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.
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
Complete the application
Applicants for the 2019-2020 school year, can apply online using the Standard Application Online (SAO). To begin the online application process, please visit the Standard Application Online homepage to create a new account. Here, you will be allowed to create and submit your application, request recommendation forms and check the status of your materials.
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
Lower School: Contact the admission office at 203-256-7514 to arrange an interview — parent only. Students do not visit at this time.
Middle and Upper School: Contact the admission office at 203-256-7514 to arrange an interview and tour for your child and one or both parents. The interview should be completed before coming for a Class Visit Day.
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 an Extracurricular Recommendation form from a coach, music instructor or another adult who knows your child.
Lower School Checklist
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 an Extracurricular Recommendation form 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).
Middle School Checklist
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 an Extracurricular 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).Upper School Checklist
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 morning hours of Monday–Thursday 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 10:15-11:15AM:
- 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.
GFA ISEE Code: 070915
GFA SSAT Code: 3556
Inclement Weather
Refer to the GFA website for school delay/closing information.
Class Visits (Grades 5-11)
Middle and Upper School
Middle students must attend a Class Visit Day. Upper school students are welcome, but not required to attend a Class Visit Day. Scheduling begins September 24.
Schedule a Middle School Visit