Admissions

Admissions Process

How to Apply:

Complete an Inquiry Form

Step 1: Inquire

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Kindergarten Admissions Process

If you are inquiring regarding admission to kindergarten for the 2026-2026 school year, we invite you to fill out and submit an Inquiry Form.

After submitting an online inquiry, you will be given access to set up your Blackbaud Parent Portal. At that time, you will be able to arrange an appointment for a campus tour and parent interview. We will be offering tours of the campus and parent interviews on select weekdays in April, May, September, and October.

Please plan on being on campus for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. During that time, you will receive a 1:1 personal tour, and then you will meet with a member of the Admissions team for your parent interview. Upon conclusion of that conversation, the online application will be made available to you. Applications for kindergarten must be received by November 2, 2025. We look forward to meeting you and sharing more about our school.
Grades 1-6 Admissions Process

If you are inquiring regarding admission to Grades 1-6 for the 2026-2027 school year, we invite you to fill out and submit an Inquiry Form.

After submitting an online inquiry, you will be given access to set up your Blackbaud Parent Portal. At that time, you will be able to arrange an appointment for a campus tour and parent interview. We will be offering tours of the campus and parent interviews for grade level applicants on select weekdays in November and December.

Please plan on being on campus for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. During that time, you will receive a 1:1 personal tour, and then you will meet with a member of the Admissions Team for your parent interview. Upon conclusion of that conversation, the online application will be made available to you. Applications for grades 1-6 must be received by January 9, 2026. We look forward to meeting you and sharing more about our school.

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. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on November 2, 2025.

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. 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.

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 by reviewing your child’s admissions checklist regularly to be sure your student’s sending school has returned the form to us. All required admission checklist items are due by January 9, 2026.
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 Assessments (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.

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 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, a member of the Admissions Committee may visit your child's preschool to observe them in the familiar setting of their 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 regularly admitted to Carlthorp. Also, there are no “feeder” preschools to Carlthorp; the most recent kindergarten class was selected from 22 different preschools and 13 different zip codes.
Optional Visits (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 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!

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.
Readiness Assessments (Grades 1-6)

Prospective students will be invited to undergo an admissions assessment once student openings are determined, typically beginning in February of each year.

Students who are assessed are selected from the applicant pool, and may be offered admission or be picked to enter the wait pool. The assessment day will include the student sitting in on a morning of classes with the current class and a chance to meet with a member of the team for an assessment. While the student is visiting, parents will have the opportunity to learn more about the school through an informational meeting with members of the school leadership team and a panel discussion with current parents and students. Parents will then meet with a member of the team to be able to ask additional questions.