Catholic High School Application Process
Schedule of High School Presentations
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Students must complete a high school’s own application form. Grades, test scores, teacher recommendations and, in some cases, an interview are used in considering applications. Placement test results must be submitted to the high school before the high school application will be considered for official review, unless otherwise noted in the Schedule of Placement Testing for All Archdiocese of Washington Catholic High Schools. Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School will also have income and other admissions criteria requirements pertaining to its unique work-study mission.
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Parents/guardians need to:
Indicate the schools on the form to which their child intends to apply for admission in Fall 2025
Sign the form authorizing the elementary school to release their child’s records to the schools
If your child is applying to a school that is not listed on the form, please attach a signed records release form for that school.
Return the form with the HSPT registration confirmation letter to the child’s 8th grade teacher by Monday, December 1, 2025.
In addition to completing the Authorization to Release Records form, school selections must also be submitted on the online HSPT Registration form during the High School Choice window. The online form identifies the Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese that use the HSPT as part of their admissions process. Students and their parents/guardians select the high schools to receive the results of the HSPT online.
The High School Choice window opens at the same time as HSPT registration: Monday, October 6. The window closes December 14. If changes are made to the high school selections provided on the Authorization to Release Records form, the form must be updated and re-submitted to the child’s 8th grade teacher.
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Notices of acceptance or non-acceptance will be mailed via U.S. Mail to students by Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Washington on Thursday, February 18, 2027 or on Thursday, February 25, 2027. The specific notification date for each Catholic high school will be included in its admission materials. Each school will also provide students with the information to complete registration for Fall 2027.
Notifications will be released at 12 noon according to the aforementioned dates, by U.S. Mail.
Notifications may be released electronically beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, February 19, 2027 or on Friday, February 26, 2027.
Schools must disseminate all decision notifications on the same date selected by the school.
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Upon notification of acceptance, Catholic high schools may not require students to accept an offer of admission any earlier than Friday, March 12, 2027.
A newly admitted student may elect to accept the offer of admission from a Catholic high school and register at any time.
Catholic high schools may host events to welcome and provide additional information to newly admitted students; however, registration may not be the purpose of such events.
Catholic high schools may request that students who have been offered a merit scholarship notify the school of their intention to decline the scholarship, as soon as possible.
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Each high school and the Archdiocese of Washington offer a variety of tuition assistance and scholarship programs. Applying for tuition assistance has no bearing on whether a student is admitted to a school. Tuition assistance application deadlines are as early as December, so families will know their tuition assistance grants in the same timeframe as when they receive their decision notification letters from high schools.
FACTS administers the application process for the Archdiocesan Tuition Assistance Program. The FACTS Application Form for the 2027-2028 school year must be completed and submitted to FACTS by January 29, 2027, for families applying for tuition assistance from the archdiocese for a high school student.
The form may be obtained in October 2026 at www.adwcatholicschools.org/tuition-assistance
All tuition assistance obtained through the archdiocese is based on financial need. Archdiocesan tuition assistance is open only to students currently enrolled in or applying to Catholic schools located in the archdiocese, which includes Washington, DC and the five Maryland counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s, and St. Mary’s.Catholic high schools will be provided with access to the archdiocesan tuition assistance award report for their school no later than February 18, 2027. Catholic high schools may not disclose archdiocesan tuition assistance decisions prior to applicants receiving their decision letter from the school.
For help with tuition assistance, funding, and education resources, please email tuitionassistanceprogram@adw.org
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The HSPT for students attending Archdiocese of Washington Catholic schools will be administered at their schools on Wednesday, December 2, 2026. All students attending a Catholic elementary school must register to take the HSPT through their elementary schools by completing the online HSPT Registration Form. Only students applying to Catholic high schools that require the HSPT are required to register to take the test.
Parents/guardians complete registration and payment for the test online, and a confirmation letter is sent to the parent/guardian’s email address.
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Elementary school principals will share the link to the online HSPT Registration Form with parents/guardians of 8th-grade students.
