High School Priority Group Preferences

Sibling Priority Preference

Some programs offer a priority to applicants that have a sibling already attending the school to which they are applying. Not all programs offer this priority, check the program's details to see if the programs you are interested in have a sibling preference.

ALL of the following requirements must be met in order to qualify for sibling preference:

• The “sibling” must be a natural sibling, step-sibling, foster sibling, or adopted sibling who lives in the same household as the applicant.
• The applicant must have a sibling who is currently enrolled and will remain enrolled in the school to which the applicant is applying. This means that siblings in their final year at that school will not allow the applicant to qualify for sibling preference.
• You must provide identifying sibling information on the GoCPS application (currently enrolled student's name, current school name, and CPS ID number), or sibling preference will not be given during the selection process. Make sure that this information is current and up to date in Aspen. Both the primary guardian and the address must be the same.

You must submit a GoCPS application to any school outside of your designated neighborhood school if you want your child to be considered for enrollment, even if you already have a child enrolled at that school.

When Sibling Priority Does Not Apply

• If an enrolled sibling graduates or transfers to another school. In that case, the offer will be rescinded and the applicant will be placed in the general queue.
• When applying for two or more children without a sibling already enrolled at the school, sibling preference does not apply. There is no priority given to multiple children applying to different grades to the same school or program.
• It does not apply to multiples (siblings from the same pregnancy like twins and triplets) that are applying in the same school year. The terms “twins” and “multiples” do not include siblings adopted during the same year, adopted siblings born during the same 12-month period, biological siblings born during the same 12-month period, or any other circumstance in which siblings are close in age.
  
  • Families of multiples have the option of linking their GoCPS CHOICE applications together so that the students are either admitted together or placed next to each other on the waitlist. Applicants can only be linked when the program is running a lottery-based selections process.
  • If you choose not to indicate on the GoCPS application that your children are multiples, their GoCPS applications will be independently processed in the lottery and their applications will not be linked.

Selection and Waitlist

• If a school receives more GoCPS applications from siblings than there are seats available, a computerized lottery will be conducted to fill the seats.
• Siblings are placed on a sibling waitlist if there is no immediate availability.
• Siblings are not guaranteed an offer. Offers are only given as space is available.

Staff Priority Preference

Some programs give priority to students applying to 9th grade at a school where their parent/guardian is a full-time staff member.

• Only two seats will be given to the children of CPS staff. If a parent or guardian is not staffed at any specific Chicago Public School, they cannot apply for staff preference.
• The staff members’ “child” or “children” must be natural children, stepchildren, foster children, or adopted children.
• These seats are based on availability after siblings are accommodated. If a parent or guardian is assigned to more than one CPS school, they can only apply for staff preference at only one of the schools and this must be designated in the GoCPS application.
• If there are more than two applicants to a program who qualify for staff preference, the applicants will be put through a computerized lottery. After two seats are filled, all other students will be added to the general queue.

Applying for a School/Program Where Employed

CPS employees must submit a GoCPS application to any school outside of their designated neighborhood school for their child to be considered, even if employed there. CPS employees should use a personal email address and NOT their CPS email address when creating a GoCPS account. Without a GoCPS application, the student cannot be considered. Parents/Guardians will need to provide the name of the school where employed and their CPS Employee ID at the time of application submission.

Selection and Waitlist

Your child will be included on the staff preference waitlist if your child is not selected for a staff preference seat.

Proximity & Overlay Priority Preference

These are geographic preferences, which is why it is very important to have an accurate home address in your application. Proximity preferences are a set radius of the school. Overlays are a specific shape; high school overlay maps can be found here. Applicants who live within the specified area are eligible for these priorities. There can be additional rules, so check that out on the school profile pages.

Elementary Preference

Some elementary programs give students in these programs a priority to a high school program in the selection process. This priority will be listed as Elementary Preference and give the requirements on the school’s profile page.