What You Need to Know About Whitney Young's Academic Center

With the Academic Center Entrance Exam coming up this month and next, Test Prep Chicago is featuring some of the top Academic Center options in Chicago for 7th and 8th graders. This week, we’re spotlighting Whitney Young’s Academic Center, a program that has thus far helped over 4,000 students achieve their goals through accelerated learning and early access to high school level classes.

Whitney Young High School is situated in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, IL. Admittance to Whitney Young’s Academic Center is highly coveted, as it also grants admittance to Whitney Young High School. This can certainly relieve a lot of stress from students, as they will not have to participate in Chicago’s highly competitive high school admissions process. Whitney Young advertises a “six-year plan” for enrolled 7th grade students, and the high school courses offered to middle school students can allow them increased flexibility to pursue their interests in their junior and senior years at Whitney Young.

Whitney Young 7th graders receive high school credit for their math and science classes. Additionally, these students have the opportunity to take high school level electives. 8th grade students will also receive high school credit for their Social Studies and English classes. Electives offered to Academic Center students at Whitney Young include Robotics, Computer Science, Piano, Orchestra, Dance, Drama, Film and Video, Graphic Design, various foreign language classes, and more!

Admission scores for Selective Enrollment Academic Centers are calculated on a 600-point scale. 300 points are determined by the Academic Center Entrance Exam, and 300 points are determined by 5th grade scores in math, reading, science, and social studies. While we cannot know the scores required for admittance into Whitney Young for the 2026-27 school year, last year’s cutoff scores for Whitney Young are listed below:

Rank                    Min. Point Total

Tier 4                                   565.5

Tier 3                                   542.5

Tier 2                                   547.5

Tier 1                                   507.5

Admission to Whitney Young is highly competitive, and the Academic Center Entrance Exam is a key component in the admissions process. Currently, Test Prep Chicago is offering individualized tutoring (click here), a self-paced online course (click here), and one-day workshops (click here) to ensure our students are as prepared as possible for the exam. Our extensive curriculum covers Number Series, Verbal and Figural Analogies, Paper Folding, Number Puzzles (Algebra), Figural Matrices, and more. We prepare students for every possible section that can appear on the ACEE. It is not too late to begin your student’s prep!

To find out more about Whitney Young Academic Center’s courses or extracurriculars, visit their website: here. To see the cutoff scores for all Selective Enrollment Academic Centers, click here.

An Overview of Morgan Park Academic Center

Morgan Park Academic Center (also known as Morgan Park) resides in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood and is situated on the south side of Chicago. Similar to the other six Academic Centers, Morgan Park Academic Center is made up of 7th and 8th graders. Morgan Park offers their students the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) curriculum. In doing so, Morgan Park Academic Center is able to thoroughly prepare its students for their future academic endeavors. Upon completion, students are automatically accepted into the 9th grade IB MYP Cohort at Morgan Park High School.

To elaborate, Morgan Park’s International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme allows students to take 9th grade level curriculum which in turn allows the students the opportunity to earn high school credits. Therefore, when students are entering their high school years, they are better advantaged to enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) and dual credit courses during their later years. Additionally, students are assigned a dedicated counselor specifically for Academic Center students and their counselor remains with them until they enter the 9th grade. This is also supplemented by Student Academic and Social Supports for continued, consistent support during their 7th and 8th grade years. 

Morgan Park Academic Center lets students choose between studying Spanish or French coupled with an elective course of either band or chorus through their duration of 7th and 8th grade years. Students are also encouraged to participate in clubs and select sports programs such as NJHS, Student Council, Boys & Girls Basketball, Girls Volleyball, Flag Football, etc. Transportation is also provided to students who live more than 1.5 miles away from Morgan Park Academic Center. 

To find more information for Morgan Park Academic Center, please visit Morgan Park High School’s website and click the Academic Center tab: https://morganparkcps.org/

Ramisha Ejaz, Tutoring Coordinator
ramisha@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266