Stephanie Anderson knew her son Wyatt was drawn to Northside College Prepratory High School long before he applied and was admitted last academic year.
The school’s challenging coursework, student support system, athletics programs and size sold the entire family on Northside, she said — not to mention it’s a short bike ride away from their Bowmanville home.
“He always wanted to go there,” Anderson said of the selective enrollment Chicago Public School. “He’s always loved learning, he loves a challenge, and basically, when he went through the tour, my husband and I went with, (and) he just kind of knew it was the school for him.”
When Wyatt, 14, begins his freshman year at the North Park-based school on Aug. 24, he’ll be walking into one of the best high schools in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Northside College Prep the top high school in Illinois and 30th best nationwide earlier this week.
This is a jump from Northside College Prep’s position on last year’s list, in which it trailed Walter Payton College Preparatory High School as the second-best school in Illinois and ranked 40th in the U.S., according to data reviewed by the Tribune.
Although Walter Payton College Prep took the top slot in Illinois and was ranked 32nd overall among high schools across the country in 2025, it slid in this year’s rankings, falling to 54th overall nationally and second in the state, according to U.S. News and World Report.
The annual rankings take into account criteria like college readiness — measured by the number of students who took an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test and earned a qualifying score.
In addition to the graduation rate, the rankings also consider factors such as a school’s proficiency on the state’s standardized tests, how its performance compares with similar schools, and how well Black, Latino and underserved students fare on state assessments, according U.S. News’ website.
As one of the district’s best schools, Northside Prep is also one of the toughest to get into.
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Northside Prep received 6,394 applications and offered admission to 299 students, resulting in an acceptance rate of little less than a 5%, according to Chicago Public Schools’ most recent admissions data. Admission to Walter Payton is even more competitive, at 4.41%. Harvard University is only slightly more difficult to get into, with a 4% acceptance rate.
Students at the city’s selective enrollment high schools are uniquely positioned to get into some of the country’s best colleges, according to Charlie Howard, owner of Test Prep Chicago, an education consultancy that helps students prepare for standardized tests including the High School Admissions Test administered by CPS. Chicago is rare in that students can test into some of the country’s most revered high schools.
“They are cherry-picking students from all around the city,” he said, adding that it’s the students who are large contributors to why schools like Northside Prep, Walter Payton, Lane Tech and Whitney Young Magnet High School are so strong academically. “They are high-performing students, students who take school very seriously,” he said.
For Anderson, the ranking is a confirmation of the positive feelings she already had toward Northside Prep, its programming, and community.
“(I’m) so glad he got in, and I’m just very proud of the staff and the school for creating an inclusive space that helps all of the students meet their potential and accelerate their learning,” Anderson said.
While Wyatt is on the cusp of his Northside Prep experience, Hannah Shearn’s daughter Miriam’s time at the school is slowly starting to wrap. Miriam, 17, will be a rising senior this fall at the school, which Shearn described as being a “wonderful experience” for her child.
Northside’s curriculum met Miriam’s needs, Shearn said. The academic rigor and staff support from the beginning of high school weighed into the decision to go with Northside, Shearn said.
Miriam balances academics with extracurriculars like competitive dance and cultural clubs, Shearn said.
“One of the things I noticed from the start of freshman year is that they’re very serious about that when you’re there, that this is a college preparatory school,” Shearn said. “That is definitely their focus and it feels like they’re very intentional about this process, leading to the fact that (for) your student, most likely, college will be their next step, so I’ve been very impressed with the counseling staff and the teachers being very aware of the process.”
In a statement shared with the Tribune, Northside Principal Patricia Stuber described the new ranking as “truly awesome.”
“It’s nice for the students and staff to have this recognition,” Stuber said in the statement. “What we hear a lot from (Northside parents) is about the (student) nerves related to starting high school, but then it becomes about how happy they are to find themselves and that they are genuinely happy to be here.”
Several other CPS schools landed high in this year’s rankings, including Lane Technical High School, which ranked 80th in the country and third in the state. Jones College Preparatory High School also cracked the nation’s top 100 schools, ranking 99th, and was listed as the fifth-best school in the state. Stuber highlighted those high rankings across the district in her message, stating that “we’re all one city, one school system — one CPS.”
“We are all working with each other and cheering each other on and being there for each other — while also focusing on what our one (individual) school community will do well to support students,” Stuber said. “All our students are unique and we can all shine together.”
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