The Hockaday School: Big Opportunity, an All-Girls Day, and a Commute Worth Testing

Visits and interviews

Parents tour the program; older applicants have the interview

Hockaday lists division-specific parent visits from September through December 2026. Preview Days on October 18 and November 1 include campus tours and program conversations.

Grades 5–11 require a student interview after the application is submitted. Grade 9–11 applicants may choose in-person or virtual interviews.

An optional Middle or Upper School student visit can include classes, lunch, and the interview. That is the best public opportunity to test the rhythm of a normal day.

PK and Kindergarten applicants complete an in-person developmental observation. It includes group and one-to-one portions on a Saturday between November and February.

Grade 1 has a separate observation on January 9 or January 23, 2027. A Grade 4 applicant testing elsewhere must return to Hockaday for an observation.

The public pages do not describe interview questions, scoring rubrics, who reads notes, or how an applicant’s visit affects the decision. Ask for process, not a rehearsed script.

Day versus boarding

Old listings are wrong: Hockaday is now a day school

Hockaday’s own site describes an independent girls’ day school. NAIS also lists the school type as day, and the June 2025 Form 990 reports 1,113 day students.

History — the Board voted in April 2021 to phase out boarding by May 2025. Local coverage quoted the school’s concerns about enrollment, finances, and the student experience.

Why parents get confused — old Hockaday news pages still mention residence halls. Some third-party directories also retain boarding language.

Practical answer — there is no Fall 2027 residential option to assess. Dorm supervision, boarding weekends, overnight leave, and boarder phone rules do not apply.

The ordinary day

The timetable changes by division, and activities extend it again

Lower and Middle School begin at 8:00 a.m. Upper School begins at 9:00 and ends at 4:00.

Lower School dismissal steps from 2:45–3:00 for PK, Kindergarten, and Primer to 3:30–3:45 for Grades 3–4. Grades 5–6 dismiss at 3:30–3:45, and Grades 7–8 at 3:45–4:00.

Daisy Afternoons offers supervised play, enrichment, and homework time through Grade 8. The public FAQ does not post the Fall 2027 schedule, capacity, or price.

Prior-cycle operations — Middle School sports ran from 3:45 to 5:00, Monday through Thursday. Upper School practices and rowing could run later or include Saturday mornings.

Parent test — map the day from the first drop-off to the last pickup your child might need. A 4:00 dismissal is not a 4:00 departure during a season.

Academics

A broad core, integrated math, and room to go deep later

Lower School blends core academics with play, coding, STEAM, mindfulness, world languages, arts, and social-impact work. Hockaday publishes ratios of 6:1 in Pre-K, 8:1 in Kindergarten and Primer, and 16:1 in Grades 1–4.

Middle School uses a six-day rotation. Core work includes English, math, history, world language, science, physical education, and fine arts.

Upper School requires four full-credit academic courses each year. Graduation requirements span English, math, science, world language, history, and fine arts.

Integrated Math combines Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II over three years. Enriched courses move quickly, while honors courses often meet or exceed AP-level expectations.

Most advanced courses become available in Form III, or Grade 11. Social Impact courses connect academics with community work and real problems.

Workload

The school says demanding; parents still need the weekly math

Hockaday calls Upper School demanding and its advanced courses fast-paced. It does not publish typical homework minutes, major-assessment limits, or an average sleep picture.

Advisors help students choose courses. Learning Support teaches planning, organization, test preparation, and workload balance, especially during transitions or recovery from illness.

Prompt material only — self-selected Niche reviews praise challenge and support. They cannot tell us how common stress, competition, tutoring, or late-night work is.

Learning and well-being

Support is visible, but fit still depends on the profile

Learning Support is open to students with or without a diagnosis. It works across divisions with counselors, the Health Center, and College Counseling.

Lower School specialists can observe students, give short-term help, review testing, and recommend support within Hockaday’s program. A written Educational Accommodation Plan is required for classroom accommodations.

Middle and Upper School support includes study skills, organization, reading and writing help, testing strategies, and transition coaching. Documented needs may receive accommodations.

Each division has a trained mental-health professional. Counselors consult with students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

Public pages do not publish caseloads, appointment waits, session limits, outside-referral rules, service fees, or profiles the school cannot support. Ask before enrolling, not after a hard semester.

