Principles of Good Practice

Member schools will maintain confidentiality throughout the admissions process, and schools will protect prospective student and family information.

Connected applicants are: 

• siblings of current or former students
• legacy: a parent or guardian matriculated at the school
• children of current faculty or staff 
• active congregants of an affiliated religious institution 
• children of current students, faculty, or staff of an affiliated academic institution 

 

Children enrolled in affiliated pre-2s programs at ISAAGNY schools also qualify for Early Notification to preschool. These families can be notified on the Early Notification date, but they cannot be required to reply prior to the regular reply date.

 

Member schools may choose to extend Early Notification to connected applicants applying for preschool and/or kindergarten. In doing so, they (1) may choose to narrow the aforementioned qualifiers, but may not expand on it, and (2) will adhere to the Early Notification opt-in, file completion, notification, and reply dates as stated each year. 

 

Member schools must equally consider applications from connected applicants, regardless of whether an applicant has designated the connected school as a priority.  

Without explicit consent from the Executive Committee (comprised of the Board Chair, Vice President, Treasurer, and Executive Director), members may not solicit data from fellow members. 

Application materials will be available to prospective families no earlier than August 1st, and will not be viewed or considered before that time. 

 

Admissions offices may start to conduct events or appointments with applicant families after August 1st. 

 

Barring unforeseen circumstances, member schools may only process applications for (1) the current academic year (i.e., to fill vacancies), and (2) the academic year immediately following the current admissions season (i.e., during the 2024-2025 academic year, schools may only process applications for the 2025-2026 academic year). 

 

Member schools will adhere to the ISAAGNY notification and reply dates as stated each year. 

 

If a family has more than one child, and each of those children is applying for entry to different grade levels at the same school, member schools may choose to send notifications to all applicants within that family on the earliest notification date of the grades to which they’ve applied. The reply dates will remain unchanged. 

 

After notifications have been sent out, member schools may: 

• have admissions professionals reach out to individual admitted families. Member schools are encouraged to refrain from repeated outreach that may overwhelm families.
• answer specific questions from admitted families. 
• host revisit events that (1) are optional, and (2) are open to all families admitted to a given grade, division, or residential status (day/boarding), or from a given region. While revisit events may be hosted at any point between notification and reply dates, member schools are encouraged to refrain from hosting on the day immediately preceding the reply date. 
• connect admitted families with a member of the school community (i.e., enrolled student and/or parent, faculty member, athletics coach) to facilitate decision-making, upon request. 
• extend offers to waitlisted families. 

 

After notifications have been sent out, member schools may not: 

• ask individual admitted families to divulge school preference. 
• pressure individual admitted families to make a decision at a time that diverges from that year’s reply date.

Note: The aforementioned behaviors are prohibited both directly (via communication with families) and indirectly (via communication with representatives of families’ sending schools). 

 

After a family declines an offered seat, member schools may ask them where they did decide to enroll. 

 

Schools that serve students with learning differences may admit and enroll students on a rolling basis. 

Annual dues are non-refundable and non-transferable. 

In accordance with applicable law, ISAAGNY’s mission, and the missions of our member schools, a school will not discriminate on the basis of: race, ethnicity, family structure, physical ability, gender identity and expression, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and neurodiversity, or any other protected categories under applicable law in the administration of its admission policies. Nothing herein, however, shall be construed to prevent the operation of a single-sex or religious school.

Member schools are required to use ISAAGNY forms. 

The information contained within the submitted forms must be kept confidential within the receiving school's admissions committee and appropriate school personnel. 

Information contained within forms may not be shared with anyone outside of the receiving school's admissions committee and appropriate school, including but not limited to consultants, board members, donors, family members, and anyone acting in the interest of the applicant family. 

Interviews must take place no earlier than August 1st and no later than that year’s notification date. 

Member schools may accept students who submit applications after the parent reply deadline. 

 

Prior to accepting postseason applicants, member schools are encouraged to confirm that these applicants have not yet committed to another ISAAGNY school. If an applicant has already committed to another school, the prospective school should (1) encourage them to communicate with the school to which they’ve committed, and (2) remind them of their financial responsibility at the school to which they’ve committed.

 

Students accepted in postseason must be given at least one week to consider the extended offer. 

Member schools may not use undue influence in recruiting students, either directly (via communication with families) or indirectly (via communication with representatives of families’ sending schools). 

 

Member schools will refrain from requesting and/or requiring “first choice letters” from applicant families. Should member schools receive such letters, they are not obligated to accept them. Note that the letters are neither binding for parents nor reflective of a sending school’s guidance. 

 

Sending schools will refrain from requesting and/or requiring families to submit “first choice letters” to receiving schools. 

Sending/Current School

Enrolled students at member schools may consider other educational options. 

Should an ISAAGNY student apply out to another member school, they must not be required to re-enroll at their current school before the notification date for those initially accepted. Past that date, each member school is responsible for clearly communicating their deadline to their community members.

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Receiving/Prospective School

Member schools may not offer admission to a current ISAAGNY student without completing the admissions process, including receiving the Confidential School Report and/or an official transcript directly from the sending/current school. If neither a report nor a transcript can be obtained, the receiving/prospective school must take the following steps prior to sending notification: (1) use best efforts to secure whatever records may be available, and (2) provide written notification to the sending/current school.