These aren't fallback schools
Chicago has eleven Selective Enrollment High Schools, not five. Walter Payton, Northside, Whitney Young, Jones, and Lane Tech get most of the parent conversation because their cutoffs are highest — but Brooks, Lindblom, King, Westinghouse, Hancock, and South Shore International are genuine selective programs with real cutoffs, real college-prep outcomes, and distinct identities. Students are admitted on academic merit, not proximity.
For many families, one of these six is the stronger choice. A student in Englewood who attends Lindblom avoids a 60-minute commute to a north-side school. A student interested in IB at Brooks or South Shore gets a rigorous international-baccalaureate credential at a school that fits their neighborhood. A student whose composite is competitive for Westinghouse but not Lane Tech is not facing a consolation — Westinghouse is a real Selective Enrollment school with a real cutoff.
Historical cutoffs cited in this guide are approximate figures from the 2024-25 HSAT cycle on the 900-point scale. CPS has not published PreACT 9 Secure cutoffs for the 2026-27 cycle as of this writing; expect them near the start of the school year. Tier 1 cutoffs are roughly 45-60 points below the rank-all cutoff at each school.
Brooks College Prep
Located in Roseland on the Far South Side, at 111th Street and Cottage Grove. Approximately 900 students. Offers the IB Diploma Programme — one of the few CPS schools with full IB — and a strong college-prep track. Historical rank-all cutoff ≈ 830, Tier 1 ≈ 783.
Best for: students in Roseland, Pullman, and the southernmost Chicago neighborhoods who want IB rigor without a 60-minute commute north. The IB credential carries real weight on selective college applications and sets Brooks apart from other programs in this group.
Watch for: confirm the current status of the IB program directly at the school's open house — program offerings evolve. Brooks is the largest of the six schools in this guide, so experiences can vary significantly by department and cohort.
Lindblom Math & Science Academy
Located in Englewood at 6130 S. Wolcott Avenue. Approximately 700 students — smaller and more intense than most other SEHS. Strong math and science focus with a demanding college-prep track. Historical rank-all cutoff ≈ 825, Tier 1 ≈ 775.
Best for: students who are serious about math and science, want small class sizes and close faculty attention, and live on the South or Southwest Side. Alumni consistently rate Lindblom as more academically rigorous than its cutoff might suggest — it punches above its tier.
Watch for: smaller school means fewer electives, less arts depth, and lighter athletics compared to Lane Tech or Whitney Young. Students who want the full big-school experience alongside academics will find Lindblom more narrowly focused.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep
Located in the Kenwood neighborhood at 4445 S. Drexel Boulevard, near Hyde Park. Approximately 800 students. Offers a general college-prep curriculum with AP course options. Historical rank-all cutoff ≈ 805, Tier 1 ≈ 750.
Best for: students in Bronzeville, Kenwood, Woodlawn, and Hyde Park who want a focused college-prep environment without a cross-city commute. King's location gives it one of the more convenient CTA footprints of any South Side SEHS.
Watch for: King does not have the STEM specialization of Lindblom or the IB programs of Brooks and South Shore — it is a solid general college-prep school. Students who want a specialized academic track should weigh that gap against the geographic convenience.
George Westinghouse College Prep
Located in East Garfield Park at 3223 W. Franklin Boulevard. Approximately 700 students. College-prep curriculum with AP access. Historical rank-all cutoff ≈ 790, Tier 1 ≈ 735.
Best for: students on the west side — East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, and nearby neighborhoods — who want SEHS access without a 45-60 minute commute to a north-side program. Westinghouse fills a gap in the SEHS map for families west of the Kennedy Expressway.
Watch for: like many west-side CPS schools, Westinghouse operates in a challenging neighborhood, and extracurricular depth may be thinner than at larger programs. Students who thrive here tend to be self-driven and clear on their academic goals.
Hancock College Prep and South Shore International
Hancock is located in the Austin neighborhood on the far west side. South Shore International College Prep sits at 1955 E. 75th Street in South Shore on the Southeast Side, near the lakefront. Both serve communities that have fewer nearby SEHS options — Austin and South Shore are each roughly 10-14 miles from the cluster of north-side schools. Historical rank-all cutoffs: Hancock ≈ 770, South Shore ≈ 775; Tier 1 cutoffs ≈ 715-720.
South Shore International's 'International' designation is substantive: the school has historically offered IB-aligned programming and a curriculum with international context, making it comparable to Brooks for families who want IB but live on the Southeast Side. South Shore is the right first SEHS to research for students in South Shore, South Chicago, and Jeffrey Manor.
Hancock is a smaller college-prep program serving the far west side. For a student in Austin, Hancock is the practical SEHS choice — it has a real cutoff and real college outcomes, and the commute is manageable. Confirm the current program catalog at open house; smaller SEHS programs can shift their AP and elective offerings year to year.
How to choose and rank these schools on GoCPS
Start with geography. Calculate the real daily commute from your home to each school you're considering — public transit, not best-case driving. A 15-minute walk beats a 50-minute L ride at 7am every weekday for four years, regardless of which school's cutoff is slightly higher. Commute sustainability matters more over four years than it does on an open-house visit.
Add the programs that actually matter to your child. If IB is the goal, Brooks and South Shore are the ones to research first. If STEM intensity is the priority, Lindblom is a different conversation than Westinghouse. If west-side geography is the real constraint, rank Westinghouse and Hancock above schools that would require a cross-city commute.
List all realistic schools on your GoCPS application — don't leave ranking slots empty. The GoCPS matching algorithm never penalizes you for listing a safer school; it can only improve your outcome. A student who lists only top-five programs and misses them all gets no SEHS offer. A student who also lists Brooks or Lindblom in the middle of their list has a genuine selective school as a fallback, not a neighborhood school.
Bottom line
The top-five conversation dominates Chicago HSAT prep, but eleven schools offer Selective Enrollment. Brooks and Lindblom are academically strong enough to produce graduates who go to competitive colleges; King, Westinghouse, Hancock, and South Shore serve neighborhoods that the top-five programs don't reach geographically. A well-built GoCPS list includes several of these schools, chosen by fit — not as afterthoughts, but as intentional options.
Visit the schools that are realistic for your child's composite and your neighborhood. Open houses happen in the fall. The CPS tier lookup tool at gocps.org shows your tier and helps you understand which cutoff applies to your family.