Application Preparation
Prepare for the pieces St. Albans reads
The grade 9 file mixes a questionnaire, recommendations, grades, a day at the school and required test scores.
Checked against St. Albans's published admissions pages on November 5, 2026.
Testing
Testing.
- Testing requirement
- Applicants to grade 9 must submit scores for the SSAT, ISEE or HSPT by January 13, 2027. Any one of the three is acceptable.
- School codes
- The school code is 6256 for the SSAT and 090165 for the ISEE.
- When to test
- Register for the test in the fall and take it no later than early January so scores reach the school by January 13.
- Fee waivers
- Limited fee waivers are available for both the SSAT and the ISEE.
- English-language tests
- Applicants whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to submit the TOEFL along with SSAT or ISEE scores.
- Grades 6 and 7
- Applicants to grades 6 and 7 tour 8:15 to 9:45 a.m. with an individual interview, write a personal statement, and submit SSAT or ISEE scores by January 13.
- 01
Pick one of the three tests early and take a full timed practice test before building a study plan.
- 02
Leave room for a second sitting before the early January window closes.
Essays
Questionnaire answers that sound like your son.
- Questionnaire
- Applicants to grades 9 through 11 type answers to seven questions. The school says no outside source should be used.
- Questionnaire deadline
- Typed answers to the Upper School applicant questionnaire are due January 13, 2027.
- 01
Answer each question with a specific moment from the last year, not a list of achievements.
- 02
The school says no outside source should be used, so write it in his own words.
- 03
Get the substance right before polishing the style.
Interview
A visit day that feels like a conversation.
- Format
- Interviews take place during the shadow visit day, which the school describes as "shadow visits and interviews".
- The day
- Grade 9 applicants spend a day at the school: Admissions, a campus tour, classes and lunch with a 9th-grade student ambassador. Visits and interviews run from 9:10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on select days from October through early February.
- Booking
- Shadow visits and optional parent tours were open for scheduling in Ravenna from September 8, 2026. Parent-only tours run on select Mondays and Fridays.
- Tours by grade
- Family tours are by appointment for applicants to grades 4, 6 and 7. Grade 9 applicants shadow a student for a day. There are no campus tours for grades 5, 8, 10 and 11.
- 01
Have two or three stories ready that show how your son thinks.
- 02
Practice explaining an interest out loud, without notes.
- 03
Let him ask real questions about classes, chapel and daily life.
Preparation plan
A plan that works backward from the deadline.
Adjust the pace to your son's schedule. The order matters more than the exact days.
First
Create the Ravenna account and book the visit
Shadow visits run on select days from October through early February, and the school opened scheduling on September 8.
Early
Register for a test
Pick the SSAT, ISEE or HSPT in the fall and take it no later than early January.
Next
Draft the questionnaire answers
The seven questions are inside the application, so start the account early and write in his own words.
Fall and winter
Ask for recommendations and transcripts
Two teachers, math and English, complete forms through Ravenna.
By January 5
Submit the application and the aid form
Applicant families have until January 20 for the aid application, so check both dates.
After submitting
Watch for February 26
Decisions arrive in Ravenna on February 26, with a reply due March 12.