Chicago Private-School Admissions Timeline

The short version

The first deadline is often an appointment—or a competing deposit.

Most Chicago independent schools open in September, close parent applications from late November through early February, and decide in February. Required shadows, playgroups, interviews, or testing can fill before the form date. Catholic schools add a one-school HSPT decision. GoCPS adds its own application, testing, ranking, and offer calendar.

The most important collision is not theoretical. Latin Grade 9 decides February 11 and GoCPS high schools February 12. Saint Ignatius asks enrolled families to commit February 16, while Parker, Beacon, Latin’s middle/lower grades, and Bernard Zell decide February 26. Families should ask about flexibility, but budget as though the published contract date will hold.

The master calendar

Work backward from February, then protect fall appointment capacity.

A submitted form is only one dependency

Track the adult file and the child’s required encounters separately.

Book student events early: Loyola's eighth-grade shadows run from September into early December, and required playdates and interviews can fill before a form is due. Which visits each school requires is covered in the admissions guide.

Test dates

Book each test early enough to leave a retake.

HSAT runs in October, the HSPT on December 5, and ISEE through the fall and winter. ISEE can be taken once per testing season, so a fall test preserves a winter retake before January materials deadlines. Request accommodations before reserving a date.

Which schools require HSAT, HSPT, ISEE, another score, or no test at all is set out in the admissions guide.

Public and Catholic timing

GoCPS and the HSPT run on their own clocks.

GoCPS closes November 13, before most private applications are due, and its initial high-school offers arrive February 12, between Latin Grade 9 on February 11 and the Saint Ignatius commitment date on February 16. The elementary GoCPS result comes March 12, after Beacon's March 8 contract date.

Saint Ignatius opens its application only after the December 5 HSPT, and its current page publishes the complete Class of 2031 calendar. Loyola's live events page confirms a December 5 HSPT and Fall 2027 visits, but its detailed applying page still describes the prior class. How to rank GoCPS programs and choose an HSPT site is in the admissions guide.

Unknown means ask

Several live pages are partly stale or internally inconsistent.

• Lab invites Fall 2027 inquiries and says applications open in early September, but had not posted an exact admission deadline. Its main application page says notifications occur in late February. Confirm division event sequencing in the portal.
• LFA publishes January 15, 2027 in its headline and FAQ while lower copy still says 2026.
• Catherine Cook shows a current application deadline with older aid and decision dates.
• Sacred Heart says Fall 2027 applications are open while key dates remain older.
• Lycée’s dated page still reflects Fall 2026; use its process and rolling language, not the old dates.
• GoCPS had posted initial offers but not every later acceptance, appeal, principal-discretion, or rolling-waitlist date. The same live page still displays 2026–27 waitlist dates, so read the year in every line.

Recovery is narrower than the main round

A missed gate changes the strategy; it does not authorize an invented extension.

• Before paying a late private application fee: call admissions with grade, residence, aid need, and completed testing. Parker tells post-deadline families to ask whether a grade still has opportunity before submitting.
• After a missing record or recommendation: contact both the sending school and admissions, document the request, and ask whether the file can still be reviewed. Do not create or edit an official document yourself.
• After the GoCPS application closes: ask the Office of Access and Enrollment what late or rolling routes remain. Spring selective-elementary testing exists for rolling waitlists, but CPS warns that seats can be very limited.
• After a missed HSPT or accommodation gate: contact the Catholic school immediately. Testing at a different site or on an unapproved date may not create application eligibility.
• After priority aid: ask about both seat and funds. Rolling admission, a wait pool, and available aid are three different facts.
• After denial or wait pool: keep the viable school enrolled, follow the stated update policy, and prepare a public or rolling-school path. Do not send weekly advocacy unless invited.

Next

Join time to place, support, and cost.

Use the Chicago fit and commute guide and Chicago aid and decisions guide beside the Chicago private school admissions guide. For the public intersection, continue to Payton, Northside, and Lane Tech.