Collegiate School

Teaching

How the work changes from kindergarten to senior year

The youngest Collegiate boys have a block-and-play center just outside their classrooms. Kindergarten and first grade share it; reading and math specialists work with small groups, and fourth graders guide kindergarten buddies.

Each Lower School grade has two homerooms.

Middle School is where boys start choosing: a language and a string instrument, an art to specialize in for seventh and eighth grade, and in eighth grade Latin or Engineering and Design. It is also the first time they manage study halls, breaks and club time, with a faculty advisor assigned to each boy.

There is room for a red nose in this education. Seventh-grade drama includes clowning and a Commedia dell’Arte play for Arts Day.

In sixth-grade English, boys examine the norms and stereotypes in fairy tales before writing their own.

In the Upper School, ninth and tenth grade give a broad foundation, and most of the choosing comes in eleventh and twelfth grade, in electives such as Ancient Greek or the history of manhood in the United States.

A boy can also pursue an independent study, or a senior project in the second half of the spring of senior year.

Day to day

Homework, schedule and after school

The Lower School day starts at 8:15, with doors open at 8:00, and ends at 3:15, or 2:15 on Fridays. Homework starts in second grade; in kindergarten and first grade the ask is reading every night, partly by him and partly to him.

Middle School homework runs about an hour to an hour and a half in fifth and sixth grade and about two hours in seventh and eighth.

Seventh and eighth graders also sit final exams, which can count for up to a quarter of the yearly average. Major assessments are posted a week ahead under a 1-2-3 rule: no more than one a day, two over two days and three in a week.

After school works differently in each division.

• Lower School: classes and an extended day, with first-come registration each trimester. The pages we reviewed don't list a cost or end time, so ask.
• Middle School: a free help center Monday through Thursday, staffed by learning specialists, teachers and Upper School volunteers. The support page lists 3:30 to 5:00 and the handbook says the end of the school day to 4:30, so confirm before planning pickup.
• Upper School: no formal program. Students use teams, plays, the library and the student center.

Upper School

Advising, workload and the college commitment

Every Upper School student has an advisor who meets with him at least weekly. Ninth graders have an advisor who works only with ninth grade; at the end of the year each boy chooses an advisor for the three years that follow.

The Upper School limits major assignments to two a day, three over two days and four a week, with more allowed for boys taking over six courses or two courses in one discipline.

The handbook also says Collegiate students commit to attend the college where they apply early if admitted, even under non-binding early action. That is the school's own policy, not a rule of those plans, so ask how it works for families still comparing aid offers.

Applying

Applying to Collegiate

Kindergarten applicants visit in a small group, observed by teachers and admissions staff, while a parent or guardian has a separate 30-minute Zoom interview. Ninth-grade applicants have a one-on-one conversation with teachers.

Both entry points require an application and an authentic work sample; a photo is optional. Submit the sample as an image or text file, not video.

Personal and first-choice letters aren't required; the ninth-grade English and math recommendations are.

During the kindergarten child visit, parents try a classroom activity themselves. You do not need both parents or guardians to attend.

Book required appointments early: kindergarten and ninth-grade visit slots, and kindergarten parent interviews, can fill before applications close. Open houses require registration but no submitted application.

Optional group tours are for families who have applied.

Siblings and alumni children applying to K–12 have an earlier notification track. Call admissions to arrange appointments by the end of November; school reports are due November 30, 2026.

Decisions arrive in early December 2026.

Other grades are a separate, conditional route. Openings in grades 1–8 and 10–12 come only through attrition.

Families may submit an application, optional photo, work sample and recent report cards. The school says it will be in touch after February 2027 if a potential opening occurs and it can offer the complete application process, and it can't meet every family that applies.

Paying

Tuition and financial aid

Aid is awarded only on demonstrated need; there are no merit scholarships. The committee reviews each application individually, weighing income, assets, expenses, debts, household size and employment status along with other circumstances such as medical or childcare costs.

Apply through Clarity; Collegiate covers its application fee if you request a waiver code. The $85 school application fee is also waived for aid applicants.

Start both applications together so the aid deadline doesn't sneak past.

Families must reapply every year and awards are reevaluated each time, so an offer answers one year at a time.

Support

When a boy needs extra help

Learning specialists work in all three divisions alongside teachers, advisors and deans, and Middle and Upper School students can use the writing center. The school says students with disabilities who are otherwise qualified for admission are supported with documented accommodations it considers reasonable.

Requests go to the division head and learning specialist.

In Middle School, accommodations can include extended time, clarified instructions or a separate place to test; the basic work expected does not change.

If seeking school accommodations through an outside evaluation, first contact the division learning specialist. The school may accept some, all or none of its recommendations.

Upper School staff will not seek standardized-test accommodations that a student does not use at school.

Separately, psychological services staff are placed in every division and offer short-term counseling, parent meetings and referrals when needs go beyond that.

Policies

Two policies to read before you apply

For allergies, arrange the emergency plan and medication with the nurse. Lower and Middle School snacks are nut-free, but the school says it cannot guarantee a nut-free building.

Collegiate considers qualified applicants who identify as boys. Its board policy seeks to support enrolled students who no longer identify as boys, while expecting them to embrace its boys' school mission.

Discuss how this works with the school.

How Collegiate settles new ninth graders and steadies aid

At a K–12 boys' school, ask how a Grade 9 newcomer gets to know an established class, how small groups form, and how aid awards hold up.