We publish 15 in-depth prep guides covering 15 selective enrollment and competitive admission schools in Ohio, including Archbishop McNicholas High School, Archbishop Moeller High School, Bishop Hartley High School, Bishop Watterson High School, Cincinnati Country Day School (CCDS), Columbus Academy, Mercy McAuley High School, Mount Notre Dame High School, and 7 more — covering essays, exam strategy, and application timelines.
McNicholas reads the application essay for merit awards, and its scholarship and aid forms are due November 16, five days before the November 21 HSPT. See the dates in order and what the school does and does not publish.
One Saturday in November determines whether your son earns a spot at Archbishop Moeller — and which scholarship tier he lands in. This prep guide covers every HSPT section, Moeller-specific score benchmarks, the application essay, and a 10-week study timeline built around the Archdiocese of Cincinnati's single test date.
Bishop Hartley High School requires the HSPT and a timed scholarship essay — two high-stakes assessments that most 8th graders face without school-specific guidance. This guide covers the Diocese of Columbus November and December test windows, realistic score targets for admission and scholarship consideration, and exactly how STEM Critical Thinking and Essay Writing practice tests build the skills Bishop Hartley's Scholarship Committee evaluates.
Your Columbus 8th grader gets one shot at the Bishop Watterson HSPT — and your January test date is closer than you think. This guide covers Diocese of Columbus test logistics, section-by-section score targets for admission and honors placement, and a week-by-week prep plan built specifically for Bishop Watterson applicants.
Cincinnati Country Day School requires the ISEE for all applicants in grades 5–12, and the stakes are high — CCDS waitlists fill fast at key entry grades. This guide maps Middle Level and Upper Level ISEE prep directly to CCDS's multi-factor admissions review, including target stanine context, the November–April Saturday testing calendar, and why STEM critical thinking practice is the highest-leverage skill CCDS applicants can build.
Columbus Academy ISEE prep starts with one question almost every family gets wrong: which level of the test does your child actually need? I've watched students arrive at test day having studied the wrong level entirely — a preventable mistake that burns one of their three allowed testing attempts and sets prep back by weeks. Columbus Academy uses the ISEE Middle Level for Grade 6 and Grade 7 entry, and the ISEE Upper Level for Grade 9 through Grade 12 entry. Getting that right before your child opens a single practice book is the most important step in the entire process.
Your daughter gets one shot at the November HSPT — and Mercy McAuley uses that single score for admissions, course placement, and scholarship decisions. This guide covers score targets, the no-retake rule, the Catherine McAuley Scholarship, and why STEM Critical Thinking practice tests are the most efficient way to raise her Quantitative Skills score before test day.
Your daughter has one Saturday in November to set her Mount Notre Dame scholarship tier for all four years. This guide covers the Billiart Scholar 90th-percentile HSPT target, Archdiocese of Cincinnati one-shot test rules, exact 2027 dates, and an 8-week STEM-focused study plan built for MND applicants.
The Purcell Marian HSPT is Saturday, November 21, 2026 — and Cincinnati 8th graders get exactly one attempt. This guide covers the Archdiocese of Cincinnati test format, score release timeline, scholarship impact, and a week-by-week prep plan built specifically for Purcell Marian applicants.
Saint Ignatius High School requires the HSPT plus a written response prompt on the same December test day — and your son's score directly determines merit scholarship eligibility. This guide covers every Saint Ignatius HSPT detail Cleveland-area families need, from registration deadlines to score stakes to a prep plan that starts in 7th grade.
The St. Francis DeSales High School entrance exam is the HSPT — 298 multiple-choice questions that shape both your admissions decision and your scholarship award. This guide gives Columbus 8th graders a school-specific prep plan tied to DeSales's January test date, scoring system, and Academic Merit Scholarship criteria — detail you won't find in any generic HSPT resource.
Your son has one shot at the November HSPT — and his score determines not just admission to St. Xavier High School but also renewable scholarship money and his 9th-grade academic track. This guide covers St. Xavier's 70th-percentile admissions benchmark, the scholarship math against $17,350/year tuition, and why the Quantitative Skills section is the best area to drill before November 21, 2026.