Cistercian Preparatory School: One Wide Door in Grade 5, a Shared Academic Road, and a Family Fit to Test Carefully

Exam, interview, and visits

The entrance exam is also the student interview

Cistercian requires its own on-campus exam rather than the ISEE. An ISEE report may supplement the file, but it cannot replace the school’s test.

Grades 5 and 6 test January 30 from 8:30 a.m. to about noon. Grades 7–11 test February 6 on the same schedule.

Those are the only two published dates.

The morning includes reading comprehension, math achievement, reasoning, and a short essay. Full-time faculty observe performance, communication, and behavior while conducting informal interviews.

For the clearest view of daily life, the October 29 Open House opens every class to visitors. Current options also include individual tours, two Saturday programs, group tours, and a March 23 spring Open House.

Dates may change, and reservations open October 1.

The school says applicants do not need test preparation. Parents should still explain the long morning, make sure their son can write comfortably under time pressure, and avoid coaching a borrowed persona.

Catholic and monastic life

Faith, work, and community are woven into the schedule

Cistercian is an apostolate of Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey. The monks describe study, prayer, service, and life in community as one formative project rather than separate school programs.

The school teaches Catholic doctrine and morality. It says it supports Catholic and non-Catholic members, but every student participates in religion or theology, weekly Form Mass, all-school or Upper School Masses, and required retreats.

Grade 5 and 6 retreats last half a day on campus. Older retreats grow longer, culminating in a two-day off-campus retreat in Grades 11 and 12.

A family does not need to be Catholic to apply. It does need to be comfortable with a school whose account of character, morality, worship, and human formation is explicitly Catholic.

Academics and an ordinary day

The shared curriculum brings clarity—and very little room to level down

Cistercian calls every required course Advanced Honors. It offers no AP courses and no alternate core track.

Students may sit for AP exams on their own initiative, but AP labels do not organize the curriculum.

Grade 5 and 6 take religion, English, English lab, Latin, social studies, math, science, computer, art, music, and physical education. Grade 9 adds theology, English, a modern language, world civilizations, geometry, biology, an elective, and P.E. or athletics.

The handbook’s homework guideline is about 20 minutes for each Middle School class and 30 minutes per class in Upper School. Teachers generally plan a major assessment every two to three weeks in frequently meeting courses and should avoid more than two major tests or assignments on one day.

Students arrive no earlier than 7:30. Attendance and opening prayer begin at 8:25.

Middle School normally ends at 3:30, while Upper School academics end at 2:45 before many practices and activities.

Middle School includes supervised study halls. Upper School generally does not, except for students who have already met the P.E. requirement.

Grades are not posted online; the school sends mid-quarter updates and quarterly report cards.

The result is a structured day with a demanding evening. Ask for a real sample week in the entering grade, including reading, tests, practice, the drive, and sleep—not a single average homework number.

Form life and support

One adult follows the class for years, but families should test the backup routes

A Form Master leads one grade from Grade 5 through graduation. The school describes him as academic adviser, counselor, disciplinarian, spiritual director, caregiver, and the main link with parents.

That continuity can make a small school feel deeply attentive. It also concentrates several roles in one relationship.

Transfer families should ask how a new Grade 6 or Grade 9 student enters an already established Form and who helps if the Form Master relationship is not working.

Cistercian currently lists two counselors. They offer short-term counseling, family consultation, outside referrals, liaison work, and crisis intervention.

The learning program teaches planning, organization, study, and test-taking skills. Hawks Homework Club runs Monday through Thursday from 3:45 to 4:30 without a reservation.

Formal accommodations require a recent, comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation. Possible supports include 50% extra time, a classroom laptop, teacher notes when available, and preferential seating.

The boundary matters: Cistercian says its fixed schedule and single-track program cannot serve every learning difference in every situation. It also says formal accommodations may be possible only in limited circumstances.

Phones and independence

The school day is deliberately low-phone and low-laptop

Students may not carry a phone, smartwatch, or similar device on their person during the school day. Younger Forms keep devices in bags inside lockers; older Forms use classroom storage stations.

