Admissions
How to Apply

Apply to High School

Ninth grade, the start of high school, is our second largest entry point, after kindergarten. The best time to apply to Dalton's high school is during the fall of the applicant's eighth grade year; applications are no longer accepted after mid-November. Enrollment notifications are posted on Ravenna in February in accordance with the ISAAGNY timetable.

Typically, new students make up between 20-30% of our ninth grade class, and both faculty members and students relish the opportunity to welcome a diverse group of newcomers, with varying perspectives and experiences, into the Dalton family. 

Applications for tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grades are not traditionally accepted except when due to attrition, a grade may be unusually small. If you wish to express your interest in a non-entry grade, you may do so here; upon doing so, rest assured that we will contact you in the event that we are able to consider new applicants for the grade you are looking for.
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Steps for Applying to High School

List of 4 items.

  • 1) Submit your preliminary application. (Opens September 5, 2023 / Deadline: 12:00 noon on November 17, 2023)

    To begin the process of applying, a short preliminary application form and application fee of $75 are required.* We encourage families to submit this as soon as possible in Ravenna. The application is available after September 5, 2023 at noon and due no later than 12:00 noon on November 17, 2023.

    *If the application fee presents a hardship for your family, please use fee waiver code NEEDFA.
  • 2) Schedule your family's Dalton visit -- which includes a school tour and an interview of the student.

    There is one required visit to Dalton as part of the student's application. The school tour and student interview are held in one visit, to minimize the impact of missing work/school for families. Although visits are offered nearly every school day, time slots fill up quickly so we encourage you to schedule your visit at the time of submitting your application. Scheduling becomes even tighter and less flexible later in the admissions season, so please don't delay submitting your application and scheduling your appointment until the end, if possible. All visits take place between October and early December.

    The entire visit lasts a little under 90 minutes; it begins with the school tour for the student and parents, then is followed by a short group meet-and-greet for student applicants with our Director of Middle & High School Admissions, and then a 20-30 minute student interview with either an Admissions staff member or a member of our faculty or administrative team.

    Visits can be scheduled through Ravenna immediately after the application is submitted. 

    Additionally, parents are invited to an optional small-group Q&A session on Zoom with our Director of Middle & High School Admissions. These also can be scheduled through Ravenna, if desired.
  • 3) Schedule admissions testing.

    All student applicants are required to submit recent admissions testing results from either the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Examination) or the SSAT (Secondary Schools Admissions Test). This testing should take place during the fall of the student's application, between August and the first week of January, and dates for testing must be scheduled directly with the testing providers (see their websites, linked above). Preferred dates and locations for testing do fill, so be sure to register for this testing as early as possible.

    Fees for this testing range from $140 to $200, but fee waivers available for low-income families. After submitting your preliminary application to Dalton, you may review eligibility and request a fee waiver from Dalton here.
  • 4) Submit supplementary materials.

    Supplementary application materials can be submitted and managed through Ravenna, and must be submitted by January 11, 2024. Required supplementary materials include:
    • parent statement (form available in Ravenna)
    • student identity statement (form available in Ravenna *for high school applicants only*)
    • transcripts/report cards for last year and the current (fall) term
    • teacher recommendation (form available in Ravenna) for English/language arts and mathematics (to be completed by a teacher who has taught the student within the last year)
    • recommendation (form available in Ravenna) from the student's guidance counselor or a school administrator (such as principal, division head, or placement counselor)
    • admissions testing score report (to be sent directly from ISEE or SSAT)
    Any optional submissions (additional teacher or personal recommendations, work sample submissions, etc.) should also be submitted by this time, if you wish for them to be included in the application file. 

    If you are applying for financial aid, please ensure that you meet the deadline for submitting your financial aid application and documentation (deadline: December 1, 2023); see the detailed instructions on Ravenna or read more here on Tuition and Financial Aid

    Throughout the admission process, the Ravenna system will allow you to track Dalton's receipt of all of the above documents (with the exception of financial aid, which is managed in Clarity).
(Grades K-3) 53 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128
General: (212) 423-5200 | Admissions: (212) 423-5463
General: info@dalton.org | Admissions: fpadmissions@dalton.org

(Gr. 4 Dalton East & PE Center) 200 East 87th Street
New York, NY 10128
General: (212) 423-5200 | Admissions: (212) 423-5262
General: info@dalton.org | Admissions: admissionsmshs@dalton.org

(Grade 5-12) 108 East 89th Street
New York, NY 10128
General: (212) 423-5200 | Admissions: (212) 423-5262
General: info@dalton.org | Admissions: admissionsmshs@dalton.org