Los Angeles Private-School Admissions Timeline

The regional framework

LAIS coordinates the finish, not the whole race.

Verified fact: LAIS describes itself as a consortium of more than 60 Los Angeles-area independent schools and says its members follow common decision-notification and response dates. Its searchable directory is the cleanest starting universe, but families should confirm that each particular school and grade follows the published calendar.

Verified fact: For Fall 2027 K–12 admission, LAIS recommends March 12 notification and March 19 replies. Schools may, at their discretion, grant revisit requests to newly admitted families; the association does not promise a common revisit program.

Verified fact: LAIS says each family must follow the individual school’s aid procedure and deadline.

Entry grades

Choose the grade before you build the calendar.

Which grades are main entry points, and what each school publishes about intake, is covered in the admissions guide. The calendar below assumes the list is already set.

The 2027–28 master calendar

Build backward from the first gate, not the final deadline.

Editorial opinion: A family should aim to be one week early for any gate that controls appointments and three school days early for an online final deadline. That margin is for illness, login trouble, and ordinary family life—not strategic signaling.

School-by-school dates

Thirteen schools, thirteen sets of Fall 2027 dates.

An interview-guarantee or priority date is the working deadline, even when a later final date exists.

Portal access takes time

Request portal access weeks before any deadline.

Several schools require an inquiry before the application appears, and Harvard-Westlake and Milken say account setup can take up to two business days. Each school’s system is described in the admissions guide.

Test windows

Book one test date with a retake buffer before the earliest score deadline.

Which schools require, accept, or ignore standardized tests is covered in the admissions guide. These are the Fall 2027 windows that set the calendar.

Editorial opinion: Choose the test route only once the list is stable. For access arrangements, contact the test provider and schools early; do not assume that school accommodations automatically transfer to an admission test.

Records and recommendations

The quiet dependency is your current school’s calendar.

Many current-school forms become available only after November 1, and your current school has its own lead times and holiday blackout dates. Which forms each school wants, and district exceptions, are in the admissions guide.

Editorial opinion: The best recommender is the required current educator who knows the child’s real classroom work. A parent’s job is to provide time and correct routing—not themes, adjectives, or a script.

Booking interviews

Interview slots open after the application, then fill.

At Brentwood, Archer, Buckley, and Chadwick, submitting the application is what unlocks interviews, tours, or appointments, and Milken’s interview self-scheduling opens only after account processing. The November interview-guarantee dates are the ones that protect a slot. What each format looks like is covered in the admissions guide.

Weekly work blocks

Schedule the work so it does not take over the fall.

Editorial opinion: Protect two weekly work blocks for adults and one short block for an older student from September through January. Do not turn a weekend into an all-day admissions shift. Fatigue makes families generic, irritable, and less able to notice fit. The component-by-component inventory is in the admissions guide.

Decision week and enrollment

A seven-day reply window rewards preparation, not panic.

Verified fact: LAIS’s Fall 2027 window runs from Friday, March 12 after 5 p.m. to Friday, March 19 at noon. Schools may allow admitted-family revisits at their discretion.

Before March, build a decision sheet with the same rows for every school: signed-contract deadline, nonrefundable deposit, net tuition, what aid covers, transportation, start and end times, aftercare, athletics or arts return time, learning support, calendar conflicts, and the child’s own observations. Leave the “admitted?” column blank until decisions arrive.

1. Read the full enrollment agreement and aid award before clicking accept. Record refund and withdrawal language.
2. Ask only unresolved factual questions. If a revisit is needed, request it immediately and understand that it is discretionary.
3. Re-run the commute at the actual morning and afternoon times, including the late bus or activity pickup.
4. Let the child speak without making them responsible for the family budget or adult status anxiety.
5. Accept one place by its deadline, release others promptly, and retain confirmations.

After enrollment, the project changes. Request final records, complete health and emergency forms, choose the tuition plan, confirm transportation, ask about placement or summer work, calendar new-family events, and close the current school relationship with care.