After 8:00 a.m., devices may not be used on campus until after 3:30, except for a teacher-authorized Upper School use. A first confiscation requires a parent to retrieve the device.

The school does not recommend personal laptops or tablets in class unless an approved accommodation calls for one. Families who expect a one-to-one device model should understand that this is a different philosophy.

Irving and transportation

The bus helps, but Upper School activities can rewrite the plan

The 82-acre campus sits at 3660 Cistercian Road in Irving, across from the University of Dallas. The school publishes distances of 11 miles from Dallas, 7 from Farmers Branch, 16 from Southlake, and 21 from Plano.

For 2026–27, two bus routes serve stops across Dallas and North Dallas. Morning pickups begin around 7:00, while the published afternoon stops run roughly from 3:50 to 4:55.

The school warns that Upper School sports often interfere with the afternoon bus. Varsity practice commonly runs until 5:00 or 5:30, and some teams add early workouts or individual weight sessions.

Homework Club covers 3:45 to 4:30. Middle School students still on campus after 4:30 enter paid aftercare and must be picked up by 5:30.

Drive the route at both 7:15 a.m. and the real activity pickup time. Then test a week when the bus works only one way or not at all.

Arts and athletics

Breadth is required, even inside a tightly shared curriculum

Grade 5 and 6 take both music and visual art. Students add options such as drama and art history before Upper School, where the official arts page says four of six electives must be in the arts.

Cost and aid

Tuition is only the first line of the family budget

The current 2026–27 total is $27,300 for Grade 5 and Grade 6, including a $900 registration fee. Grade 9 totals $28,400, including a $1,000 registration fee.

Fall 2027 pricing is not yet public.

Current round-trip bus service is estimated at $3,465. One-way service is $2,021, and an occasional ride is $26.

Those prices and routes are a 2026–27 benchmark, not a Fall 2027 promise.

Other visible costs include the daily uniform, dress uniform, P.E. uniform, lunch, sports shoes, tennis or golf equipment, and some activity travel. After 4:30, Middle School aftercare costs $12 per day.

The school also approaches every family for a voluntary annual contribution.

Need-based aid can cover tuition and registration. It does not ordinarily cover the other costs.

The school offers no merit or athletic aid and says available funds may not meet every family’s demonstrated need.

The public aid page is not ready for Fall 2027: it still shows a 2024–25 heading and 2026 deadlines. The FAQ says aid amounts arrive in mid-May, after the March 25 nonrefundable registration deadline.

Ask in writing how an aid applicant can make that commitment before seeing an award.

Current sources also conflict slightly on reach. The FAQ says about 20% receive aid; the official 2025–26 profile says 17%.

Treat both as school-reported snapshots and ask for the current figure.

Entry points

Grade 5 is the front door; Grade 6 and Grade 9 depend on space

Kindergarten — not offered. Cistercian begins in Grade 5, so a family seeking an elementary-school path needs another school before then.

Grade 5 — the school typically admits about 40 boys. This is the one clearly designed entry year, with preference considered for employee sons, alumni sons, and siblings only when the other factors are equal.

Grade 6 — Cistercian admits a limited number of qualified applicants. It does not publish a target count.

An admitted Grade 6 student must take Latin during the first three to four weeks of June so he can join an established Form.

Grade 9 — this is also a limited-opening transfer year, not a broad Upper School expansion. Applicants should have completed Algebra I by the end of Grade 8.

Grades 10 and 11 are wait-list paths that depend on an opening. Cistercian does not admit Grade 12 applicants.

Fall 2027 calendar

The application is simple to calendar, but every piece has its own date

The application opens October 1, 2026. The online form and $125 fee are due January 15, 2027.

Families facing a fee hardship can contact the registrar.

Immunization records are also due January 15. Cistercian says it accepts no exemption affidavits and will not consider an applicant without the required records.

School records are due January 22. The file asks for the current first two quarters or trimester, the two most recent school years, standardized tests, attendance, a behavior report, and confidential English and math teacher evaluations.

Decision emails arrive after 4:00 p.m. on March 12. An admitted family must pay the nonrefundable registration fee by noon on March 25.