Boston Admissions for Fall 2027

Start with the entry grade

Before you open a single application, settle two things: which entry grade you are applying for, and what an ordinary school day there would involve for your child.

Then open each school's own checklist and sort it into three piles: what you send, what you attend, and what involves tests or aid. The examples below come from BB&N, Milton, Park, Beaver and Andover.

This page covers how each process works. For when each step happens, with dated deadlines, decisions and reply days, use the Boston admissions timeline.

Side by side

The same entry grade can mean a different process at each school.

Deadlines for each school are in the timeline's calendar.

Kindergarten: the group visit

BB&N asks PreK–5 applicants to join an in-person group class activity, and Park holds a PreK–5 group visit.

What you can prepare is mostly logistics: a visit time that suits your child's day and a plan for any sibling who comes along. A young child's report on a school visit is real data, even when the headline is the snack.

Grades 6 and 9: tests and eligibility

BB&N requires an SSAT or ISEE score for Grades 6–11, taken in the application's academic year. Milton's Upper School makes scores optional, with no disadvantage for applicants unable to submit them. Beaver asks for test scores with the application.

Milton takes boarding applicants for Grades 9–11 and Greater Boston day applicants for Grades 9–10; status generally cannot change after admission. Its Lower and Middle Schools apply separately, so none of this covers Kindergarten or Grade 6.

Park's page describes a Grade 6 reading and writing assessment plus test scores or its own assessment, but its score window is last cycle's. Confirm Park's current Grade 6 test options before booking.

If your child may need testing accommodations, ask the school and the test provider what documentation they require and how much lead time they need.

The public exam schools

For an eighth grader outside BPS applying to a Boston exam school, both parent and student must live in Boston. Residency verification and ranked choices are submitted together; registration for the weekend MAP test is a separate form.

The exam-school letters arrive after the private reply dates, which matters if you are applying to both. The timeline shows how the two calendars line up.

Visits, files and aid

At BB&N, the inquiry form opens a Veracross portal for booking interview and tour slots. Milton's interview can be on campus or by video, and must be completed by the application deadline.

Park requires a tour and an interview, even if you attend an open house. Beaver requires a tour and interview too, and lets you book them before the application is finished.

Portals can hide steps. At Andover, the interview scheduler appears only after the Candidate Profile is submitted on Gateway, and login details arrive by email 24 hours later.

Park asks aid applicants to file alongside admission; limited funds can mean a wait pool. BB&N, Milton, Beaver and Andover each set their own aid deadline, listed in the timeline.

When an offer arrives

Read the offer, the aid information and the contract together, because each changes how you read the others.

That is a lot of paper for one evening, so write four lines on one page: the reply date, what the deposit commits you to, what aid is offered or still pending, and which other answers you are still waiting on.

Questions only your family can answer

No school's page can tell you whether its daily rhythm suits your household. Visit on a day that resembles a normal one and make the trip at the hour you would really make it.

Work out after-school pickup and any sibling's schedule before you fall for a building, and ask what support exists for the kind of help your child actually needs. Then ask for the full annual cost, extras included, and when aid forms are due.

Your child's voice counts here too: let them say what they noticed, in their own words, before you offer your review. And when a school gives writing instructions for a statement or essay, follow them as written rather than a template from somewhere else.