Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, Chicago | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Ya know, I’m not the most academically gifted person, but my time at Walter Payton(Despite all of my complaining), was an amazing high school experience. The work is challenging but it is very very worth it if you take classes that you are genuinely interested in. You won’t really get much choice until your junior year, but when you do, the experience really becomes more interesting. My freshman year was easy, my sophomore year challenging, my junior year the hardest of my life, and my senior year just a step below (why did I take AP Lit?). The teachers here are amazing but it really depends on you reaching out and letting them know you need help. While my junior year was hardest, I never once felt like I had no access to extra tutoring or help. I’ve even had teachers willing to stay for several hours after the final bell to help students, which is amazing. Lots of clubs here too and starting one isn’t so hard. I ran a comic book club (my heart and soul) my senior year and it was one of the greatest experiences of my young life. I think it’s important to make sure you have a balance of social activities and academics, or things can get stressful real fast. I also like that this school basically has no tolerance for bullies or discrimination. Be that as it may, when there are so many kids coming from different areas of the city, there’s bound to be some level of ignorance. Despite that, I made plenty of great friends from various backgrounds and I think going to Payton helps to make one more socially and culturally aware. On a final note, I’d recommend people NOT take AP courses just because they look good or because your parents force you. Thankfully I didn’t make this mistake and the AP courses I ended up taking were genuinely interesting topics to me and I feel like despite the challenges they brought, those courses were very well worth it (except maybe AP Lit). If you take AP courses just for the credit, you’re gonna have a bad time. tl;dr Payton is a great high school experience with plenty of opportunity for success, great teachers and a decent social environment. Even though the school is super hard, rigorous, and will cause large amounts of stress, it doesn’t mean it’s not a fun, great place to learn!!! 😀

Teachers tend to play favorites with students. They’re nice and all (except for Mr. Rode xD) but there’s a heightened sense of “ask a stupid question, get no answer”. I felt very intimidated my freshman year because most of the kids are rich and spoiled. Many carry themselves with a nasty attitude thinking, “I’m better than you at everything.”

Academically, it is a very good school. Best in the nation in my opinion. (Even if the U.S. is 24th in the world in literacy and 35th in math and science.) Very fast paced so heads up if you want to be a freshman.

My daughter graduated in 2012, now my son is a freshman. Great to see new addition this year (good that the noisy hand dryers are out) and teachers parking lot. Block schedule and seminar days every two weeks when students are dismissed early. Time to meet new friends, great teachers, and work hard to get into top US colleges.