Dallas logistics

Welch Road is part of the school decision

Hockaday sits at 11600 Welch Road on an 88-acre North Dallas campus. School materials reference entrances on both Welch Road and Forest Lane.

The current public family pages do not publish a regular school-bus map, fee, or late route. Do not infer transportation from an old boarding program or an athletic-trip bus.

Plan separate drives for the normal morning, afternoon carpool, 5:00 practice pickup, an evening performance, and Saturday athletics. Test them from the home you will actually use.

Grade 5–8 families should also plan for a required school laptop. Upper School uses bring-your-own-device, and uniforms remain an additional purchase.

Exact unknowns — Fall 2027 carpool rules, any bus or shuttle service, aftercare cost, late pickup, team transport, and activity return times are not public on the pages reviewed.

Arts and athletics

Both are part of the program, not decorative extras

Fine Arts includes choir, dance, drama, technical theater, orchestra, private music, visual art, ceramics, film, photography, studio art, debate, and mass communications.

Cost and aid

Start with tuition, then build the family’s real number

Current baseline — 2026–27 tuition is $34,466 for PK–4 and $40,894 for Grades 5–12. Fall 2027 tuition has not been published.

Included — academic, publication, grade-level activity, trip fees, and student accident insurance. Lower and Middle School supplies are included except calculators.

Extra — uniforms, books, optional activities, and individual needs. New students pay a $1,000 matriculation fee, and the required Grade 5–8 laptop bundle is listed at $2,000.

The nonrefundable enrollment deposit is $2,000 and applies toward tuition. Payment-plan finance charges, tuition-refund insurance, and late fees can add more.

Page conflict — the heading says 2026–27, while parts of the payment schedule refer to June and December 2027. Confirm the contract year and every fee before relying on that schedule.

Current policy — Hockaday says it awards more than $3 million each year to 12% of families and strives to meet 100% of demonstrated need. Aid is need-based, not merit-based.

Mixed-cycle warning — the aid page still shows prospective-family deadlines for February 15, 2026. The Fall 2027 aid deadline and required tax years are not yet reliable there.

Entry points

Kindergarten and Grade 6 are possible, but the wider doors sit nearby

Pre-K is the earliest grade and brings in 36 students. A Fall 2027 Pre-K applicant must be four by September 1, 2027.

The FAQ gives Kindergarten and Grade 1 a range of about three to seven spaces. It does not say whether that range applies to each grade or both together.

Grade 4 adds at least 16 students. Grade 5, the start of Middle School, adds about 20 to 25.

The FAQ gives Grades 6–8 a range of about five to seven new students. It does not say whether that range applies to each grade or all three together.

Grade 9, called Form I, adds about 20 to 25 students. Grades 10 and 11 depend on attrition, and Grade 12 does not accept new students.

Fall 2027 calendar

The application is due in December, but January carries the real workload

Every published grade pathway sets December 14, 2026 as the online application deadline. PK–4 applications cost $50, while Grades 5–11 cost $125.

Testing, observations or interviews, questionnaires, evaluations, and records must be scheduled or complete by January 29, 2027. The exact checklist changes by grade.

Complete applicants receive decisions by email on March 12, 2027. The public pages do not give the enrollment reply deadline or wait-pool release practice.

Planning tip — request teacher evaluations early and protect January testing dates. Do not assume a parent visit, an applicant interview, and an ISEE sitting are the same appointment.

Testing and the file

The assessment changes quickly as a child gets older

PK and Kindergarten applicants take an individual CATS cognitive assessment. They also complete Hockaday’s developmental observation.

Grade 1 uses the virtual ATS First Grade Assessment and a school observation. Grades 2–4 use the ISEE Primary.

Every Grade 5–11 applicant takes the ISEE at the level for her entering grade. Hockaday offers an on-campus sitting on January 23, 2027.

Grades 5–11 also submit Math and English teacher evaluations, records, questionnaires, and the student interview. One optional recommendation may come from a principal, head, or advisor.

Non-native English speakers must submit TOEFL results. Middle School applicants may use TOEFL Junior, and Hockaday does not issue new international students an I-20.

The school discourages test-prep courses for its youngest applicants. Fee and testing assistance are available for qualifying families.