CPS and Catholic School Application Process

CPS Applications

All high school and elementary students who wish to apply to CPS schools outside of their neighborhood must apply through GoCPS. Families are required to rank their top choice schools and apply by the extended deadline of December 15th at 5:00 PM. The ranking process requires applicants to order their top 20 choice programs or top 6 selective enrollment schools. Applicants can be offered one choice school option and one selective enrollment option.  Students applying to selective enrollment schools or academic centers are required to participate in the testing requirements while all other applicants will be chosen via an independent lottery system or audition process. All offers will be announced in the spring of 2025.

Catholic School Applications

Students looking to test into Catholic Schools are required to complete their applications prior to the coming holiday break. While most students have already completed the required testing for exams, all remaining application requirements must be completed in the coming weeks to be considered for the 2025-26 school year. Students who were unable to test on their originally scheduled test date will be able to attend a make-up test on December 14th at specific schools such as St. Patrick’s and De La Salle.

Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
kayley@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

HSPT Information for Chicago Students

8th grade students looking to apply to Catholic high schools are required to take the High School Parochial Test (HSPT). This year, the exam will take place on Saturday, December 7th at 8:00 AM. Students will take the exam at their 1st choice Catholic high school (Loyola, St. Ignatius, Depaul, or Fenwick). Students can only apply to one of these schools. If a student is not admitted to one of these, they should have a second choice (unmentioned school) prepared. Any student pursuing a scholarship opportunity is required to sit for the exam at the corresponding school.

The HSPT covers both math and verbal topics including verbal analogies, logic, verbal classifications, quantitative skills, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and language. The exam is composed of 298 questions and will be in multiple-choice format. The exam will take approximately two and a half hours to complete. Students should be prepared to solve all problems without the use of a calculator. However, they may use scratch paper for calculations.

Chicago Catholic schools that require HSPT scores include the following: Brother Rice High School, Carmel Catholic High School, Christ the King Jesuit High School Preparatory School, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep, De La Salle Institute, Depaul College Prep, Fenwich High School, St. Francis de Sales High School, Holy Trinity High School, St. Ignatius College Prep, Josephinum Academy, St. Laurence High School, Leo High School, Loyola Academy, Marian Catholic High School, Marist High School, Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, Mount Carmel High School, Nazareth Academy, Notre Dame College Prep, Our Lady or Tepeyac High School, Saint Patrick High School, Regina Dominican High School, Resurrection College Prep High School, St. Rita of Cascia High School, Trinity High School, Saint Viator High School, and Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart.

Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
kayley@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

AP Course Decisions

For high school students, taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes can offer numerous benefits such as gaining college credit, improving academic skills, and strengthening college applications. However, it can be challenging to decide how many AP classes to take. 

AP classes are designed to provide college-level coursework to high school students. These courses offer students an opportunity to explore challenging subjects in greater depth and prepare them for college-level academic rigor. However, the workload of AP courses is typically higher than that of regular high school courses. Students should consider their academic ability based on their performance in previous academic years, including their grades, course difficulty, and study habits. Students must also factor in their workload, including from extracurricular activities.

Another factor to consider is a student's future goals. If a student is planning to attend a highly competitive college or pursue a career in a challenging field, taking multiple AP courses can demonstrate their academic readiness and preparedness. Even so, colleges take other factors into account, and there is no guaranteed number of AP courses that will substitute for a well-rounded and individual background.

Counselors, researchers, and consultants agree that it’s far more important to select a schedule that will be manageable to a student based on their workload, academic level, and future goals, rather than loading their schedule with as many AP courses as possible.

Anna Jordan, Tutoring Coordinator
anna@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

An Overview of Loyola Academy

A part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, Loyola Academy is a private, co-ed school located in Wilmette, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago. The school was originally founded on Loyola University’s campus in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood in 1909 but moved to its current campus in 1957. Loyola is rated as the 6th best Catholic school in Illinois and the 4th best school for athletes in Illinois. The school has a student population of approximately 2,050 with a student to teacher ratio of 14:1. Not only does Loyola have a graduation rate of 99%, but 99% of those students go on to attend a four-year college after high school.

The curriculum at Loyola provides a challenge for high achieving students, and even allows them to further specialize in their interests in the form of two honors programs: The Dumbach Scholars Program and the Clavius Scholars Program. As their website states, “The Dumbach Scholars Program is rooted in the humanities, while the Clavius Scholars Program is grounded in math and science.” Each program is competitive and requires specific AP and honors classes, service hours, and includes several interdisciplinary field trips. Loyola also uniquely offers a Global Studies Program with academic trips to France, China, Greece and Italy, Spain, Central America, or England as well as the opportunity to take a service trip to Mexico.

In addition to other resources, Loyola Academy also has a 1:1 iPad initiative which began in 2013 and continues today. While students must purchase their own, the initiative makes Loyola an Apple Distinguished School which, among other things, offers a discount to families. The school also has a proud tradition of athletics for students to participate in including 34 different sports and over 80 different teams. Many students at Loyola go on to play for reputable college teams across the nation.

As with most other Catholic schools, tuition is required for admission into Loyola Academy. Tuition for Loyola is approximately $15,260 with financial aid and payment plans available. To find out more about Loyola Academy’s tuition, how to apply, or to read more about their academics or athletics, visit their website at goramblers.org. 

