Application Preparation
Prepare for the pieces MCPS looks at
The criteria mix grades, test percentiles, and two short essays. Work on all three, starting with the essays since they are the part a family controls today.
Checked against Richard Montgomery IB's published admissions pages on November 5, 2026.
Testing
The criteria MCPS publishes.
MCPS's published IB criteria use scores and grades the student already has.
- What MCPS considers
- For criteria-based programs like IB, MCPS uses a Reading or Math percentile from MAP or the PSAT together with Grade 7 and Grade 8 grades in English, Social Studies, Math and Science. The two essays are also part of the application.
- Lottery pool benchmarks
- To enter the IB ranked-choice lottery pool, students must reach the 80th percentile or higher on Reading or Math and a 3.25 GPA or higher in Grade 7 and Grade 8 English, Social Studies, Math and Science grades. Percentiles are regional or local middle school comparisons, not national, and are calculated in December 2026.
- Near misses
- A student who does not meet the benchmarks can still be considered. A review committee evaluates the academic profile of each applicant to decide whether the student joins the lottery pool.
- Automatic review
- MCPS automatically reviews every Grade 8 student in the region for IB, with no application needed. The central review benchmark is the 95th percentile or higher on Reading or Math and a 3.75 GPA or higher in Grade 7 and 8 English, Social Studies, Math and Science grades. This review is separate from admission, so a student who wants IB should still rank it and apply.
- PSAT
- MCPS gives the PSAT to Grade 8 students on October 14, 2026. For 2026-27 the criteria-based process uses the higher of a student's MAP or PSAT percentile, and MAP growth may be considered from Grades 5 to 8.
- Local percentiles
- MAP and PSAT scores are locally normed by middle school and regionally normed. The process does not use the national percentile.
- Private school results
- Private and homeschooled applicants can upload 7th or 8th grade results from the PSAT, NWEA MAP, i-Ready, Performance Series, Scantron, Iowa Assessments, CTP, MCAP or other state testing, WISC, Woodcock-Johnson, SSAT, CogAT, OLSAT or InView.
- 01
Ask the school counselor which MAP and grade data MCPS already has on file.
- 02
Check with MCPS before paying for extra testing: the process uses MAP and the October PSAT.
Essays
The two short essays.
They are not scored, but the committee reads them.
- The questions
- The 2026-27 essay questions are: (1) How do you see a specialized Center program helping you reach your future goals? (2) Think about a personal or academic challenge you have faced recently. How did you work through it, and what did you learn about yourself, your problem-solving skills, and your character along the way? How will those lessons help you tackle new challenges in high school?
- Rules
- Applicants to criteria-based programs, which includes IB, complete two brief response essays of up to 300 words each. MCPS says the responses must be the work of the student alone, with no artificial intelligence use. Students who apply only to interest-based programs skip the essays.
- How they are read
- The essays are not scored, but the selection committee can read them. MCPS prefers that students not use their own name or the school name, and it does not read words over the limit. The essays should be written in complete sentences and proofread for spelling and punctuation.
- 01
Let your student write both answers alone. MCPS asks for the student's own work with no AI.
- 02
Draft the first answer around one specific thing your student wants from a Center program, such as the research essay or world languages, and why it matters to them.
- 03
Draft the second around one real challenge and what changed afterward. Read both aloud, check the word count, and proofread once more.
Preparation plan
A plan that works backward from the deadline.
Adjust the pace to your student's schedule. The order matters more than the exact days.
First
Read the High School Possibility report
Find your region and the programs listed for your student in ParentVUE.
Early
Check the world language requirement
Confirm in the High School Possibility report, or with MCPS in writing, that your student meets the language rule.
Next
Draft the first essay
Pick one specific thing your student wants from a Center program, such as the research essay or world languages, and say why.
Next
Draft the second essay
Choose one real challenge, explain how it was handled, and describe what will carry into high school.
Before the deadline
Rank and review
Rank programs in the order your student actually prefers, check word counts, and submit well before the deadline.
After submitting
Keep the confirmation
Save the confirmation email and a copy of the application from the review screen.