Apply
We look forward to getting to know your family and hope to make the process as easy as possible. The application process is a personalized one and your child is at the heart of this work. Talking with a member of the admission team will allow you to learn more about our school.
For your convenience, we have outlined the application steps. Some families choose to complete these steps in an order that is more convenient. Please submit all materials by January 14, 2019. If you have any questions about the SAO application, you can call the Family Hotline at 609-683-4440
Follow These Steps to Apply to GFA
- Apply
- Schedule Interview and Tour
- Forms to Be Submitted
- Testing and Assessment
- Class Visits (Grades 5-11)
- Financial Aid
Apply
GFA uses SSAT's Standard Application Online (SAO) for its application. Many of our peer schools also use SAO which means you need only complete one application for several area schools.
The process is quite straightforward but if you have technical difficulties with the SAO application, you may contact the SAO Family Hotline at 609.683.4440. To get started, please follow these steps:
1. Click on APPLY NOW to open the SAO homepage.
2. Create a sign-in for SAO.
3. Complete the Student Profile (simple biographical information) and submit right away. If you are applying for financial aid, please request from the GFA Admission Office an application fee waiver for the $75 application fee.
4. Return to your SAO log-in to send recommendation requests (after Nov 1) to your child’s school and complete the parent and student statement.
Pre-Kindergarten applicants must be four years old by September 1 of the year they would enroll. Kindergarten applicants must be five years old by September 1 of the year they would enroll and in the Lower School and so on.
Schedule Interview and Tour
We are looking forward to welcoming you to campus. Your family is important to us and we want to get to know you better through the interview. You do not need to have applied before coming for an interview.
To schedule an interview and tour you may use our online calendars. Please note that for families that are applying to PreK and Kindergarten, we recommend you schedule a morning visit when you will best be able to see those classes in action. Due to our enhanced security, adults should bring a photo ID with them.
Schedule an Interview:
Families applying to lower school do not bring their child for the initial interview and tour. We will meet your child at a later date. Families applying to the middle and upper school should plan to bring their child and at least one parent. Typically the interview and tour lasts for 90 minutes. For MS, the interview should be completed before coming for a Class Visit Day.
If you have any difficulty, or wish to speak with someone in the admission office, please call the following admission directors based on your child’s division:- Kim McElderry - Lower School (Grades PreK - 4) - 203.256.7585
- Sherry Rago - Middle School (Grades 5 - 8) - 203.256.7518
- Ann Miller - Upper School - (Grades 9 - 12) 203.256.7525
- Peggy Harwood - Upper School - (Grades 9-12) 203.256.7514
Forms to Be Submitted
Lower School
Teacher recommendations and transcript release forms can be accessed through SAO and emailed through SAO to your student’s teachers after Nov 1. If your school does not provide teacher recommendations, you may submit a Personal Recommendation from a coach, music instructor or another adult who knows your child.
Middle School
Teacher recommendations and transcript release forms can be accessed through SAO and can be emailed to schools through SAO after Nov. 1. If you wish, or if your school does not provide teacher recommendations, you may submit a Personal Recommendation from a coach, music instructor or another adult who knows your child well. Applicants for Grade Five and Six may have the same teacher for both Math and English. This teacher should complete both forms.
Candidates for Grades 5–8 must upload to SAO an English or History writing sample from the current school year (the writing sample does not need to be graded).
Upper School
Teacher recommendations and transcript release forms can be accessed through SAO and can be emailed to schools through SAO after Nov. 1 sign. If you wish, or if your school does not provide teacher recommendations, you may submit a Personal Recommendation form from a coach, music instructor or another adult who knows your child well.
Candidates for Grades 9-12 must upload to SAO an English or History writing sample from the current school year (the writing sample does not need to be graded).
Testing and Assessment
Lower School
For Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten applicants, a developmental readiness assessment called the Gesell is administered one-on-one during the several school day morning hours from mid-November – January 7. Your child will meet with a faculty member for approximately 45 minutes while you are welcome to wait in the Admission Reception Room. In order to schedule the Gesell, you must submit Part 1 of the online Application. Click here to schedule an appointment through PickATime.
If your child is an applicant to Pre-Kindergarten, your child will be invited to one of the following dates for a Pre-Kindergarten Play Day Screening from 10:30-11:30AM:
- Tuesday, January 8
- Wednesday, January 9
- Thursday, January 10
- Friday, January 11- snow date
Your child will visit in the PreK classroom with several teachers and a small group of candidates. Parents are invited to stay for coffee. The Admission office will send an email communicating the visit date that has been assigned to your child a couple of weeks before the observation screening.
If your child is an applicant to Kindergarten, applicants will be assigned a time to attend the Kindergarten Play Day Screening which are one hour sessions that run throughout the morning on Saturday, February 2 (snow date of Saturday, February 9). Your child will visit in a classroom with several teachers and a small group of candidates. Parents are invited to stay for coffee. The Admission office will send an email communicating the visit time that has been assigned to your child a couple of weeks before the observation screening.
All students applying for grades 1–4 are required to attend the Grades 1–4 Assessment Morning on Saturday, January 12 (with a snow date of Saturday, January 26). The morning will run from 9:30–11:30AM and will consist of a classroom visit and assessment. The applicants will be in the classroom with other candidates applying to their grade level and will be working with our classroom teachers. The applicants will also take part in a morning meeting and group activities before beginning their assessment work in language arts and mathematical concepts.
Middle and upper SCHOOL
GFA accepts ISEE and SSAT testing scores for students entering grades 5-12. GFA offers the ISEE test on Saturday, December 8 and January 12. Contact ISEE or SSAT for test registration. For scores to be submitted to GFA, use the GFA school codes.
ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) or SSAT testing must be completed and submitted by January 14, 2019.
Inclement Weather
Refer to the GFA website for school delay/closing information.
Class Visits (Grades 5-11)
Middle and Upper School
In addition to the interview and tour, students are invited to attend a class visit day. For applicants to the Middle School, this visit is required. Class visits are optional for Upper School applicants and are scheduled for Wednesday, December 5, 8:45am-11:30am, Friday, December 14, 7:45am-12pm, and Wednesday,
January 9, 7:45am-11:15am.
Please complete the biographical portion of the application (supplemental information may be submitted later) and interview/tour before you attend a class visit.
Schedule a Middle School Visit
Schedule an Upper School Visit
Financial Aid
For families applying for financial aid grants (Grades K-12 only), the financial aid application will be available November 1, 2018 and must be submitted by January 14, 2019. The school code for your financial aid application is 3556. Click here to contact Peggy Harwood.