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Admissions Process & Timelines

Carrollwood Day School welcomes all prospective applicants and families. The school seeks to admit those students who show the potential to grow significantly while at CDS. Students must be academically on or above grade level.

Each division – Lower School (Early Childhood and Elementary), Middle, and Upper School – has slightly different admissions procedures, so please view the division in which you are interested. Regardless of the students' age, Carrollwood Day School strongly recommends a personal tour for parents before submitting an application. Families will receive an admissions packet during their visit. Beginning in PreK 3, all applicants are required to complete a developmental/learning assessment.

Middle School and Upper School applicants are required to come for a visit day. You will receive more information regarding this in the application once the initial inquiry has been submitted. Experiencing our learning environment firsthand is a key component in the school selection process.

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In this Section

Lower School (ECC & Elementary)

PROCESS

  • Schedule a tour of the Early Childhood Campus/Bearss Avenue Campus
  • Complete an online application 
  • Schedule an assessment and group observation (if applicable)
  • PreK 4 - 5th Grade: Submit teacher recommendation form
  • Elementary - Submit two years of report cards & standardized test scores (if applicable)
  • Elementary - Complete an Admissions assessment

TIMELINE

  • September 1st: Applications Available Online
  • December - January: Screening Appointments/Testing Days
  • January: ECC Group Observations
  • January 31st: Admissions Applications Due for First-Round Consideration
  • Late February: Notification of Lower School Admissions Decisions
Middle (Grades 6-8)

PROCESS

  • Schedule a tour of the Bearss Avenue Campus
  • Complete an online application
  • Submit one teacher recommendation form
  • Submit previous two years of report cards & standardized test scores (if applicable)
  • Schedule a visit day for your child. 

TIMELINE

  • September 1st: Applications Available Online
  • Early October: Visit Days Begin
  • January 31st: Admissions Applications Due for First-Round Consideration
  • Late February: Notification of Middle School Admissions Decisions
Upper (Grades 9-11)

PROCESS

  • Schedule a tour of the Bearss Avenue Campus
  • Complete an online application - Applications available September 1st
  • Submit student portion of application - must be completed by the student applicant
  • Submit two teacher recommendation forms
  • Submit previous two years of report cards & standardized test scores, to include the first semester of this current school year.
  • Schedule a visit day for your child. Admissions will contact you to schedule your child's visit day.
  • 9th grade ONLY: Register to take the SSAT (www.ssat.org). Designate CDS with code: 2137.

TIMELINE

  • September 1st: Applications Available Online
  • Early October: Visit Days Begin
  • January 31st: Admissions Applications Due for First-Round Consideration
  • March 1st: Notification of Upper School Admissions Decisions

Waiting Pool

Once a class has reached capacity, qualified applicants are placed in a waiting pool.  When an opening arises in a particular grade, the Admissions Committee reconvenes to determine which candidate in the waiting pool will fill the position.