By Maria Wiering
Applying to multiple Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis hasn’t been easy for many families in recent years: Various requirements, exams, deadlines, visit days, essays and acceptance dates mean a packed and sometimes confusing calendar for eighth graders.
They (and their parents or guardians) need to follow different processes for each school to which they apply, as do their current schools’ administrative staff, who are asked to send grade transcripts and recommendation letters to different Catholic high schools by different deadlines – for each of their students applying.
The Archdiocese and its Catholic school leaders want to make it easier for Catholic elementary school graduates to matriculate into Catholic high schools. Part of that, leaders say, is streamlining the admissions process while providing more information about the array of Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese.
“For the Archdiocese, it is increasingly important that parents find a partner in the Catholic formation of their children and encounter a common pathway through our system from preschool to 12th grade,” said Dr. Jason Slattery, director of Catholic education and superintendent of schools. “We want them to be able to access all the benefits of a Catholic education that they cannot receive anywhere else.”
About 47% of eighth graders in the Archdiocese’s Catholic elementary schools continue on to a Catholic high school, according to the Annual Report on Catholic Education in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, published by the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education. The reasons are many, but application-related obstacles are among the easiest to remove, said Steven Cunningham, OMCE associate director of educational quality and excellence.
Meanwhile, students are applying at several Catholic schools, not just one or two, said Jeb Myers, president of Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, who is concerned that Catholic high school admissions complexities might deter families from applying or finding the best fit for their student.
Myers and other Catholic high school presidents brought their concerns to OMCE, which responded by convening a 19-member task force to explore common high school application challenges. From January to March, the task force brought together 12 high school admissions directors and four elementary school principals for five 90-minute meetings with three OMCE staff members. Summaries of the task force’s conversations with recommendations were presented to high school presidents in April.
The task force’s work addressed whether shared or common approaches could be achieved in six specific areas: admissions-related testing, recommendation letters, financial aid platforms, admissions deadlines, access to student lists for recruitment and recruitment events best practices. They also discussed how the recruitment and admissions process could shift from a posture of competition to collaboration.
Members ultimately agreed to further explore some specific opportunities for collaboration, such as adopting a common admissions management system, creating a recommendation letter template and sharing successful recruitment practices. They also recommended that Catholic high schools offer a 50% tuition discount to children of Catholic elementary school teachers and staff.
They also determined what information to add to the Catholic High School Guide, which the OMCE began publishing last year. The guide lists the 16 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese (now 17 with the addition of Chesterton Academy of the Saint Croix Valley) with statistics and academic and extracurricular offerings. It also includes application deadlines and admissions contacts.
The task force did not reach an agreement on the role of exams or a shared admissions deadline.
But even without consensus on all topics, the conversations highlighted how the schools’ varying charisms, structures, geographies, demographics and sizes affected the admissions process, said task force member Adam Groebner, principal of Saint Therese Catholic School in Deephaven. A key topic was admissions deadlines. In 2025-2026, 11 Catholic high schools had a rolling application deadline, some with priority deadlines. Other schools’ deadlines ranged from Jan. 31 to May 31. The large range meant that some families waited months to know students’ admissions and financial aid options.
Task force discussions were positive and revealed the need for continued conversation, said task force member Sandy Kane, principal of Saint Odilia School in Shoreview, adding that rising tuition remains the largest obstacle for families hoping to send multiple children to Catholic high schools. However, Groebner said, a simpler admissions process might encourage more families to explore Catholic high schools instead of dismissing them outright without more information.
Jenny Bruce, a task force member and dean of admissions at Providence Academy in Plymouth, said her school “feels strongly that access to a Catholic high school education, specifically for all students within our parochial schools, should be an obvious and easy choice.”
While the Archdiocese is blessed to have “so many strong high school options,” she said, they operate within an increasingly competitive landscape, including with each other.
“I believe that the various constituents coming together to paint a clear picture of the landscape we are working within came to light in a healthy and productive way,” she said. “The recommendations of how we can better streamline the admissions process for our future students should be beneficial for all: students, parents, teachers, school administrators, as well as the high school admissions teams.”
Several task force members expressed interest in ongoing discussions around admissions obstacles with the hope of boosting the percentage of Catholic school elementary students who enroll in Catholic high schools.
High school is a time when young Catholics are growing into their sense of adulthood, Groebner said. “It’s awesome for them to be in an environment where they are surrounded by the Catholic faith and adults and families with similar values who can be there to answer their questions and continue to guide them and support them in a Catholic worldview and a faith-based way,” he said.