• It is IMPORTANT to know if you are either a District or a Non-District Student because the application process is a little different (see below).
• Research your options for schools.  There are three types of School District of Philadelphia Schools:
  • Special Admission Schools (academic criteria based)
  • City Wide Admission Schools (lottery based on space)
  • Neighborhood Schools (lottery based on space)
• Once you find the schools you like, make sure you have what you need to apply to the schools of your choice.
• Know that if a student does not receive an approval through this process, they will be assigned to their neighborhood or feeder school, according to the home address, unless a seat in a Non-District School is obtained.  There are some exceptions:
  • If a student currently goes to a District school that is NOT their catchment school, the student has the right to follow the feeder pattern.
  • If a student has specific learning needs that their neighborhood school cannot provide, an alternative school will be assigned.
• Know your options.

• Figure out which schools you would like your student/child to apply to.  MAKE THESE CHOICES CAREFULLY!
  • Does your student/child fit the school? Are his or her strengths or interests aligned with what the school has to offer?
  • Does your student/child meet the criteria for admission?  This includes, but is not limited to: Grades, Attendance, Behavior and Standardized Test Score Results.
  • Be prepared to meet any additional requirements of that particular school, like writing samples/essays, or going to an audition or interview.
  • Make sure you know where the schools are located and any SEPTA routes needed to get there.

District Students apply through their Parent & Family Portal.  The student account is already linked to all their academic records which includes grades, attendance, behavior and standardized test scores. When the application is filled out, everything tied to your account will automatically be sent to the Special Admission Schools on the application.  You will however be responsible for uploading any essays, or letters of recommendation where applicable.

***NOTE***
If your student/child IS a School District of Philadelphia Student this year, but was NOT a School District of Philadelphia student last year, he/she will not be set up in the system where the records will be sent. You will have to send hard copies of ALL academic records to each Special Admission School.

Non-District Students have to submit an Online Application in addition to uploading all of the necessary records, in order to be considered. The application is through a different portal and families should be prepared by already having electronic copies of the academic records which includes but is not limited to Grades, Attendance, Behavior and Standardized Test Score Results.

• All documents can be uploaded in any of the following formats: (pdf, .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .pic, .pict, .png, .tiff).
• SPECIAL NOTE: for all Non-District Students, once you have submitted the application for consideration, CHANGES TO THE APPLICATION CANNOT BE MADE.  IF YOU ATTEMPT TO DO SO, IT WILL DELETE THE PREVIOUS APPLICATION.

What’s Next?

• District Families and Students may log into their portal as many times as they wish to view or make changes to their application so long as the application window remains open.
• Non District Families and Students should ensure your application was submitted correctly with all the items needed.  Unfortunately you WILL NOT BE NOTIFIED if something is missing.  Non District Families and Students should check the e-mail address that was used to submit the application because the confirmation receipt indicating that the application went through will be sent to that address.  This confirmation receipt does NOT MEAN AN APPROVAL.  It only means that the application was received.
• The first round of decisions comes out in January, so stay tuned.

Your notification will list each school on the application and whether or not your student was accepted into the school, not accepted into the school, or placed on the schools wait list.  If an approval was received, you must choose which school your student will attend (please follow the specific instructions on the notification once it is received).  This will make sure your student has a seat at that school.  You may only accept one school, and you cannot change your selection once it has been made.   The only time the decision can be changed is if your student was placed on the wait list and that school contacted you indicating a seat is available.  You may only change your selected school once.   If your student was placed on the wait list by more than one school, you will have to wait until one of the schools contacts you indicating space is available.

See our Notification FAQs for more details about this part of the process.

How exactly will you receive the notification?
Notifications will be available on January 15, 2021 starting at 5:00 PM.
School District of Philadelphia Students must log into your Account through the Family or Student Portal (the same way you applied to the schools back in September).  Note: Traffic to the site is traditionally very high, so if you don’t get through at first, please wait a few minutes and try again!

