Enrollment FAQs

Yes, need-based fee waivers are available for the online application for admission and the SSS financial assistance application. For the online application, please complete the Fee Waiver Request Form.

For the SSS financial assistance application, the fee is automatically waived for households that qualify for free lunch under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Information on each applicant is collected from the application materials that vary by grade, but may include the application form, responses to the questions for parents/guardians and questions for students, confidential teacher evaluations, and school records, as well as notes from the student visit or shadow day. Admission committees review the applicant files and then meet as a group to discuss and make recommendations to the enrollment office. We take a holistic look at each applicant file, with every component of the application playing a vital part of the admission decision. There isn't a single piece that determines whether or not a student is offered admission.

All students admitted to Catlin Gabel are required to meet the standards for admission. The special relationship that children and grandchildren of alumni, children of employees, and siblings of current Catlin Gabel students have is noted during the admission process. However, legacy status does not guarantee admission for any student and does not carry more weight in the admissions decision than such factors as academic preparation and character traits.

Yes. The application process starts over every September. We ask any applicant who wishes to apply for admission again to complete a new application by the published deadline.

Experiential Learning is a process by which educators engage students through a cycle of direct experience, experimentation, analysis, and reflection. It encourages deep learning, inspires personal growth and promotes active citizenship.

Independent schools are private, pre-collegiate learning institutions, each with a unique mission. They are nonprofit institutions governed by independent boards of trustees and funded through tuition, charitable contributions, and endowment income (as opposed to local and federal funding through taxes). Independent schools uphold high educational standards and are directly accountable to the parent/guardian body and the agencies that accredit them. Catlin Gabel is accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

The quality of the educational experience is one of the leading reasons families choose independent schools. The U.S. Department of Education in its National Educational Longitudinal Study confirmed that larger percentages of students in independent schools are enrolled in advanced courses than in public, parochial, or other private schools. NAIS students complete twice as much homework as their counterparts, watch only two-thirds as much television, are significantly more likely to participate in varsity or intramural sports, and are more likely to agree that students and teachers get along well.

The diversity of our community enriches the educational experience for all and allows us to help prepare our students to be culturally responsive world citizens. We value racial, religious, national, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, family mosaic, and other diversity of our students, faculty, and staff. Students of color make up 51% of the student body. We seek and support socio-economic diversity with a robust financial assistance program that provides need-based financial assistance to more than 26% of the students. Learn more about Catlin Gabel values of diversity and inclusivity.

We are proud that our student body comprises of a variety of personality types and learning styles. We aim to have classrooms with students representing the world around them: a mix of athletes and artists and writers and scientists from a spectrum of socioeconomic, religious, racial, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. In our Middle and Upper Schools, we look for leadership potential and academic preparation in an effort to admit students who will take the fullest advantage of our curricular and co-curricular offerings. Most of all, we seek students who love learning, are naturally curious, and show an affinity for being a member of a tight-knit community of learners.

Every year we welcome between 110-125 new students. Our main entry points are preschool, kindergarten, 6th, 7th, and 9th grade. We enroll new students in almost every grade each year.

Yes. For more information please visit our Transportation page.

Yes. For more information please visit our Before & After School Program page.

We are not currently accepting applications at this time for exchange students. International students who intend to graduate from Catlin Gabel are welcome to apply as long as they are living with a parent, relative or legal guardian. If you have questions regarding the application process for international students, please contact Mary Braun, Director of Middle and Upper School Enrollment.

Students who meet the standards but are not offered admission due to space limitations are offered a place in our wait pool. Not every applicant is invited to be part of the wait pool. The number of applicants in the wait pool evolves over time due to changing family circumstances. For this reason, we elect not to share specifics.

The wait pool isn't a ranked list. If an opening occurs, we select an applicant who has the best potential to fill the needs of the class. Openings can occur any time between our initial offers of admission in March and shortly before school starts in September. We don't admit students after the start of the school year.

We do not carry over our wait pool from year to year. The application process starts over every September. We ask applicants who wish to apply for admission again to complete a new online application by the published deadline.

Rest assured that we keep very meticulous records of everyone in our wait pool. We email periodic updates to families throughout the spring and summer. If an opening occurs, we thoroughly review all eligible candidates and select the one who best fills the spot. Please contact us if you wish to have your child removed from the wait pool, if your contact information changes, or if you will be traveling without phone or email access.

No. When we make an offer of admission from the wait pool, we'll make several attempts to reach you via telephone and email with the contact information you provided on the application. After a connection is made, if you are interested in considering the offer, we will issue an electronic enrollment agreement that has additional details. Families typically have one week to make a decision and complete the enrollment process.

Every year we admit some students from the wait pool. There are some years when we admit quite a few and other years when we do not, depending on the acceptance rate of our admitted applicants.

Yes. We only offer admission to students when there is an opening in a specific grade. 

Yes, we do consider community families in the wait pool and try to prioritize those applicants when possible should an opening at that grade level occur.