Admissions

How many applications do you receive each year and how many applicants do you accept?

Because we are still a young school, we cannot accurately forecast the number of applications we will receive each year. Similarly, we do not have a formula for the number or percentage of applicants we will accept, deny, or waitlist. Admission figures each year depend on the total number of applications received and the number of places available.

What grade should my daughter apply for?

Our major points of entry into the school are fifth and sixth grades. Spots beyond sixth grade are available when vacancies by current students occur. Our fifth grade averages about 16 - 18 students per year, and provides a smaller setting than our sixth, seventh, or eighth grades. Families are encouraged to apply to SGS when they feel it is right for them.

When should my family start the application process?

Generally, families begin the application process in the fall the year before they wish to start at SGS. School tours are held beginning in October, and Open Houses occur in October and November. Families are encouraged to tour SGS in advance of the application deadline in January.

What makes a successful applicant to SGS?

There is no "cookie cutter" SGS student. Each year, we seek to build classes of students that represent a richness of interests, personalities, learning styles, perspectives, and educational and cultural experiences.

We consider the best "matches" for SGS to be those students--and families--who can best contribute to and benefit from the school's unique mission, curriculum, setting, and approach to learning. Common qualities in successful SGS candidates include maturity, open-mindedness, and leadership potential.

We also ask that applicants to SGS be performing at or above grade level, as determined by the prospective student's current school, without moderate-to-severe learning differences.

Can you support a student with learning differences?

Because we do not have a learning specialist on staff, we are unable to support moderate-to-severe learning differences at this time. We make admissions decisions on a case-by-case basis and encourage you to contact the admissions office if you have specific questions about your child.

Is there anything else we need to do after submitting our application and/or financial aid paperwork?

Once we receive your daughter's Application Form and Fee, we will contact you to schedule a student visit and parent interview.

How do you make admissions decisions?

Once all the applicants have been interviewed, each member of the Admissions Committee makes his or her recommendations to admit, waitlist, or deny each applicant. Final decisions are then made by consensus. In all cases, the school retains the right to determine, in its sole discretion, whether or not to select a student for admission. Ultimate approval on admission decisions rests with the Head of School.

Is preference given to siblings or other "connected" candidates?

We do not give preference to any applicants. Siblings, children, or other immediate relatives and friends of current or former SGS students, as well as those of current, former, or prospective SGS employees, Board of Trustees and Advisory Board members, guest instructors or lecturers, community partners, volunteers, donors, and other SGS community members must apply for admission and financial aid through the same application process as all prospective families.

What does it mean if a student is waitlisted?

Applicants are waitlisted when the Admissions Committee deemed the student admissible, but was unable to extend a contract due to space limitations. When and if spots become available, the Admissions Committee confers to decide which waitlisted student would be the best fit for the class. Several waitlisted applicants are generally granted admittance each year, though the exact number varies.

How do SGS families get involved?

SGS would not be the school it is without our families, and we encourage, welcome, and support as much involvement as families would like to have with SGS. Family members might do things like teach internships, drive to and from events, volunteer in the administrative area, or work on the school's technology. At the same time, we recognize that families have many commitments, so we do not require a certain number of volunteer hours. All families are required to be members of their daughter's Learning Team and are automatically members of the Community Association of Parents (CAP).