Parents/guardians must complete the registration and
payment online. A confirmation email will be sent
upon successful submission.Key Dates:
Registration Opens: Monday, October 5, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, November 30,
2026
Registration Fees:
$70: Includes score reports sent to up to four
Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of
Washington. Parents who wish to add more than
four schools should contact hspt@adw.org for
assistance.+$15: To send scores to one additional school in
the Archdiocese of Baltimore or the Diocese of
Arlington.
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Accommodations: Mrs. Helms will reach out to the parents of students who will receive testing accommodations for the HSPT.
Make-up Testing:
To reschedule due to illness, parents/guardians must contact the school principal. The make-up test may be scheduled on or before December 7, 2026.
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All parents/guardians of students taking the HSPT will receive a copy of their child’s HSPT scores via email by mid-January 2027. All test results will be emailed from Scholastic Testing Services, Inc. Electronic results will be emailed from reports@ststesting.com. Catholic schools are not permitted to release students’ scores.
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HSPT and High School Admissions
September:
High School representatives will begin visiting OLOL (through October) for short presentations and Q&A.
Parents should call or email to set up high school visits. Students should let their teachers know when they will be absent. Students are responsible for making up any work they miss while on high school visits.
Start looking at high school websites to start the application process and find out about requirements, setting up admission portals, testing, essay topics, etc.
Begin considering your essay, writing drafts, and if you would like you can ask Mrs. Peacemaker, Mrs. Long, or Mrs. Helms to go over your essays and offer suggestions.
October 5: HSPT online test registration and High School Choice Window opens
HSPT online test registration opens. The registration link is available at:
www.adwcatholicschools.org/high-school/placement-testsPrincipals share the registration link with their 8th grade families.
Families complete online test registration and payment.
Indicate the schools on the form to which their
child intends to apply for admission in fall 2027.Sign the form authorizing the elementary school
to release their child’s records to the school; andReturn the form with the HSPT registration
confirmation letter to the child’s 8th-grade teacher
by Monday, November 30, 2026.
The High School Choice(s) window opens on Monday, October 5, 2026, and closes on Sunday, December 13, 2026.
November 30:
HSPT online registration closes: make sure a copy of the registration confirmation has been turned in.
Last day for students to return the Authorization to Release Records form to Mrs. Peacemaker. Please include signed records release forms from any schools that are not listed on the ADW form.
December 2: HSPT is administered at Our Lady of Lourdes
December 13: Window for selecting High School Choice(s) Modification closes
Early January: STS sends all HSPT score reports to parents/guardians via electronic mail
Mid-February: Notice of Acceptance/Non Acceptance by U.S. Mail, email, or phone call.
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*Please check high school admissions websites to confirm each school’s specific application deadlines and requirements
-Some schools require other tests (i.e. SSAT) that you will need to schedule on your own or through the school
-Some schools may require interviews
*The signed records releases are extremely important to turn in on time, as OLOL cannot send any of your child’s information to the high school without it. Even if you are applying to a private school with a later admissions deadline, we need all records release forms turned in by November 30, preferably earlier!
*All digital transcript requests for non-ADW high schools should be emailed to Mrs. Helms
*High school applications require teacher recommendations. The Archdiocese of Washington has a common recommendation form that the OLOL teachers will complete and send to ADW high schools for each student applying.
Therefore, if your child is applying to these schools, you do not need to request separate, school-specific teacher recommendations:
DeMatha
Gonzaga
Holy Cross
Elizabeth Seton
Visitation
Carroll
McNamara
Good Counsel
St. John’s
St. Mary’s Ryken
Pallotti
Don Bosco
Avalon
Brookewood
Stone Ridge
If your child is applying to other schools, you will need to submit those school’s specific teacher recommendation forms. Usually these will go directly to the child’s math and reading teachers.
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HSPT:
Academy of the Holy Cross
Archbishop Carroll
Bishop McNamara
DeMatha Catholic High School
Don Bosco Cristo Rey (optional)
Elizabeth Seton
Georgetown Visitation
Gonzaga
Our Lady of Good Counsel
St. Mary’s Ryken
St. John’s
St. Vincent Pallotti
SSAT:
Georgetown Prep
St. Anselm’s Abbey
In-House Assessment:
Holy Child
Stone Ridge
No placement testing required:
Brookewood
Avalon