Admissions
Admissions Process
How to Apply:
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Step 1: Inquire & Visit
Carlthorp requires students to be five years of age by September 1 of the year they will enter Kindergarten. Parents who wish to submit an application on behalf of their child to Carlthorp School should fill out an Inquiry Form and follow the instructions that are provided.
Fall 2023 Campus Tours and Interviews:
If you are inquiring regarding Kindergarten admission for the 2024-2025 school year, we will begin to schedule tours and interviews when school commences in early September. Please feel free to complete an Inquiry Form and follow the steps in your confirmation email to schedule your appointment. Early scheduling of appointments is welcome, and please understand that scheduled visits to campus tend to fill rather quickly.
Tours and interviews for Kindergarten applicant families are offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the months of September and October. Following your visit to campus, the online application will be made available to you, and applications must be submitted by November 1, 2023.
If you are inquiring regarding admission to Grades 1 - 6 for the 2024-2025 school year, we invite you to fill out and submit an Inquiry Form. Following submission, you will receive an email with further instructions for setting up your tour and interview with a member of our Admissions Team. Campus tours and parent interviews for grade level families begin on Thursday, November 2, 2023. Upon conclusion of that conversation, the online application will be made available to you. Applications for Grades 1-6 must be received by January 15, 2024.
Step 2: Apply
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Complete an Online Application - Kindergarten
At the conclusion of an interview with a member of our Admissions Team, you will be given access to our online application which will ask for information about your child and your family, a current family photo (optional), along with permission to access your child’s current school records and other relevant student information.
In order for your application to be considered complete, we also require a copy of your child's birth certificate or passport, a completed preschool recommendation form, a readiness assessment which will be taken on campus, and two personal letters of recommendation. Once you have submitted your application to Carlthorp School, you will receive an email confirmation directing you to the Applicant Checklist to guide you through the next steps of our process. -
Applications for Grades 1-6
For families with children interested in grades other than Kindergarten, we have a rolling Admissions process. Please refer to the Admissions Timeline for specific additional information. Once an application is on file, we will notify you when we know we have an opening in the appropriate grade. At that time, you will be invited to bring your child for a tour of the school and a readiness assessment. Before meeting your child, we will request that you notify his/her current school that we will be contacting them for official school records.
Final Steps: Additional Visits
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Readiness Assessment - Kindergarten
Rest assured that our intent is to get to know your child and to make the assessment experience as comfortable as possible for everyone. In mid-November, we will contact you to assign your child’s assessment date.
As in previous years, the Preschool Recommendation form will continue to play an important role in the Admissions Committee's review process. Please be sure to submit this form to your child's preschool in a timely manner, and follow up in your admissions checklist to be sure your child's sending school has returned the form to us by our January 12, 2024 due date.
A basic Readiness Assessment is a routine part of Carlthorp School’s application process for every candidate, and typically unfolds as listed below:
The Readiness Assessment takes place on a Saturday morning on campus. You should plan to be at Carlthorp School with your child for approximately 90 minutes. Be sure to not let this process make your family or your child apprehensive, as the day will be welcoming for everyone. The week before your assessment day, we will send an email outlining the plan for your visit so that you can answer any of your child’s questions about what will occur during your time on campus. Shortly after you arrive, our experienced faculty members will take your child into a classroom, along with a small group of peers, while you enjoy an informative presentation delivered by our Head of School, Associate Head of School, and the Director of Admissions.
The Readiness Assessment is just one of the opportunities we have to get to know your child. Aside from the Readiness Assessment day, it is possible that a member of the Admissions Committee will visit your child's preschool to observe him or her in the familiar setting of his or her own classroom. Please understand that we do not visit every preschool every year. However, it is important to know that children who have not been observed at their preschool are often admitted to Carlthorp. Also, there is no one “feeder” preschool to Carlthorp, and the most recent Kindergarten class was selected from 25 different preschools and 13 zip codes. -
Prospective Parent Coffees - Kindergarten
Following the assessment day, you are welcome to attend one of our Prospective Parent Coffees, which will be held on campus. These panel discussions showcase our outstanding Kindergarten teachers, current parents, school administrators, and our animated 6th grade students who will share their experiences by answering your questions about our School.
Applicant families will be sent an email providing you with the opportunity to select a date to attend one of these Coffees. Please plan to come prepared with lots of questions! -
Optional Visits
We also plan to invite applicant families to visit campus for Flag Line, and for an additional brief Revisit Conversation with a second member of our Admissions Team.
These opportunities are entirely optional. More information will be made available as your family engages in the admissions process.
Established in 1939, Carlthorp School is the oldest independent coeducational day school for grades K-6 located in Santa Monica, California.