Lower School (Ages 6-10)

LOWER SCHOOL ADMISSIONS POLICY

Since its beginning, Carolina Friends School (CFS) has sought to build and maintain a student body fully representative of the surrounding community. We actively seek young people diverse in race, nationality, creed, family structure, physical ability, and socio-economic background. In doing so, we continue to seek students from families whose values are in harmony with Quaker philosophy and with the educational goals of the School, and we consider the student’s potential to benefit from and contribute to the School. Admissions decisions are made by the Admissions Committee, which includes the unit Head Teacher and the Admissions Coordinator. The Principal may review decisions to ensure that they comport with School policy, which is developed by the CFS Board of Trustees.

PRACTICES REGARDING ADMISSIONS

Families who hope to enroll their children in Carolina Friends School should apply through the Admissions Office on main campus. To be considered as a first-year student in the Lower School, students would need to be 6 years old before September 1 of the year in which they would enroll.

For first consideration, applications for fall should be submitted between September 1 and January 15 of the preceding academic year (January 4 for the first-year class) – the earlier the better. In coordination with other local schools affiliated with the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools, we will notify families applying to the first year of Lower School on February 20; families of older Lower School students will be notified on March 6.

This means that timely completion of the admissions process – including written application, main campus tour, parent interview, and student visit – is extremely important. The application process for applicants to the first-year class should be complete by February 6, and for older applicants by February 20. Families are urged to apply as early as they can and to call to complete the process as soon as possible.

We also welcome applications after January 15 and will consider all applications as spaces arise.

The Admissions Committee is responsible for admissions decisions in each unit.  The complete application process typically includes the following steps: 

• A parent tour designed to orient parents to the overall program of the School.  To schedule a tour, parents can contact the Admissions Secretary at the main campus (383-6602 x 221).   

• Submission of a completed application and non-refundable $50 application fee.  A completed application includes one recommendation from a teacher who has worked with the student.

• An interview between the parents and a member of the Admissions Committee.  After submitting an application, a parent should call the Admissions Secretary to make an appointment for this interview. 

• A visit by the prospective student. Parents of Lower School applicants can expect to learn at their interviews about how to arrange for student visits.

Families are notified about admissions per the timetable listed below. Students are accepted, placed in the waiting pool, or denied admission to the School. 

We welcome applications at all times, and when spaces open up, the Admissions Committee looks to the entire waiting pool, which then includes applications received after January 15. CFS reserves the right to accept a late applicant who fulfills admissions criteria, in accordance with the goals of the School.

Decisions regarding admissions are made independently of consideration regarding families’ abilities to pay the full cost of enrollment at the School, and Lower School families are eligible to receive need-based tuition assistance from Carolina Friends School. Families should apply for tuition aid when applying for admission to the School, by going to the website for Tuition Aid / Data Services (TADS) (www.tuitionaid.com) or calling CFS to receive a paper application. Limited funds for tuition aid make it impossible to accommodate every family’s unique financial circumstances. We make every effort to notify a family about tuition aid at the time of admission or as soon thereafter as possible. A family wondering whether they might qualify for tuition aid is welcome to talk with the Admissions Coordinator before deciding to apply.

In the fall, applicants who remain in the waiting pool are contacted about whether they wish their applications to be reactivated and considered for the subsequent year (without charge). Families whose students are offered admission in the spring and who refuse the offer would need to re-apply (and pay another application fee) if they wished to be considered for the next year.

The Principal bears the final responsibility for all admissions decisions. Questions concerning such matters should be directed first to the Admissions Coordinator and then, if necessary, to the Principal’s office. If you have questions about the status of your application, please feel free to call the Admissions Secretary or the Admissions Coordinator – not the Head Teacher – to request information.

Revised 05-08