Application Process
Spring 2020
Dear Prospective Families,
Everyone at Mary McDowell Friends School wishes you and your family good health and safety during this difficult time. Our admissions team is continuing its work while our buildings are closed in accordance with the New York State On Pause executive order.
We are continuing to accept applications for 2020-21 for the following grades:
- Lower School – Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade
- Middle School – Full (Please contact the Admissions team for up-to-date information on possible openings.)
- Upper School – Very limited openings for 9th, 10th, and 11th grade
The Admissions team will review completed applications and schedule video interviews with students and parents as appropriate, depending on the child’s age. Please do not hesitate to contact us at admissions@mmfsnyc.org to discuss your child’s learning profile before starting an application.
We will be holding Virtual Information Sessions for our lower school this spring. For our middle and upper school, we will set up individual sessions with interested families.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to our Admissions team at admissions@mmfsnyc.org with any questions. We thank you for your interest in our school for your child.
Admissions Procedures
Referral
Most often, children come to Mary McDowell Friends School because an educator or psychologist refers them or parents are concerned about their child’s present educational placement. Every child must have had a psycho-educational or neuropsychological evaluation done either by the Committee on Special Education (CSE) of the Department of Education or an outside provider before being considered as an applicant to the school. The evaluation must be less than two years old and within a year for our youngest applicants.
When to Start
Although we accept applications throughout the year, parents usually start the application process in the fall if they are interested in having their child admitted to Mary McDowell Friends School for the following academic year.
Parent Tour
Unfortunately, we are unable to give tours of our school at this time. Click the Pre-Application Link at the bottom of this page to get started applying for fall admission. If you have any questions, please contact admissions@mmfsnyc.org.
Application
You will find the link to the admissions portal below. You will be asked to log in to your account, complete the application, and upload the following information:
- Neuropsychological or psycho-educational evaluation
- Report cards from last school year and current school year
- IEP if your child has one
- Classroom Teacher Recommendation — lower school and middle school applicants
- English and Math Teachers’ Recommendations — upper school applicants
- Any other relevant evaluations if available (i.e., speech/language, occupational therapy)
The application has many sections, and you do not have to finish them all at once. Each section will be saved as you complete it.
Upon receipt of the application and supporting documents, the admissions team will review the materials. If the team determines that our school could possibly meet the needs of the applicant, an appointment will be set up for a visit. There is a non-refundable $95 application fee.
Student Admissions Visit
Applicants visit MMFS during a school day, meet with the admissions team, view the school, and, possibly, spend time in a classroom. Student visits for the youngest applicants do not begin until late January.
Notification
Parents are notified in writing as soon as a decision is made concerning the applicant’s admission to the school, usually about two weeks after the student’s visit. Admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis throughout the school year for the following academic year.
Getting Started:
Click the link below to fill out our pre-application. You will receive an email with credentials to access the admissions portal, where you can book a tour and start the application.
If you have already taken a tour (or signed up for one), you already have an account and access to our admissions portal, where you can complete the online application and upload all of the required information.
If you have any questions as you are going through the application process, please contact admissions at admissions@mmfsnyc.org. If you are experiencing technical difficulties or errors please reach out to our IT department at it+vx@mmfsnyc.org.
Thank you again for your interest in Mary McDowell Friends School.