How to Apply

Your Admissions Portal is your online, password-protected Hackley admissions account. You will use this to begin your application, schedule interview appointments, RSVP for events, request recommendations and more. Most importantly, you will be able to monitor your application through the portal.

To begin, click here to complete our inquiry form. Once done, you will receive a confirmation email with login information to access your admissions application. If you have already completed an inquiry form, you can log in to your portal here.

We’d love to meet you! Explore our Lower, Middle or Upper School Open Houses, take a campus tour, or join us for one of our virtual Thursdays on the Hilltop. Learn more and sign up for events online.

The family portion of your application includes the family and student information forms, parent/guardian and student questionnaires, the interests and accomplishments form, and the application fee. The family portion must be completed and submitted no later than Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. All supporting documents (transcripts, recommendations, test scores, etc.) are due by Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.

Once you have submitted an application, you can sign up for a campus tour.

Once you've submitted your family and student information forms and the application fee, please schedule your interviews and required visits in your Admissions Portal. Interviews and visits must be scheduled by Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. Contact the admissions office at 914-366-2642 to schedule your appointments if you are applying for multiple children.

• Kindergarten-Grade 2: Applicants join us on campus for a “Mini K,” “Mini 1,” or “Mini 2” visit, a required group evaluation session conducted in our Lower School by Hackley teachers. Applicants to Kindergarten and Grade 1 will also have a required one-on-one assessment with our educational psychologist, which we generally schedule for the same time as the parent/guardian interview. If your child is currently in Kindergarten and you are considering whether a second Kindergarten year at Hackley or continuing to Grade 1 would be the best fit for your child, please email [email protected] to schedule a phone call with us.
• Grades 3-4: Applicants join us for a class visit with their peers in their current grade. Parents/Guardians will join us on campus for an interview. 
• Grade 5: Applicants to Grade 5 will be invited to a classroom visit with their current grade, space permitting. Until we have a better understanding of space in Grade 5, we will not be arranging class visits or parent interviews. Should we find that we will have availability in the grade, we will contact you to arrange a visit and interview by Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, to arrange a visit and interview in late January.
• Grade 6: Applicants to Grades 6 will be welcomed on campus with other Grade 6 applicants for a group activity. 
• Grade 7-Grade 11:  Applicants to Grades 7-11 and their parents/guardians will join us on campus for interviews. Until we have a better understanding of space in Grades 7-8, we will not be arranging interviews. Should we find that we will have availability in the grade, we will contact you by Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, to arrange interviews in late January.
  
  We would love to have you join us on campus, but we can accommodate families who need a virtual interview.  Please contact the admissions office at [email protected] or 914-366-2642 to schedule a virtual option.

Please submit transcripts for the current and two prior school years. If your child has attended more than one school in the past three years, you may need to submit our Release of Information Form separately to each previous school. We recommend waiting until after the first marking period to submit transcript requests. Transcripts are due by Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.

We require teacher and principal/counselor recommendations. For Grades K-5, one teacher recommendation is needed. For Grades 6-11, we require recommendations from both the English and math teachers. If your child has the same teacher for both English and math, the teacher must complete both recommendations as the questions on the form are subject-specific. The principal/counselor recommendation is required for Grades 1-11. It is optional for Kindergarten applicants and can be completed by a nursery school or day care director.

You can send the electronic recommendation requests directly to your child’s teachers from your Admissions Portal starting in November. All recommendations must be submitted by Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.

The ISEE or SSAT is required for applicants to Grades 5-11. Schedule your child to take either test by November or December for optimal timing. Tests must be taken no later than Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. To send us scores, use Hackley’s school codes when registering:

• ISEE:  Enter Hackley School code 335540 when registering for the ISEE. 
• SSAT: Enter Hackle School code 3640 when registering for the SSAT.

Hackley follows the ISAAGNY Notification and Reply Date Calendar. Admissions decisions will be available through your portal at the following times: 

• Kindergarten: Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, no earlier than 10 a.m. Families accepted to Kindergarten must notify the Admissions Office regarding their decision to enroll no later than noon on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
• Grades 1-8: Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, no earlier than 4 p.m. Families accepted to Grades 1-8 must notify the Admissions Office of their decision to enroll no later than noon on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.
• Grades 9-11: Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, no earlier than 4 p.m. Families accepted to Grades 9-11 must notify the Admissions Office of their decision to enroll no later than noon on Thursday, March 12, 2026.