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

An Overview of DePaul College Prep High School

Formerly known as Gordon Technical High School, DePaul College Prep High School first opened in 1952 as a Roman Catholic high school in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood on the north side. The school was originally named after Reverend Francis Gordon, but was renamed DePaul College Prep on the Father Gordon Campus in 2014, honoring both Reverend Gordon as well as their academic partner since 2012, DePaul University. DePaul College Prep has a student population of 550 with a student to teacher ratio of 11:1. They boast a graduation rate of 98%; in addition, 98% of students who graduate go on to attend a four-year college. It also ranks 18th most diverse private school in Illinois and 25th best Catholic school in Illinois.

DePaul College Prep offers impressive academic opportunities for their students. As they state on their website, “As a student at DePaul Prep, you will develop a strong foundation in liberal arts, science, technology, engineering and math. We offer various academic options--Advanced Placement (AP), Honors, College Prep and College Enrichment. We are proud to say the DePaul College Prep is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School and we also offer the unique opportunity of Dual Enrollment courses at DePaul University.”

Another exciting component of DePaul College Prep’s curriculum is their STEAM initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). This program is comprised of courses in visual arts, media arts, theater, music, engineering, design and computer science. DePaul contends, “The Department adopts an interdisciplinary approach to learning that develops critical thinking and creativity using state of the art technology, fully equipped art and sculpture studio, engineering and fabrication lab, computer science lab and music studio.” Beginning their freshman year, students will take a full year of coursework in the STEAM program which can be followed up with electives of their favorite disciplines in their years as upperclassmen. In addition to STEAM, students take standard courses as well as theology classes and language classes in Spanish, French, or Chinese.

Tuition at DePaul College Prep is about $13,170 a year with payment plans and financial aid available. Approximately 40% of students use financial aid. To find out more information about DePaul College Prep’s tuition, academics, etc. visit their website at depaulprep.org.

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

An Overview of Walter Payton College Prep High School

One of Chicago’s youngest but most prestigious public high schools, Walter Payton College Prep High School, was founded in 2000 and named after the late Chicago Bears football legend, Walter Payton. Boasting impressive stats, Walter Payton College Prep High School (also known simply as “Payton”) is ranked as the 9th best public school in the nation, and the 1st best public school in the state of Illinois.

Payton’s enrollment is 977 with a student to teacher ratio of 18:1. Of their total enrollment, 57% of students are people of color, and 33% of students eat free or reduced-price lunches. Among other stats, Payton has a notable U.S. News Scorecard of 99.95%. The Scorecard is measured using the percentage of students who are proficient in math (97%) and reading (98%), took at least one AP exam (98%), passed at least one AP exam (93%), as well as their graduation rate (99%).  

The school offers a massive array of classes. Something that really stands out among other schools, however, is their seminar menu. Payton offers seminars in everything from Game Theory, Coding, Neuroscience, and Financial Investments to Film, Special Olympic Coaching, Skateboarding, Poetry, and Painting. For a full list of seminar offerings, visit https://www.wpcp.org/StudentLife/Seminars.aspx. In addition, Payton also has an exchange program for students in Melbourne, Australia and Paris, France as well as trips to Italy, Belize, and China.  

Payton also offers specialized classes in English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Technology in addition to more standard classes. Additionally, most upper level courses offered at Payton are either honors or AP with the idea that more rigorous coursework will help to better prepare students for college. Payton is also recognized as a World Language Academy offering courses in French, Spanish, Chinese, and Latin. Most students at Payton take four years of World Languages, studying both the language itself as well as the culture, technology, and global challenges of the country. The school also offers classes in theater, band, visual arts, and choir. Furthermore, the choir often travels internationally to compete or perform and will be going to China in 2020.

In addition to excellent class offerings, the school has a range of athletics with over 20 sports including water polo, sailing, ultimate frisbee, as well as more common sports like track and field, baseball, and soccer. For more information on athletics, academic curricula, or seminars, visit the school’s website:https://www.wpcp.org/StudentLife/Athletics/Teams.aspx.

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

An Overview of the High School Placement Test

Used by parochial and Catholic schools nationwide for 8th graders applying to high school, the High School Placement Test (HSPT) is the shortest in length of time of the three high school entrance exams but includes the most questions (298). Students have two hours and thirty minutes to complete the exam, and the exam includes the following five sections: mathematics (64 questions, 45 minutes); quantitative skills (52 questions, 30 minutes); reading (40 questions in reading comprehension, 22 questions in vocabulary, 25 minutes); verbal skills (60 questions, 16 minutes); and language (60 questions, 25 minutes). There is no essay or writing sample required with this test, and as with the other two high school entrance exams, a calculator is not permitted, and there is no guessing penalty.

This test, designed by Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. is administered by St. Ignatius, Loyola Academy, as well as other parochial schools on the first Saturday in December. However, since the test is so infrequent, there are sometimes make-up exams in the cases of illnesses or emergencies. Where a student sits for the HSPT is very important. If students want to be considered for St. Ignatius OR Loyola Academy, they MUST sit for the HSPT at the respective school. Additionally, if students would like the chance to earn a scholarship at their first-choice school, they must test at that school. Students will not be considered for scholarships at schools in which they don’t sit for the HSPT.

Lastly, similar to the ISEE but unlike with the selective enrollment high school process, the HSPT is viewed in conjunction with a student’s transcript. Thus, a student’s score on the HSPT isn’t the only thing considered for admission but is still of great importance. To learn more about how to prepare for the HSPT, visit testprepchicago.com.

Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266