Once you’re logged in, please look on the left side of the screen for the navigation options and go to the “Message Center”.  The School Selection Graduation Cap Icon will appear to the right (Green Icon for Students and Grey Icon for Parents).  From there, you will click on the School Selection icon which will take you to your application.

There will be a link that reads “Click here to see results”.  After clicking on the link, you will then see the list of schools you applied to.  Next to each of the schools you will see the decision each of the school made.

You will see that you have either been (a) Accepted, (b) placed on the schools Wait-List or (c) have been Disapproved to the schools you applied to.  See below for more info on each.

Non-District Students will receive an e-mail to the e-mail address that was provided when filling out the application.

(Please make sure to check ALL of the inboxes to your e-mail account because sometimes the response can end up in the “junk”, “trash” or “spam” folder by accident.)

Once you open the e-mail, you will find a link in the body of the e-mail.  Click on the link and it will open a new page to show you the Notification Letter containing all the results.

You will see that you have either been (a) Accepted, (b) placed on the schools Wait-List or (c) have been Disapproved to the schools you applied to.  See below for more info on each.

What happens if I receive a(n):
(a) Approval?
YOU MUST REPLY.  You must reply by selecting the school you wish to attend.  If you have been accepted by more than one school, please select the one you want to attend.  Even if you only have ONE APPROVAL, you MUST RESPOND to let us know if you still want to attend that school.

District Students: Please click the appropriate box, reflecting your decision to “Accept the Approval” or “Decline the Approval” next to the schools on your list.  At the bottom of the page, click the UPDATE APPLICATION button to save your selection.
Non-District Students: please follow the instructions on your notification letter.**Your reply must be submitted before the designated deadline in January 2021.  The exact date will be listed on your School Response Notification.**
If you do NOT choose one of the approved schools or reply by the designated deadline, your approval will automatically be switched to a Disapproval, and your seat will no longer be available.  REMEMBER: EVEN IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE APPROVAL, you must still reply to commit to that school and secure your spot.

(b) Wait-List:
You may find that you were wait listed at one or more schools.

If you were accepted by one or more schools, but wait-listed on others, begin the process by selecting your first choice among the schools that approved you. Then wait to hear from your wait-listed schools (see below).
If you are only wait-listed, that means you’re currently slated for your neighborhood school, but awaiting a possible spot from a wait-list.
In either case, there is no additional action required from you, while waiting to hear back from those schools (except if you fit into scenario (i), you must select your first choice among the schools that approved you, while you wait). The School Selection process consists of two rounds of notifications. If your child is selected from a waiting-list in the second round, you will receive communication directly from that school. You will decide then, whether to change from the school you’ve currently accepted, or to accept the new offer from the wait list school.

If you decline the offer from the wait list school, you do not need to do anything else.  You will stay enrolled in the school you initially chose.  If you accept the new offer, you still do not need to do anything – the new school will change your status in the system for you.

You will receive a final notification by the end of February (same process as the initial notification so check your account or email, depending on whether you are a District or Non-District Student).  If you have changed schools, your notification status on that wait list school will now say “Approved”, and your former school’s status will now reflect “Disapproved.”

Remember: If an approval was received by more than one school but placed on the Wait-List at another/others…
You must still choose a school from your current choices in order to hold a spot while you wait for an answer from your list of wait listed schools.  You will be allowed to make a change if you are accepted later by your wait-listed school(s), but you don’t want to risk losing your spot.

(c)  Disapproval?
A Disapproval means that the School Based Selection Team evaluated the student’s application and supporting documents and has determined that the student does not meet the entrance criteria.  You must choose from the schools that have approved your application.

If you were not approved by any of your selected schools, you will automatically be enrolled in your neighborhood school that is unless you have secured a seat in a Non School District of Philadelphia School.  To pursue further action, please contact the Office of Student Enrollment and Placement at schoolselect@philasd.org.