Apply with confidence and put your plan in action.
The Entrance Exam, How Does it Fit Into Your Application?
The high school entrance exam is a test offered to 8th graders who desire to attend a Catholic high school. The exam is given on the first Saturday in December of each year at all Catholic high schools, except Cristo Rey network schools and St. Francis de Sales High School.
There are four Catholic high schools that do not require students to take the HSPT in order to apply: Cristo Rey Jesuit, Christ the King, and Cristo Rey-St. Martin, and St. Francis de Sales. Each of these schools has a work study program that gives students the opportunity to work at local businesses, firms, schools, and hospitals one day a week during the school day.
Registering for the test in advance is not mandatory but it is encouraged. 8th grade students can register for the test two weeks prior to the test on the website of the school where they plan to test.
Students may take the entrance exam only once as it serves as your application to attend Catholic high school. It is best to take the entrance exam at your top choice high school because you can only apply to one Catholic high school at a time. If you change your mind or are not accepted, you can request that the school where you first tested send your scores to another high school instead.
Even if a Catholic high school is not your overall first choice, it is wise to take the entrance exam in December at one that would be a good fit and match for you. You would also make yourself eligible for that high school’s merit-based scholarships and financial aid that might not be available if you took the entrance exam during a makeup day in the spring.
Test Day.
Before the beginning of February, you will receive communication from the high school letting you know if you have been accepted, waitlisted or declined. You will then need to decide whether to accept the spot at that high school or to have your test scores transferred to another high school.
If you are placed on a waitlist, you should decide whether you wish to remain on the list and stay in consideration for potential openings at that school, or ask that the school send your test scores to another Catholic high school so that you can apply to that other school. Students are only able to take the HSPT once.
Even if a Catholic high school is not your overall first choice, it is wise to take the entrance exam in December at one that would be a good fit and match for you. You would also make yourself eligible for that high school’s merit-based scholarships and financial aid that might not be available if you took the entrance exam during a makeup day in the spring.
On the day of the test, the high school should provide you with information about completing the admissions process and if necessary, financial aid information. This information will contain deadlines for all important paperwork that schools need to receive. After taking the high school entrance exam, you will be asked to submit additional information to the high school where you took the exam to complete your application process. This information will include your middle school report cards.
What Happens After You Take the Entrance Exam?