Advanced AET Admissions Guide for 10th and 11th Graders

Advanced AET is not the same application eighth graders complete for ninth grade AOS or AET entry. It sits in the winter admissions cycle for current high school students, and LCPS has historically described it as a pathway that students apply to during 10th grade. The current LCPS page lists 10th or 11th graders as eligible. The 2026-27 winter window runs December 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 at 12:00 noon, and the Advanced AET test date is January 23, 2027.

Families can use the prior cycle to understand the shape of the process, but they should not copy old deadlines or prerequisites into a new calendar. Use the 2026-27 dates and criteria below.

What Advanced AET is, and why the application is different

The official AET program page describes engineering and information-technology study built around research, design, and advanced coursework. Advanced AET provides a later entry point than the four-year AET pathway that begins in ninth grade.

That later entry point changes the application context. The fall AOS and AET process is for current eighth graders. The current LCPS admissions FAQ places Advanced AET and MATA applicants in the winter cycle for current high school students. A family searching for “the ACL application” can easily land on the wrong cycle unless it checks the program name and applicant grade first.

What LCPS currently confirms

For the 2026-27 cycle, LCPS publishes these requirements:

• LCPS lists Advanced AET for 10th or 11th graders who are enrolled in or have completed Math Analysis, AP Precalculus, Precalculus DE, or AP Calculus AB (students currently in or past AP Calculus BC are not eligible), have 2 science credits by the end of 10th grade, and have a C or above in all grade 9 and Semester 1 grade 10 courses. Applicants submit a PSAT score (or SAT/ACT) and complete a writing assessment. Pathways are Engineering or IT.
• The 2026-27 winter window runs December 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 at 12:00 noon, and the Advanced AET test date is January 23, 2027.
• Applicants must live in Loudoun County and, if admitted, remain full-time students at both their home high school and the Academies of Loudoun.
• Winter applicants without a PSAT score report may submit an SAT or ACT score report by the published deadline.
• Students may participate in only one ACL curricular program at a time.

Old dates to ignore

An official LCPS high school course-selection page records January 16, 2026 at noon as the Advanced AET and MATA application deadline for the previous cycle. That date has passed. It should appear in a family's notes only as historical context.

Older guides may describe a late-November opening or a January 16 deadline. For 2026-27, the window opens December 1, 2026 and closes January 15, 2027 at 12:00 noon.

Before applying, still check these details directly with the school counselor or the Admissions Office:

1. which current grades may apply to each Advanced AET pathway;
2. the required math and science courses, including any exclusions;
3. which grades and score reports are reviewed;
4. whether a writing assessment is required and when it occurs;
5. the application, accommodation, and document deadlines.

What a 10th or 11th grade family can do now

1. Start with program fit

Advanced AET is a substantial academic commitment, not simply a second chance at the ninth grade AET application. Read the program description, look at the kind of research and design work students do, and ask whether the pathway matches how the student wants to spend half of the school week.

2. Build a clean academic snapshot

Keep the student's current schedule, completed math and science courses, and available score reports in one place. Do not self-screen from an old checklist. Compare the official 2026-27 wording with the student's actual transcript and ask the school counselor about anything ambiguous.

3. Protect access to score reports

The current FAQ allows an SAT or ACT report when a winter applicant does not have a PSAT report. Make sure the family can retrieve the relevant report before the deadline. A valid score sitting in an inaccessible account is an avoidable last-minute problem.

4. Prepare for the writing assessment

Advanced AET applicants complete a writing assessment (test date January 23, 2027). Practice should focus on planning, developing, and revising a clear response under a time limit. Our winter small-group coaching is designed around the active Advanced AET cycle, so its calendar and emphasis should follow the official packet rather than guess ahead of it.

The mature move here is not to do nothing. It is to match the work to the rules LCPS has published for this cycle.

Advanced AET Admissions Guide FAQs

Keep reading

• Compare AOS, AET, and MATA in one parent guide
• Understand whether students can switch ACL programs
• See the winter Advanced AET coaching format
• Read the complete ACL Admissions Overview

Source note

We checked this guide against current LCPS and Academies of Loudoun materials. Where a dated LCPS page provides historical context, the article labels it by cycle rather than presenting it as a current rule. AcademiesPrep by EduAvenues is independent and is not endorsed or sponsored by the Academies of Loudoun or Loudoun County Public Schools.

Official sources reviewed:

• LCPS Academies of Loudoun Admissions and Outreach
• Academies of Loudoun admissions FAQ
• Academy of Engineering and Technology program page
• LCPS 2025 winter admissions page, used only for prior-cycle Advanced AET context
• LCPS course-selection page documenting the prior January 16, 2026 deadline

Fact-checked September 26, 2026. LCPS can change criteria, pathway eligibility, selection rules, assessment details, and dates by cycle. Confirm time-sensitive requirements on the active admissions page.