Admissions

At Commonwealth, we’re looking for intellectually curious and creative students from a wide range of backgrounds.

Visit

We encourage you to come and visit the School, talk with teachers and students, and see whether Commonwealth is the right school for you. The first step in scheduling a visit is submitting an inquiry form.

Read an update from Headmaster Bill Wharton highlighting many student accomplishments and honors of the past year.

To Apply

• Download and print an application to mail in, or
• Apply online

Application fees are $50 for the online application, $60 for paper applications for U.S. residents, and $70 for international applicants.

Admissions Procedure

Submit an application: Download and print an application, or apply online. The application fee is $55 for forms submitted by mail and $45 for applications submitted online. Deadline: January 1.

When your application is received, we will call to schedule an interview and tour. During this 1½-hour visit, prospective students and their families meet with an admissions representative, and a current student shows them the school. Deadline: February 1.

Schedule a day visit. Living like a Commonwealth student for a day, you are paired with a student host for classes, lunch, and an unscripted look at the school. Applicants also write two 40-minute essays that become part of their application folders. The essays help give us a sense of students' writing ability. Deadline: February 1.

Submit transcript(s), three letters of recommendation, and your SSAT (or ISEE) scores. Deadline: February 1.

Admission decisions are mailed on March 11.

Admissions Philosophy

Commonwealth is unusual among independent schools in that teachers make up the admissions committee. We favor this approach for several reasons:

• In assessing applicants' intellectual and artistic interests and abilities, the committee can draw on deep knowledge of Commonwealth's culture and demands.
• In deciding whether an applicant and the school are right for each other, we weigh the strength of a student's record, but we also look for subtler signs of substantial talent that will flourish under the right circumstances.
• The teachers who work in admissions also represent the school fully and accurately at our open houses, at admissions fairs elsewhere in Boston, and in interviews with applicants and parents.