Apply to Our Independent High School - Commonwealth School, Boston MA

Does the thought of joining a friendly group of enthusiastic scholars appeal to you? Are you eager to be challenged by teachers who are as warm and supportive as they are passionate about their subjects? Do you want to play—in the band, on the field, or just a game of chess? Would you like to commute to Boston’s Back Bay and have the city right outside your door? Will you join (or lead) the Math Team, Gender-Sexuality Alliance, Debate Team, Robotics Team, or Evil Genius Club? Are you ready to learn what you love and to love what you learn? Think about what you might accomplish here. And take the next step to join us.

How to Apply Step-by-Step

Step 1: Request Information

Step 2: Attend an Admissions Event

Step 3: Interview

We can’t wait to get to know you—and for you to get to know us—during your online interview. You and at least one parent/guardian will connect with a member of the admissions committee and begin a dialogue about what might make Commonwealth the perfect fit for you.

Please note that we conduct all of our interviews virtually. You can schedule your online interview through Ravenna (see Step 4). Appointments will open on September 1, 2025. Deadline: January 15.

Step 4: Apply

Commonwealth uses an online application system called Ravenna. Start by registering with Ravenna, creating a basic profile, and selecting "Commonwealth School" from the School Directory. The application fee is $60 for U.S. residents and $120 for international applicants. If the application fee is a burden for your family, please contact us for a fee waiver; we’ll gladly extend one. Deadline: January 15.

Learn more about admission for international students.

Get Started on Ravenna

Step 5: Visit

If you apply on or before December 1, you can spend a partial day at Commonwealth taking a student-led tour of the school with one or two parents/guardians, attending classes, and completing a writing exercise that will become part of your application.

If you apply after December 1, you’ll be able to complete the process with us virtually. You’ll have the opportunity to sign up for an optional virtual Q&A session with our student ambassadors, and we’ll set up a virtual appointment during which you’ll complete the writing exercise that will become part of your application. We’ll do our best to accommodate an in-person visit should space remain. While we wish that we could offer an in-person visit to every eligible applicant, we need to be mindful of capacity and our tight admissions timeline.

Step 6: Submit Additional Materials

As part of your application, you’ll need to submit a transcript, three school recommendations, and other materials. You’ll find detailed instructions below.

Standardized Test Scores

We require prospective students to submit either Secondary School Admissions Test (SSAT) or Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) scores, as they provide the admissions committee with a standard metric among applicants. We consider test scores within the context of each applicant’s overall application and educational background. Deadline: January 15.

Commonwealth’s SSAT code is 2542, and our ISEE code is 220222. If the SSAT registration fee poses a financial challenge for your family, please don’t hesitate to contact us about a possible fee waiver. Please note that we can only provide fee waivers for the Standard Paper SSAT in the U.S. Unfortunately, we’re unable to provide fee waivers for any ISEE testing.

Unless they attend a school in which English is the primary language of instruction, international applicants should plan to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in addition to the SSAT or ISEE.

If students have taken any other standardized tests—MCAS, ERB, MAP, etc.—during middle school, we encourage them to share those results, too.

Recommendations

Transcript

We ask applicants to complete a transcript release form, which you’ll turn in to your current school. Please note that, as this is a shared form amongst the Boston-area institutions that use Ravenna, it’s only necessary to submit the form to your current school once; simply check off all of the Ravenna schools to which you plan on applying.

Transcripts should include full-year grades for 2024–2025 and partial-year grades for 2025–2026. Many schools will also include grades from 2023–2024, which we gladly accept. School administrators should either upload transcripts to Ravenna or send them directly to Commonwealth by email (admissions@commschool.org). Deadline: January 15.

Student Questionnaire

Writing Sample

We ask applicants to submit an essay that you’ve written during the 2025–2026 school year and that meets the following requirements:

It should come from an English, history, or social studies class.
It can be either a draft or the final version.
While it doesn’t need to be graded, it should include some kind of teacher feedback in the form of a completed rubric, comments, etc.
If it’s not possible to submit an essay from this school year, please select a piece of writing from the second semester of the 2024–2025 school year.
It should be uploaded to your Ravenna account.

Deadline: January 15.

Optional Materials

A personal recommendation—from a music instructor, coach, troop leader, past teacher, etc.—will be accepted but isn’t required. Please note that we’ll only consider one personal recommendation per applicant. Please refrain from submitting multiple personal recommendations.

In addition, if you'd like to submit any supplemental materials as part of your application, you’re welcome to do so. This might be a visual art portfolio, a video of a music or theater performance, or a video about a special interest. Please keep in mind that this is completely optional. We only suggest submitting supplemental materials that will highlight your strengths and enable the admissions committee to get to know you better as a candidate.

Both personal recommendations and supplemental materials may be submitted through Ravenna. Deadline: January 15.

Step 7: Respond to the Admission Decision

Questions?

Our admissions team is here and happy to help guide you and your family through our application process. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Get in Touch

Important Dates and Deadlines

January 15, 2026:
Application deadline

March 10, 2026: Admission and financial aid decisions released

April 10, 2026: Deadline for students offered admission to respond

Commonwealth is definitely a good place for people who want to try new things and want to be challenged, especially in academics but also for arts and even athletics. I think it's a place where you can really be yourself.

Keep Exploring

Meet the Admissions Committee

Meet the team making admission decisions, and learn more about what they're looking for.

Meet the Committee

Learn More About Financial Aid

Explore tuition costs, student grants, frequently asked questions about private school expenses, and more.

Explore Financial Aid

Get a Sneak Preview with a Virtual Visit

We can’t wait to welcome applicants and their families to our building! In the interim, you can visit us virtually.

Visit Us Virtually

Commonwealth School has a longstanding policy of nondiscriminatory admission of students. The School admits qualified students of any race, color, religious affiliation, national and ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, mental or physical disability, gender identity or sexual orientation to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious affiliation, national and ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, mental or physical disability, gender identity or sexual orientation or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid and loan program, and athletic or other school-administered programs.

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