Application Procedures

Candidate’s families are responsible for facilitating the completion of the admission file. Incomplete files will not be reviewed by the committee. Therefore, a phone call to check on the status of the candidate’s file is strongly encouraged.

Independent School Admissions Association of Greater New York
(ISAAGNY) Notification Dates

The Elisabeth Morrow School is a member of The Independent School Admissions Association of Greater New York.  As a member school, we follow the admissions guidelines set by ISAAGNY.  For helpful resources and more information about this organization, please visit their website at www.isaagny.org.  The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid will begin to notify all applicants with completed files of the Committee's decisions on the following dates:

Three-Year-Old and Four-Year-Old Programs
Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Kindergarten and Grade One
Friday, February 10, 2012

Grades Two through Eight
Tuesday, February 6, 2012

The Elisabeth Morrow School accepts applications for all grades (except 8th grade) throughout the year.  Families interested in applying to the School after the ISAAGNY notification dates are encouraged to complete the process regardless of the time of year.  The purpose of notification dates are to provide a deadline for those who require a decision by a set date.  Notification dates do not necessarily mark the completion of an admissions season.  Please contact the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid for more information. 

Step One: Learn about The Elisabeth Morrow School

Request a packet of information and attend a campus tour or open house. We encourage prospective parents to tour the campus and see our classrooms in action. Tours and open houses are held throughout the admission season and are usually held in the mornings.  Visiting the campus is a valuable method of learning about life at The Elisabeth Morrow School, but a tour or open house is not a requirement of the application process. Please know that families are welcome to schedule a private tour Once a family has made the decision to apply, then the process is as follows:

Step Two: Application for Admission

Candidate's families who are applying for the 2011-2012 academic year are strongly encouraged to begin the process in the fall of 2011. Completed files will be reviewed and decisions will be mailed on the dates posted by ISAAGNY.

Applications are accepted for all grades through grade seven and are reviewed based on space availability. Mail the completed application form along with a $60.00 non-refundable application fee. The Admission Office staff will acknowledge receipt of your application with a letter.

Step Three: ERB and ISEE Testing

All candidates for The Four-Year-Old Program through Grade Four will be assessed by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) either at The Elisabeth Morrow School or at the ERB office in New York City. All candidates for grades five through seven must take the Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE). Parents may register online by following the links in this paragraph or schedule an appointment by calling ERB directly at 212-672-9802 or ISEE at 800-446-0320.

Step Four: Parent Questionnaires

Please share information about the candidate by completing the parent questionnaire(s). In assessing candidates, especially young children, detailed and concrete information will help the Admission Committee make informed decisions.  Parents of applicants to the Three-Year-Old Program through Grade One must complete two questionnaires:
Parent Questionnaire for Age Three through Grade One
Parent Questionnaire for Age Three through Grade Seven

Step Five: Teacher Recommendations and Transcript Requests

The Admission Committee requests that the most current transcripts and teacher recommendations be forwarded from the candidate’s current school to The Elisabeth Morrow School after November 1.  Regardless of the child's age, if a parent received a written progress report from their child's current school or daycare, we ask a parent to sign a Transcript Request Form and submit it to the current school.  This will allow the school to release copies of the progress reports to The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.  Progress reports are requested when available in addition to Teacher Recommendations (please see the checklist on the right hand side of this page to download the appropriate Teacher Recommendation Form for your child's grade level).

Step Six: Parent Interviews and Student Playgroup, Classroom or School Visits

Please contact the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid to arrange a visit. The screening process involves a playgroup for candidates to our three-year-old program through grade one. A morning visit to the school is required for candidates to grades two through seven. Additionally, parents are asked to share information about the candidate in a parent interview. The parent interview can sometimes be scheduled during the time of the child visit, so please inquire with the Admission staff.

Step Seven: Admission Decisions

The Admission Committee’s decisions are determined by a thorough review and discussion of each of the required components of the candidate’s file. This includes the contents of the parent questionnaires, school reports and testing as well as the observation notes from the playgroup or student visit and the parent interview.