Walter Payton College Preparatory High School — Chicago, Illinois
School type: Public Magnet · Live coaching in CT (Central)
Walter Payton College Preparatory High School is one of Chicago Public Schools' selective-enrollment high schools, named after the Hall-of-Fame Bears running back. It is consistently ranked among the top public high schools in Illinois and the United States by Niche, US News, and Newsweek. Located in Old Town, the school admits around 250 students per grade through CPS's competitive-entry selective-enrollment process.
Walter Payton offers AP Biology with a strong science faculty and emphasizes both content depth and lab investigation. The school's biology programme integrates lab work with computational and data-analysis skill-building, reflecting the Chicago tech ecosystem (Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab, the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine all sit within commute range). Walter Payton has a documented USABO Open participation record and matriculates strongly to top-tier STEM and pre-med colleges.
Many Walter Payton students pursue early college credit through the school's AP track and then continue into the IB Diploma Programme — the school is one of the few CPS selectives running both. AP Biology students often take AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1/2, and AP Calculus AB/BC concurrently as part of a STEM-heavy junior-year load. The combination produces strong baseline preparation but also high concurrent workload, which is what drives most Walter Payton families to outside FRQ-rubric coaching.
For Walter Payton students, our 1:1 coaching adds FRQ rubric mastery and timed full-length practice — the layer that converts strong school grades to AP-5. Sessions schedule in CT evenings or weekend mornings, calibrated around the school's testing schedule and other AP commitments.
Sourced from publicly available rankings (US News, Niche, Boarding School Review), CEE / USABO TRC press releases, and the school's own publications.
Walter Payton has documented USABO Open participation across recent years and is a known producer of olympiad-track Chicago students (publicly noted in USABO TRC bios and city olympiad coverage).
Walter Payton's graduating class of ~250 has one of the strongest college-matriculation profiles among Chicago publics. Per Niche aggregations, common destinations include Northwestern, University of Chicago, University of Illinois, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and Cornell. Northwestern HPME (BS/MD) is a frequent target for biology-focused students.
Walter Payton AP Bio runs on a standard CPS selective-enrollment calendar. Our 1:1 sessions schedule in CT evenings (typically 7–9 PM) or weekend mornings, calibrated around the school's testing schedule and other AP commitments.
Pay-as-you-go hour packages. Same pricing nationwide.
$2,500
per academic year
Group batch (12–16 students), all 8 CED units, 24+ live hours, FRQ library
$4,500
per academic year
Small batch (6–10) with regular 1:1 FRQ reviews, 36+ live hours, full-length practice exams
$7,000
per academic year
Weekly 1:1 mentoring with Dr. Shekhar, 48+ live hours, USABO bridge included
Book a free 30-minute counselling call. We'll calibrate to your school's specific AP Bio pace and help you decide between AP-5 only or the integrated AP + USABO Semifinal track.