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Frequently Asked Questions |
What kind of student is Menlo School looking for? |
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What kind of student is Menlo looking for?
Menlo students come from a wide variety of schools—over 35 at each of the 6th and 9th grade levels! Committed to attracting and supporting students from a broad spectrum of ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds, the School strives to reflect the rich diversity of communities that surround it. Menlo students share these qualities:
- Strong academic skills
- Eagerness to learn
- Motivation to work hard
- Willingness to try new things and to become involved in the school community
- An interest or even a passion outside as well as inside the classroom
- Openness to getting to know new people
- A sense of humor
- Solid character — honest, fair, responsible, and tolerant
Test scores are looked at in the context of an applicant's entire file. Although there is no required minimum score for admission, the Admissions Committee does expect scores to fall within a range that would confirm a student's solid grasp of academic skills. The School recognizes that a standardized test score does not always reflect a student's strengths. High scores do not necessarily indicate the motivation, curiosity, and lively interest in learning that we hope will distinguish our students. Therefore, student essays, teacher recommendations and the academic transcript provide the context for the interpretation of an applicant's standardized scores.
To register contact:
- ISEE: Call 1-800-446-0320 (EST) or register on-line at www.iseetest.org
- SSAT: Fax 1-800-442-7728 or register on-line at www.ssat.org
Note that
- The Upper School accepts either the ISEE or the SSAT
- The Middle School requires applicants to take the ISEE
To register for either test, you must contact the testing agencies directly. You cannot register through Menlo School.
Many people ask if additional recommendations, beyond the two teacher letters, would be helpful. The only additional letter that might assist us would be from an adult who knows the applicant so well that he could add a new dimension to our perception of the applicant. If the family feels such a letter would be appropriate, the Admissions Committee will certainly give it full attention.
We have 72 openings in 6th grade and approximately 70 openings in 9th grade. The average number of students in 9th grade is 138. Most of our 8th grade students (72) will continue to the Upper School, so the number of openings in 9th grade can vary slightly each year.
Openings for Transfer Students
This is a difficult number to predict and varies from year to year. All of our classes are full, and a student would have to leave the School before an opening would occur in grades other than 6th and 9th. We welcome applicants who are transfer students, but want families to be aware that we cannot guarantee there will be openings.
It is important that we receive applications by our deadline. Our Admissions Committee meets in February to review all applications received by the deadline. Applications that are not received in our office by 4:00 P.M. on January 9, 2006 will not be reviewed in the initial evaluation process.
Tuition for the academic year 2006–2007 is $27,500.
Additional costs of attending the School — charges for books, supplies and certain school activities — are not included in tuition. Families receiving financial aid for school tuition receive additional financial support to meet these additional costs.
Menlo School is committed to serving an economically diverse community of students. All financial aid awards are based exclusively on financial need; we do not offer merit or athletic scholarships. The Admissions Committee considers each applicant without knowing whether or not the applicant's family is applying for financial aid.
For detailed information regarding the financial aid process, please visit our Financial Aid page.
For financial aid application dates, please visit our Admissions Calendar page.
