Washington, D.C. Private-School Admissions Timeline

The regional framework

AISGW coordinates fairness at the finish, not one application.

Verified fact: AISGW describes a community of 81 nonprofit schools across DC, Virginia, and Maryland. Its statement is recommended guidance. A school may follow another association’s calendar, so membership is not proof that every grade uses every date below.

Verified fact: AISGW’s principles urge schools to receive records directly from the present school. They discourage families from depositing at more than one school. A waiting pool belongs to the specific admission year.

Entry grades

Choose the grade before you build the calendar.

Which grades are expansion or primary 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 working calendar

Build backward from the first gate, not the last upload.

Editorial opinion: Treat an appointment-protecting date as the working deadline. Leave one week for appointments and three school days for uploads. The margin is for illness, login trouble, and ordinary life—not strategic signaling.

School-by-school dates

One shared finish, a different start at every school.

Maret, St. Albans, Holton, Bullis, Beauvoir, and Flint Hill publish the AISGW notification date of February 26. Confirm the others in the portal, and read each offer letter for its own reply terms.

Portal access

Open every portal before the first appointment gate.

A preliminary form or inquiry often unlocks visits, and Holton’s inquiry produces the Veracross login that comes before the application. How Ravenna, SAO, and school portals differ is in the admissions guide.

Test dates

Book the test so scores arrive before the school deadline.

Which schools require, accept, or skip admission tests is covered in the admissions guide. The timing problem is real: St. Albans wants SSAT, ISEE, or HSPT results by January 13, and the January 9 paper SSAT leaves only four days for score delivery. Ask the school whether a late-window score can arrive in time before you rely on it.

Records and recommendations

The quiet deadline belongs to the current school.

AISGW’s 2027–28 common forms cover different ages and subjects, and due dates vary by school. Sidwell does not accept teacher forms before November 1. Which roles each school wants is in the admissions guide.

Editorial opinion: A parent provides logistics, context, and gratitude. The teacher owns the confidential evaluation. The student owns every student response. Preserving those boundaries is both ethical and easier to manage.

Booking visits

Book required visits before optional events.

Several events open only after the application. Bullis offers Grade 9 shadow days after the application and interview or tour steps, and availability is limited. Potomac’s K group visits run on Saturdays in December and January, and Beauvoir’s K group visits run mid-November through January.

What each format looks like, and how to prepare a child for it, is in the admissions guide.

Editorial opinion: After a visit, ask “What did you notice?” and “What would a normal school day feel like?” Avoid “How did you do?” The child is a chooser, not a product.

Financial aid

Aid is a second application with a separate clock.

Verified fact: GDS and Potomac use Clarity, separate from Ravenna. GDS sets January 6 for new-family aid; Potomac sets February 1. School and platform requirements must both be satisfied.

Each school’s aid date is in the school-by-school table above. What aid can cover is under cost and aid basics in the admissions guide.

Decision, contract, and enrollment

A two-week window works only if the questions already exist.

Verified fact: AISGW asks families to respond promptly, discourages deposits at multiple schools, and urges reasonable post-acceptance activity. Its waiting-pool guidance is year-specific. None of this predicts movement.

Between February 26 and March 12, fill in the comparison sheet you drafted before decisions arrived: the child’s day, transportation, net cost, support, and contract. The rows are laid out in the admissions guide. Then sign one contract and read its refund terms before the May binding date.

If waitlisted, use the requested channel, state continued interest truthfully, and send only permitted updates. Enroll in another workable school by its deadline. If a later offer arrives, read both contracts before changing plans and notify the first school.

After the deposit

Calendar health forms, final records, transportation, technology, athletics, placement, orientation, summer work, and payments. Tell every other school the search is over. Then let the child become a new student, not a successful applicant.