Admissions
Start with the grade you're applying for.
Pick your entry year, or jump to financial aid, learning support, or your city. Find the guides, tools, and stories that help with your next step.
How to use this page
Choose the group that matches your child’s entry year. Within each group, the guides run roughly from first steps to final decisions. Rules and calendars differ by school and by city, so check each school’s own admissions page for current details.
Kindergarten
Start with the overview, then choose the guides that match where you are: making a list, planning the calendar, preparing for visits, or weighing offers.
- NYC Kindergarten admissions: start here
- Shortlist builder for NYC Kindergarten applications
- School models, commute, and building your list
- Age cutoffs and readiness
- Month-by-month Kindergarten timeline
- Child visits, playgroups, and parent interviews
- Parent statements and preschool reports
- Support, aid, and decisions
Grade 6
Start with the overview, then use the timeline to plan your weeks. The other guides cover testing and records, and writing and interviews.
- NYC Grade 6 admissions: start here
- Grade 6 timeline, including late starts
- Testing, records, and recommendations
- Writing, activities, and interviews
Grade 9
Grade 9 is a decision your teen will share in. Start with the overview, then follow the group that matches where you are.
Plan and build your list
- NYC Grade 9 admissions: start here
- Month-by-month Grade 9 timeline
- School list and fit
- Consultants and outside help
Build the application
- Application essays
- Activities and how to present them
- ISEE, SSAT, and stanine scores
- Grades and transcripts
- Teacher recommendations
- Parent statement
Visits and results
Specialized high schools
New York City’s specialized public high schools have their own process, separate from private school applications.
Financial aid
Cost shapes a school list from the start. These guides cover financial aid and what to compare when an offer arrives.
Learning differences and support
If your child learns differently, this guide compares specialized school programs and the questions to ask each one.
Outside New York City
Calendars, testing, and costs vary from city to city. Choose the guide for your area.
Explore school entry points
To look at Grade 6 and Grade 9 entry details one school at a time, use the explorer.
A related story
Kindergarten admissions would like you to look busy, from Notes from the School Gates.
A note on interview stories
Interview and visit formats change from year to year, and one family’s experience may not repeat. We don’t publish supposed “secret questions.”