CPS selective enrollment high schools: What you need to know

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The process for getting into a selective enrollment high school in Chicago can be even more confusing than college admissions. Here's a brief overview of how the system works:

Chicago has 11 selective enrollment schools designated for academically advanced students: Brooks, Hancock, Jones, Lane, Lindblom, King, Northside, Payton, South Shore, Westinghouse and Whitney Young.

According to CPS, students' admission scores are based on a possible 900 points, with equal weights given to 7th grade test scores, 7th grade final grades, and the Selective Enrollment Entrance Exam taken in 8th grade.

Click here to calculate your child's score to date.

A student's chance of getting into the city's selective enrollment high schools also depends on where they live. Selective schools use admissions quotas to reserve an equal number of spots for students from higher income and lower income neighborhoods. The quota is in place to foster diversity in the city's selective schools.

Students are assigned a tier based on where they live, with students in tier 1 generally having less education and income than students in tier 4. Selective enrollment schools give 30 percent of their open seats to their highest-performing applicants, regardless of where they live in the city. Then, schools fill the remaining 70 percent by looking at applicants from each tier in isolation, and offering enrollment to the top students within each tier.

Cick here to look up which tier you live in.

This week is the deadline to apply for CPS students to apply for the high schools they wish to attend.

It can all be done online now using "GoCPS." The process has been simplified into one application, whereas in the past, students had to fill out separate applications with different deadlines.

The deadline is Friday, December 14. Everyone who submits an application by the deadline will be considered at the same time.

For more information and to begin the application process, visit www.go.cps.edu.