on GPA. Dates for these exams will be released at a later date.
We look forward to a great year ahead, and our staff is here to support your family through the application process. You can contact our office by phone at 773-553-2060, or via email at GOCPS@CPS.EDU.
See below for an informational webinar and FAQs on the admissions process for the 2022-2023 school year.INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR
$15 for the whole family, and fee waivers are available upon request.
Knowing how to cast your net wide and increase your options is KEY to a successful Chicago high school search. Join Chicago School GPS as we bring together over 35 participating schools, each with unique qualities that you may not have known about prior to coming to our Hidden Gems Fair. PLUS, you can meet helpful resource vendors and partake in informative breakout sessions that will give you clarity on the high school process. Join us for an afternoon designed to make your high school journey a successful one!
Program begins at 1pm with high schools showcasing what makes them unique, and breakout sessions begin at 2:00pm. Fair ends at 4pm.
Our invaluable breakout sessions offer insights for Middle School Parents and Students on topics such as:
Navigating the private & public high school admissions process
High School Entrance Exam Insights (includes SEHS, HSPT & ISEE)
Private school scholarship opportunities & resources
International Baccalaureate Programs Demystified
Executive Functioning Strategies
Thank You to our generous 2021 Presenting Sponsor:
If your 8th grader missed applying to CPS this year or would like to apply to any programs that still have open spots after Round 1 ended, then NOW is the time to apply for Fall 2021 9th grade spots.
“A second round of applications will be opened shortly after the Round 1 application acceptance deadline. However, the only programs available in Round 2 will be the ones that still have remaining seats after Round 1.
Families can accept a Round 1 offer and still participate in Round 2. However, if the student receives a second-round offer, they will automatically forfeit their Round 1 offer. Because of this, families are cautioned to only apply to programs in Round 2 that they would prefer more than the Round 1 offer they accepted.”
The first round of CPS High School Notifications for 2021-2022 were released on April 30, 2021. Depending on whether an 8th grade student applied to test based Selective Enrollment High Schools (SEHS) and/or non-test based Choice High Schools (including IB, Magnet, CTE, Military, Charter, etc), a student can have up to 3 public high school choices: one offer for SEHS, one for Choice, and their neighborhood high school.
Any Round 1 offers must be accepted or declined by May 14, 2021. Waitlists will open on May 17, but families should understand that not all high schools go to a waitlist, including at least half of the SEHS.
SEHS Principal’s Discretion is only for students who applied to Selective Enrollment High Schools (SEHS) but would like to enter a holistic appeal process that allows an SEHS Principal to select 5% of the freshman class for another SEHS on their list. SEHS PD opens May 5 and closes May 19. Results will be posted the week of June 14. A packet of information detailing the steps and timing as well as helpful FAQs are linked from here: https://go.cps.edu/high-school/principal-discretion
The GoCPS Round 2 process is for any programs that have not filled their seats from Round 1. The programs offering Round 2 seats will be listed around May 17, and the Round 2 application opens on May 17 and closes on May 21. Results will be released on June 18.
