How to Apply

Thank you for considering Marin Country Day School for your family. Our admission season for the 2019-20 school year is now closed. The application deadline was January 14, 2019. For those interested in the 2020-21 school year, the next admission season will begin in September 2019. Please read on for more information on the application process.


STEPS

Campus Tour

Tours are held on select mornings from October to January. Tour dates are now available for registration. Inquire here to register for a visit. 

Please plan to tour before submitting an application. Families are not required to tour again if reapplying for the same child.

Reservation required, adult-only event. If you require special accommodations or a translator, please contact us at admission@mcds.org. If relocating outside the standard admission season, a tour can be arranged.

Online Application

After a campus tour, prospective families will continue the application process online through our admission portal, Ravenna. You may start your inquiry process here prior to September 1st by creating your child's personal account and registering for a campus tour and other school-related events. 

Ready to apply? We will begin accepting applications for the 2020-21 school year in Fall 2019. Please revisit for more information on how to apply after September 1st. 

NOTE:

  • We do not accept applications to 8th grade
  • Application fee is $100, is payable online by credit card, and goes toward the cost of assessing applicants. 

Parent / Guardian Interview

After a tour and once an online admission account has been created in Ravenna, a thirty minute parent interview may be scheduled with a member of our admission team through your Ravenna account. 

Parent interviews are an opportunity to meet a team member in person and engage in an informal exchange. Only one interview is needed per family; any/all parents or guardians are expected to attend.

Student Assessments / Visits

Kindergarten and 1st Grade

All Kindergarten and 1st assessments fall on select mornings from November to February the year prior to entry. You will be able to sign up for a Kindergarten or 1st Grade Screening once you complete your application.

Sibling applicants to Kindergarten applying for the 2020-21 school year will be screened on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 or Thursday, November 12, 2019. New family applicants will be invited to screen between December 2019 and February 2020.

 

Grades 2-5

Applicants applying to grades 2-5 will be invited to campus on Saturday February 8, 2020 for a Lower School Admission Day. You will be able to RSVP for this event after you have submitted your application.

Lower School Admission Day is for students applying to grades two through fifth grade.  Applicants visit campus, meet teachers, participate in a classroom setting, and are assessed for readiness to the MCDS program. Lower School Admission Day will be on February 8, 2020 and is a requirement for all applicants. Register through the Ravenna portal once you have submitted your application.

Out of area applicants who are unable to attend may schedule an alternative assessment with the admission team.

 

Grade 6

Upper School Applicant Visits: Applicants to grade 6 are invited to spend time at MCDS during a normal school day. Visits are held on select days from 8am-1:20 pm. You may RSVP for a 6th Grade Applicant Visit after you have submitted an application. This required step is in addition to US Admission Saturday.

Sixth Grade Admission Saturday: Applicants to sixth grade are assessed on Saturday, February 1, 2020. Out of area applicants who are unable to attend may schedule an alternative assessment with the admission team. Sixth grade applicants visit campus, meet teachers, and participate in fun activity sessions as a way to assess readiness for the MCDS program. We strongly encourage your child to attend as this is a time for our teachers to observe the applicant. Register through the Ravenna portal once you have submitted your application.

ISEE or SSAT: Grade 6 applicants are also required to take either the ISEE or the SSAT at any convenient and public test site before February 1, 2020. Register for the ISEE (be sure to use MCDS school code 054004) OR register for the SSAT by clicking here.  Please be sure to have the test center share results with MCDS directly.  MCDS will host the ISEE on the morning of January 11, 2020. MCDS will be a private test site, to register use invitation code: 9VYQ8JY7.

Click here to register for the ISEE using school code 054004 OR click here to register for the SSAT.

We recommend that you and your child take the time to read over the materials that ISEE and SSAT provide on their websites. We do not think students need to spend a lot of time prepping for the test, but we do see value in taking at least one practice test. This way students can get a feel for how the test is structured and how questions are written.

Grade 7

Upper School Applicant Visits: Applicants to grade 7 are invited to spend time at MCDS during a normal school day. Visits are held on select days between November and March from 8am-1:20 pm. You may RSVP for a 7th Grade Applicant Visit after you have submitted an application. This required step for 7th grade applicants.

ISEE or SSAT: Grade 7 applicants are also required to take either the ISEE or the SSAT at any convenient and public test site before February 1, 2020. Register for the ISEE (be sure to use MCDS school code 054004) OR register for the SSAT by clicking here.  Please be sure to have the test center share results with MCDS directly.  MCDS will host the ISEE on the morning of January 11, 2020. MCDS will be a private test site, to register use invitation code: 9VYQ8JY7.

Grade 8

MCDS does not accept applicants to grade 8.

Notifications & Family Decision Deadline

After the admission checklist has been completed, applications have been processed, and assessment results have been gathered, the Admission Committee will post final decisions through your Ravenna account on March 20, 2020. Families will have until 10 a.m. on March 26 to accept or deny admission offers.

Out of Town Applicants

We welcome applicants who live outside of the Bay Area and outside of the United States.  We also want to personally meet all applicants and their parent(s)/guardian(s) during the application process. This face-to-face meeting time is a significant priority for us as we look to make connections with new families and get to know applicants as deeply as possible. Visiting our campus during the school year is a critical component of applying to MCDS for all grades. 

Through your Ravenna Hub account, you can complete your child's application, sign up for events such as a tour, an interview and an assessment date for your child. If the standard dates and times published for these events are a hardship to schedule due to travel restraints, you should contact Admission Associate NJ Han at nhan@mcds.org for Kindergarten applicant families or admission@mcds.org for those families applying to grades 1-7. 
 

 

ENTRY POINTS

Traditional entry points for admission are kindergarten and sixth grade. Admission to all other grades is based upon attrition, and therefore difficult to predict if and when spaces may become available. We encourage you to apply if you feel MCDS would be a good fit for your child and family; should spaces become available, we admit students from the current applicant pool.

  • Kindergarten Applicants

Children who are not age five by August 1 in the year they would enroll are not encouraged to apply; however there is not an absolute cut-off date. We have a developmental program that is appropriate for a range of children and waiting an extra year is not necessarily an automatic benefit.

  • Sixth Grade Applicants

As students move from fifth to sixth grade, the program shifts from self-contained classrooms to a departmental structure and grade-level advisor groups. This format allows us to admit approximately twenty new students, expanding the size of the grade which broadens the social dynamic of the class.

  • We do not accept applications to eighth grade.

DATES & LINKS

Important Dates

  • October 18, 2020: Applications due for siblings, faculty & staff
  • January 15, 2020: Applications due for new families
  • January 15, 2020: Applications due for indexed tuition
  • March 16, 2020: Decision Week begins
  • March 20, 2020: Decisions posted at 12:00 pm PST
  • March 26, 2020: Family Reply deadline is 10:00am PST sharp

Helpful Links