Apply to Calhoun

Apply online via the Calhoun application portal. Once you create an account, you will be able to access your application and see updates regarding your application steps and admissions events.

There is a $75 application fee per applicant. As a courtesy for our legacy families and alumni, siblings of current students and children of alumni are eligible to receive an application fee waiver. Please email us to receive the application fee waiver code.

Note on age cutoffs for applicants to preschool and kindergarten:

• Young 3’s & Steppingstones - Students must be two years and eight months upon starting the program. 
• 3’s - Students must be three years old by September 1
• 4’s - Students must be four years old by September 1
• Kindergarten - Students must be five years old by September 1

In keeping with The Calhoun School's child-centered educational philosophy, we like to get to know applicants and their families as well as we can. One of the ways we get to know each applicant is through required parent/guardian questionnaires and student questionnaires (for Middle and Upper School applicants). In these questionnaires, we ask parents/guardians and students to briefly respond to a series of short answer questions.

*As a reminder, the parent/guardian questionnaire is required for all applicants and our student questionnaire is required for applicants to grades 5th-12th.

We are excited to give our applicants and their families the chance to experience firsthand how Calhoun promotes a joyful, enriching progressive learning community every day. 

• For applicants in our young 3's through 4th grade, a visit to Calhoun for the applicant and at least one parent/guardian is required. 
• For applicants to grades 5th through 12th grade, we are offering a unique opportunity to join us on campus for what will be an extraordinary day building connections and fostering community in Cougar Nation. This year, official campus visits are optional for our Middle and Upper School applicants but are strongly encouraged.

For all divisions, during your child's visit to campus, there will be a parent/guardian program that provides additional insight into our progressive approach to education. Parents/guardians will also have the chance to participate in an in-person interview and take a guided tour to see how teaching and learning come alive while classes are in session.

Sign up soon, as spaces are limited and will fill up quickly! Please note, you must apply to Calhoun prior to registering for an official visit to campus.

Applicants to grades young 3's-4th will be invited to participate in assessment of current social emotional/academic skills on campus during their visit. 

For all applicants to the Middle and Upper Schools (grades 5th-12th), Calhoun requires the ISEE assessment. Please click here for more information on how to register.  This assessment helps to inform us of an applicant's baseline academic skills; we consider a number of factors and seek to gain a holistic view of applicants' academic backgrounds when deciding which students to accept. Calhoun may consider alternative forms of normalized assessment; please reach out to the Admissions Team to learn more.

Using your application login, directly schedule an appointment for your child’s interview with Calhoun Admissions. All applicants for preschool through 4th grade will have in-person visits, while applicants for 5th through 12th grade will have the option for either a virtual interview via Zoom or an in-person interview during your visit to campus.

Parents/guardians of children applying to young 3's-4th grade will have their parent/guardian conversation in person on the day they visit campus. Parents/guardians applying to Middle and/or Upper School have the option to interview either on campus during your child's visit to Calhoun or virtually via Zoom. If a family has more than one child applying, only one interview is necessary.

In addition to getting to know your child through their interactions with our team, we gather additional information from their current teachers to gain insight into who they are as students and individuals. The documentation required is different depending on the grade your child is applying to; details about which documents are required will be displayed via your online application portal. 

We follow the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY) admissions notification and reply dates. All Calhoun admissions decisions will be communicated electronically according to the specified ISAAGNY dates.

If a child is admitted to Calhoun and a family chooses to enroll, we will require a signed enrollment contract and deposit by the ISAAGNY reply deadline.