Learn More: Loyola Academy

Leading up to the HSPT on December 5th, Test Prep Chicago is spotlighting some of Chicago’s top Catholic high schools on our blog. This week, we’re taking a closer look at Loyola Academy.

Loyola Academy stands out for its Jesuit roots, its size and reach, and its strong, diverse academic and extracurricular programs. The school has a history of firsts. In 1971 it became the first Jesuit high school in the United States to establish a Board of Trustees that partnered Jesuits with lay leaders, a governance model that set a precedent for Jesuit schools nationwide. In 1994, Loyola affiliated with Saint Louise de Marillac High School and welcomed young women, becoming coeducational. Today, Loyola is the largest Jesuit high school in the United States, with 1,920 students drawn from 259 grade schools and more than 90 zip codes. In 2003, the school opened the Theodore G. Munz, SJ, Campus in Glenview, a 60-acre site with athletic facilities and a preserved natural area of wetlands, prairie, and a stretch of the Chicago River that doubles as a living laboratory for environmental science.

As a Jesuit school, Loyola is committed to forming “women and men for others,” and that mission shows up clearly in its service and school life. Launched in 2014, their Ignatian Service Learning program integrates academic study with direct service, reflection, and engagement with community partners. Retreats are another cornerstone of the school’s program: in 2025, Loyola celebrated its 300th Kairos retreat, a spiritual trip specifically made for high school juniors and seniors to connect with themselves and their spirituality.

Academically, Loyola offers a college-prep curriculum with honors and AP options, plus three signature honors programs: the Clavius Scholars, an interdisciplinary STEM program focused on advanced scientific inquiry and research, the Dumbach Scholars, a humanities program built around history, literature, philosophy, and culture, and the Ricci Scholars, a global studies program exploring world cultures, languages, environmental stewardship, and justice. The Bowman First-Gen Leaders program supports first-generation college-bound students through mentorship and academic guidance. The results of these programs speak for themselves: Loyola reports a 98% four-year college matriculation rate. Affordability is part of the picture too, with more than 600 students receiving $6.2 million in financial assistance.

Outside the classroom, Loyola offers more than 70 clubs and activities, including Science Olympiad, Architecture Club, Orchesis dance company, the all-female a cappella group Nothin’ But Treble, Step Team, and the Thespian Society. Performers have a professional-grade home: the McGrath Family Performing Arts Center opened in 2022 with a state-of-the-art theater. On the athletic side, Loyola football has been a statewide powerhouse. The Ramblers have won IHSA Class 8A state championships in 1993, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and the 2024 title capped the first three-peat in the program’s history, with five state championships since 2015. Since the IHSA expanded to eight classes in 2001, very few Class 8A schools had won even back-to-back titles, which makes Loyola’s run all the more remarkable.

Overall, Loyola Academy offers students a well-rounded Catholic high school experience: a rigorous college-prep curriculum with distinctive honors programs, a strong Jesuit service and retreat tradition, a huge menu of extracurriculars, and one of the most successful athletic programs in Illinois. It tends to be a great fit for students who want a big-school experience with lots of options, all within a faith-based, service-minded community.

Admission to Loyola Academy is based in part on the High School Placement Test (HSPT), the entrance exam used by Catholic high schools across the Archdiocese of Chicago, which will be given on Saturday, December 5th. Additionally, the school strongly encourages students to take the HSPT on its own campus, as students who test there are given preference for admission, and only students who take the HSPT at Loyola are eligible for its academic scholarships and financial aid. Because Catholic high schools also use HSPT scores for scholarships and class placement, a strong score can make a real difference. If your student is interested in attending Loyola or another Catholic high school, Test Prep Chicago can help your student prepare for the HSPT, helping them develop the knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to succeed on all five sections of the exam. Students can now enroll in our online HSPT prep courses (sign up here), one-day Palooza workshops (sign up here), or individual tutoring sessions (sign up here), which all include HSPT content and test-taking strategies. With the December 5th test date just a little less than eight weeks away, sign up now to help your student prepare!