Independent, or private, school applications involve a gamut of things: deadlines to meet, applications to fill, tests to take and details to juggle. The key is to start early; many families are sometimes surprised how early they actually need to begin the search and application process. Unfortunately, many wait until the same calendar year they want their child to begin private school only to discover that they are too late. Therefore, the best strategy is to begin the year before that which you want your child to attend. For example, if you’d like you child to begin in the fall of 2014, you may want to start the process as early as late-summer or early fall of 2013. This holds true for most independent schools that have application deadlines around January 15th. Remember the goal is to allow enough time to ensure that the application process is done correctly and with as little stress associated with it as possible. To begin, and one of the most vital steps, is to understand how the timing process works. Below is a general timeline that provides an overview (keep in mind that the timeline will vary a bit from school to school so to get a more customized timeline, contact your school of interest to get the appropriate requirements and deadlines or contact our Dolphin consultants to help advise you):

Time is of the essence, so don’t delay! This is the right time to start thinking of your options for an independent school. For more help on preparing your child for the SSAT/ISEE test or for assistance with the entire independent school admissions timeline, contact one of our Dolphin consultants today by calling 646-490-5075.