Upper School (Ages 14-18)

UPPER 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. For first consideration, applications for fall should be submitted between September 1 and January 15 of the preceding academic year – 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 Upper School in mid-March, so timely completion of the admissions process – including written application, main campus tour, parent interview, and student visit – is very important. 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).Upper School applicants are welcome but not required to take this tour; they will spend at least half a day visiting the School later.

• Submission of a completed application and non-refundable $50 application fee. A completed application includes two recommendations from a teacher who has worked with the student, transcripts from the previous three years, and a writing sample (a school assignment, including teacher evaluation).

• 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. Applicants to the first year of Upper School visit for half a day, and older students visit for a full day, attending classes and activities with a student host from the Admissions Committee. Upper School applicant visits begin in December and can be arranged as soon after an application is received.

Families are notified about admissions decisions in mid-March: students are accepted, placed in the waiting pool, or denied admission to the School.  Signed contracts for newly accepted students are due within two weeks. 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 Upper 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 8-07