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MCPS explains regional admissions: criteria, interest lotteries and centralized application
Summary
MCPS staff detailed three program admission types — criteria‑based, interest‑based (lottery) and interest‑with‑criteria — and said the district will use a centralized High School Common application with the season opening in October and placement notices in January.
Montgomery County Public Schools staff walked families through how students will be admitted to regional programs, describing three categories: criteria‑based programs (eligibility determined by grades, MAP/MCAP scores or auditions/portfolios), interest‑based programs admitted by lottery, and interest‑with‑criteria programs that admit by interest but require thresholds to continue.
"There are 3 different types of regional program offerings: 1 is criteria based, 1 is interest based, and 1 is interest based with criteria," Ebony Lankford Brown said, explaining that criteria may include grades in seventh and eighth grade and assessment results, while arts programs may require a portfolio or audition. She added that the county will use an existing MCPS lottery process that can incorporate factors such as home school and socioeconomics as determined by the superintendent.
Lankford Brown said MCPS will use the High School Common application as a single place to apply: "It's what is currently in place. So, there's 1 place for you to apply to everything." Officials said the application season opens in October and that placements will be communicated in January; final eligibility details and criteria will be shared in August before the application window.
Staff cautioned that students may only enroll in one regional program at a time because the scope and sequence are designed as full four‑year pathways.
