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CPS Selective Enrollment High School
Walter Payton College Prep
Near North Side · 1,200 students
Admission cutoff scores
Approximate published cutoffs for the 900-point composite (450 HSAT + 450 7th-grade GPA).
Tier 1
838
lowest socioeconomic group
Tier 2
866
Tier 3
882
Tier 4
891
highest socioeconomic group
Rank-all
893
top 30% across all tiers
About Payton
- Among the highest-ranked public high schools in Illinois.
- Strong AP, IB, and college-prep curriculum.
- Robust language and global studies programs.
How to prep for the Payton cutoff
Payton requires near-perfect performance to clear the rank-all (top 30%) cutoff. Focus on:
- Strong 7th-grade core grades (A in English, Math, Science, Social Studies = 450 GPA points).
- HSAT preparation that reaches the 443 HSAT-points target (98% of the HSAT max).
- Multiple full-length timed mocks under real-test conditions before the October test.
- Vocabulary mastery — the Reading section relies on academic vocabulary heavily.
- Mental math fluency — no calculator on test day.
Other CPS Selective Enrollment schools
Cutoff data is approximate and changes year to year. Treat as a target, not a guarantee. The official source of truth is the GoCPS portal at cps.edu/gocps.