CPS Selective Enrollment High School Admissions Process

Updated on July 30, 2025.

Chicago Public Schools has announced that applications for the 2026-2027 school year can be submitted from September 23^rd 2025 at 10am to November 14^th 2025 at 5pm! Be sure to mark these dates down on your calendar.

Families have a variety of schools and programs that they can apply to in addition to attending their neighborhood school. The application process can be extremely difficult for many families to navigate, especially when it can involve ranking school choices and taking high school entrance exams.

Here’s What You Need to Know

The road to CPS high schools includes many steps.

The Initial Application

Step 1: Determine Your Top Choices

You can select up to 20 Choice Programs and 6 Selective Enrollments outside of your own neighborhood school’s attendance boundary. It’s important to research each program to determine the best fit for your student, and for your family. 

Step 2: Rank Your Schools

Rank your Choice programs from 1-20 in order of preference, and rank your Selective Enrollment programs from 1-6, most desirable to least desirable. It’s important to note that ranking a program higher does not increase your chances of getting an offer, but your preferences are taken into consideration. Make sure you rank programs in the true order of preference with the most preferred as #1. HN1 MM2 

Step 3: Register for the High School Admissions Test (HSAT)

All Selective Enrollment schools require students to take the High School Admissions Tests (HSAT) and many Choice programs require HSAT scores as well. We recommend that all students take the HSAT, regardless of their current choices, in case they decide to apply to a different school later. 

The HSAT evaluates a student’s reading comprehension and mathematical abilities. It provides a comprehensive measure of a student’s readiness for the rigorous academic environment at these selective high schools.

Current CPS/Charter School students do not need to register or schedule a test date because the HSAT will be administered during the school day. Although the exact date of this year’s HSAT has not yet been announced, we expect it will take place in October like in previous years.

Non-CPS Students, however, do need to schedule a HSAT test date. Students may select from several test dates (usually 3-4 options and usually all October dates) at a designated CPS location. 

All About the High School Admissions Test (HSAT)

Format

The HSAT is composed of two sections: Reading and Mathematics. The number of questions varies, but each section takes approximately 30 minutes. 

Scoring

All schools that utilize the HSAT use a point-based score to determine student acceptance. A student’s score will be out of 900 total points with the HSAT making up 50% of points and their 7^th grade grades making up the other 50%. Your points are calculated using a Scoring Rubric.

The HSAT Reading and Math points are determined by multiplying the student’s percentile in each subject by 2.2727. For example, a student who scores in the 97^th percentile in reading and in the 94^th percentile in Math has a score of 433 (220+213). The highest possible points a student can receive on the HSAT is 450. 

The number of points a student receives for their 7^th Grade grades is determined by the student’s overall grade in Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Each ‘A’ grade is worth 112.5 points, each ‘B’ grade is worth 75 points, and each ‘C’ grade is worth 38 points. No points are awarded for ‘D’ or ‘F’ grades. The highest possible points a student can receive for their 7^thGrade grades is 450.

Students typically receive their HSAT scores in November and are then provided with an opportunity to re-rank their schools before the application window closes in December.  

More information about the HSAT can be found here. 

Receiving an Offer or Being Waitlisted

Initial program offers are usually released in mid-late February, allowing students about a month to accept or decline their offer.  

How Offers Are Determined?

Students are placed in line for every program that they applied for based on their point totals, in descending point order. The first 30% of the available seats are for the highest performing students, regardless of their tier. The remaining students are placed into their respective tiers in descending point order. The remaining seats at a program are equally divided across the 4 tiers.

*Students shown in green were awarded a seat at this program.
**Cut Score is the lowest score admitted in each tier during the initial offer process.

A Word on Tiers

The city is divided into four tiers, based on census data and many factors including education level, owner-occupied homes, and more. The first tier represents the lowest-income areas. Seats at Choice and Selective Enrollment schools are divided amongst the four tiers to ensure equal access to the programs offered by the district. You can look up your tier by using this map. Please note, an address’s tier may change over time based on updated census data. You can learn more about the CPS Tiers Here.

Need Help?

HSAT test scores and 7^th Grade grades make up a student’s application score. If your child struggles with testing or could benefit from academic tutoring to bring up their overall grades, fear not! With over 20+ years of experience, Academic Approach knows the HSAT material and high school admissions process backwards and forwards. 

We’ve supported Chicago students and families through this ordeal many times before and have an incredible team and outstanding instructors ready to help. Give us a call and sign your student up for HSAT tutoring now!