GoCPS 2027-28: Applications Close Friday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m., and When Offers Come

GoCPS applications for the 2027-28 school year close Friday, Nov. 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM, according to the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) GoCPS page, which lists that time for both elementary and high school. The page gives no time zone. Chicago is on Central Time (CT) in November, so we read it as 5 p.m. Chicago time, which is 6 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) (our conversion). Initial high school offers are released Feb. 12, 2027 and elementary offers March 12.

GoCPS 2027-28 dates from application to offers

The days left are counted from Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 (our math).

Step	Date	Days left from Nov. 6
GoCPS application closes, elementary and high school (5:00 PM)	Fri., Nov. 13, 2026	7
Early Entrance to Kindergarten application closes (5:00 PM)	Fri., Nov. 13, 2026	7
All high school waitlists close	January 2027 (no day given)	Not yet announced
Initial high school offers released	Fri., Feb. 12, 2027	98
Initial elementary offers released	Fri., March 12, 2027	126

CPS says the application opened Sept. 9, 2026 at 10:00 AM. For the days that follow, see our November 2026 printable calendar and February 2027 printable calendar.

Applications close at 5 p.m. Chicago time

CPS prints “5:00 PM” and no zone. Families outside the Central Time zone should work from the Chicago clock.

Zone	Deadline on Fri., Nov. 13 (our conversion)
Central Time (Chicago)	5 p.m.
Eastern Time	6 p.m.

Last year the deadline fell a day later in the month. In a community update dated Nov. 10, 2025, CPS said 2026-27 applications were due at “5 p.m. on Friday, November 14, 2025.” Both deadlines are Fridays at 5 p.m.

School year	Deadline
2026-27	Fri., Nov. 14, 2025, 5 p.m.
2027-28	Fri., Nov. 13, 2026, 5:00 PM

What to do before 5 p.m. on Friday

CPS tells families that “you will rank the programs in order of preference” on the high school apply page. Its guidance reads “Rank all programs applying for in true order of preference.” A checklist built from that:

1. Rank every program you applied for in true order of preference, with your first choice at the top.
2. Check each program on the list again before you submit.
3. Submit the application, then confirm it went through.
4. Do it before the close, not at 4:59 p.m.

CPS says its process offers “the highest ranked program on their GoCPS application that they are eligible for.” The same page says students may attend the neighborhood high school general education program for their home address. It does not say whether that requires an application, so check with CPS.

Has the High School Admissions Test window passed?

Yes. On the High School Admissions Test (HSAT) page, CPS listed school-day testing on Oct. 7, 2026 and non-CPS weekend testing on Oct. 17-18 and Oct. 24-25. CPS says “All GoCPS applicants applying to 9th grade take the HSAT in 8th grade,” that “Students can only take the test one time: no retakes are allowed,” and that it “is not able to offer any testing outside of the designated window.” The test takes about 2.5 hours, CPS says.

Students aiming at college entrance exams later can see the SAT and ACT test dates for 2026-27.

When are offers released, and how long do families have to decide?

CPS lists Feb. 12, 2027 for initial high school offers and March 12, 2027 for initial elementary offers. On its high school and K-8 acceptance pages, CPS says “In the initial selections window, families will have three weeks to make a decision on whether to accept their offers.” It adds that “Offers that are not accepted by the Offer Acceptance Deadline will automatically expire.”

Level	Offers released	Decision window
High school	Fri., Feb. 12, 2027	About three weeks after offers (CPS has not posted the date)
Elementary	Fri., March 12, 2027	About three weeks after offers (CPS has not posted the date)

The 2027 acceptance deadlines are not yet announced. CPS lists “January 2027” for high school waitlists to close and says “Waitlist offers will be extended every Tuesday and Friday by 10 am.”

Printable GoCPS 2027-28 deadline sheet

The sheet below puts the open date, close, offer dates and the decision window on one page, with a Details column for the time or window CPS gives for each step. For other Chicago dates, see our Chicago Public Schools calendar for 2026-27, and for younger children the kindergarten registration dates for 2027-28.