MPS high schools use admission criteria only if there are more applicants than available seats. Each applicant will be given a points score based on five criteria, such as attendance, writing activity, report card, and standardized test scores in English language arts and math. Students will be admitted in order of their scores until the school reaches full capacity. While a school does not have a preset minimum score for admission, if there are more applicants than available seats, the admission criteria are applied. The high schools listed below used admission criteria last year:
Audubon High School – 4 points
Golda Meir High School – 9 points
Milwaukee School of Languages – 5 points
Ronald Reagan IB High School – 10 points
Rufus King IB High School – 5 points
On Friday, September 20, 2024, parents/guardians of 8th-grade MPS students will receive an email with a letter detailing their child's preliminary points. This letter will help you and your child make an informed choice for their first-choice school. Families without an email address on file will receive a paper copy by U.S. mail. For questions about the scores or criteria, please email highschooladmissions@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
District staff will also be available to answer questions at the high school enrollment fair on Saturday, September 28, 2024, from 9:00 am to noon at South Division High School.
**Students applying to Milwaukee High School of the Arts must select an arts major, and will be invited to an audition after they are accepted at the school. The audition results will be used to appropriately program students.
- Music (Band, Orchestra, Vocal, Piano, Jazz Studies, Guitar)
- Dance
- Literary Arts
- Theater & Film
- Visual Art & Design / Pre-Engineering & Design
Milwaukee High School of the Arts: on-site auditions will be offered during the high school enrollment fair at South Division. Students interested in auditioning for Milwaukee High School of the Arts should visit the audition page @ schools.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/mhsa/admissions/audition/ to prepare for their audition. Students who do not complete the audition during the enrollment fair will be scheduled for an audition at a later date.
Students who do not complete the audition by March 30, 2025, will be assigned to their attendance area high school after the early enrollment process has concluded.