United States
New York
The most structured independent-school admissions calendar in the United States.
Schools families consider
Listed for orientation. AJPE is not affiliated with, and does not represent, any school. The right list for a child is usually shorter and sometimes different.
- Trinity School
- The Dalton School
- Collegiate School
- The Brearley School
- The Spence School
- The Chapin School
- Horace Mann School
- Riverdale Country School
- Ethical Culture Fieldston School
- Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School
- Nightingale-Bamford School
- Avenues The World School
- United Nations International School
- Dwight School
- The British International School of New York
Calendar
ISAAGNY member schools follow a shared calendar: inquiry in late summer, tours and interviews in the autumn, applications due in November or early December, and notification in February for kindergarten and early March for older grades.
What to know
- Kindergarten entry follows a September 1 age cut-off; many families apply at K, Grade 6 and Grade 9.
- Schools weigh parent interviews, school reports and, for older students, ISEE or SSAT results.
- First-choice letters are permitted under ISAAGNY guidelines but must be used carefully.
- International families need F-1 status for the child unless a parent holds a status that covers dependants.
Sport and the portfolio
Sailing on Long Island Sound, squash, fencing, rowing and skiing in Vermont are common pathways; schools look for sustained commitment.
Other destinations
Planning for New York?
A pathway review sets out realistic schools, entry points and timing in writing.