• News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • Atlanta 500
    • Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us
    • Women Making a Mark
    • Pride Guide 2022
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
    • The TOUR Championship Cocktail Contest
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
    • Sponsored: Preferred HOME Partner
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
    • Buckhead Guidebook
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • Hidden Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
    • Gilmer: Ellijay Visitors Guide 2022
    • Alabama Vacation Guide 2023
  • Best of ATL
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • Do
    • Buy
    • Readers’ Choice
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Pitch Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2022
      • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
      • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2019
      • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
      • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
      • Best Burger Battle
      • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
      • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
    • Event Photos
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Sign up
Welcome!Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Atlanta 500
  • Give Atlanta
  • GaBiz Magazine
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Create an account
Welcome! Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
  • News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • Atlanta 500
    • Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us
    • Women Making a Mark
    • Pride Guide 2022
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
    • The TOUR Championship Cocktail Contest
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
    • Sponsored: Preferred HOME Partner
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
    • Buckhead Guidebook
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • Hidden Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
    • Gilmer: Ellijay Visitors Guide 2022
    • Alabama Vacation Guide 2023
  • Best of ATL
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • Do
    • Buy
    • Readers’ Choice
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Pitch Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2022
      • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
      • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2019
      • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
      • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
      • Best Burger Battle
      • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
      • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
    • Event Photos
Home Independent School Guide Getting In
Promotion

Getting In

Now that you’ve narrowed down your choices, the hard work begins. Here’s how to set yourself apart from the crowd—and get your foot in the door.
By
H.M. Cauley
-
November 1, 2016
1296
Ryan Snook
Ryan Snook

Congratulations! The search for the ideal independent school match for your child is over. The only hurdle to clear now is getting your student through the door.

For many parents, the admissions process may be as daunting as the search itself, with a grueling grind of interviews, testing, essay writing, and references that now take on critical importance. While sweating over little Tommy’s placement test or Katie’s report cards, many parents may overlook prepping for one key element: how they present themselves to the school community.

“We look at the parents to see how they set themselves apart from others,” says Donna Windham, admission director for Landmark Christian School. “We do parent
interviews and talk about why they are looking at our school, what they think makes it a good match, and what they expect. We want to know if they’re going to be good partners because our partnership is with the parents on the student’s behalf.”

As is the case at many independent schools, prospective students at Landmark’s Fairburn and Peachtree City campuses are interviewed and invited to spend a day shadowing another child of the same age, and teacher feedback from that process is weighed in the admission decision. Other factors include academic success as indicated on report cards and transcripts, and the scores from standardized national tests. Students transferring from a public school will also take Landmark’s placement test. Added into that mix is the evaluation of the parents’ commitment.

Atlanta Girls’ School
Atlanta Girls’ School

“That’s integral to a child’s success at any school,” says Windham. Demonstrating that commitment to your school of choice might mean attending events even before a child is accepted. Families looking to enroll at either the College Park or Johns Creek campus of Woodward Academy are encouraged to participate in activities and programs as a way to get acquainted with the admissions staff and faculty. It also helps for the staff and teachers to get to know the parents.

“That never hurts,” says Rebecca Eckstein, Woodward’s vice president for admissions and enrollment management. “We invite parents to come to concerts, theatrical performances, and football games, and their coming lets us know that Woodward is important to them. At the same time, they move from being an unknown family to a known family.”

Parents who begin to build those relationships will also hear staff advising them to start the admissions process sooner rather than later. “With testing and transcripts, and setting up tours and interviews, it can take some time, and those who start early may have a little bit of an edge over others,” says Eckstein. “The deadlines are pretty serious. Our applications open October 1 for the next year, and files are reviewed when they’re completed. We have about 1,000 applicants every year, but if we only need 50 students for ninth grade, once we admit 50, the admissions committee may not be enthusiastic about reading late files.”

Woodward Academy
Woodward Academy

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Sandy Springs also encourages parents and prospective students to participate in activities that are posted online. “Take advantage of open houses, shadowing possibilities, athletic events or sporting events, and tours—any opportunity for the parents and students and the schools to get to know each other,” says Beth-Sarah Wright, the school’s director of enrollment management.

As do many other independent schools, Holy Innocents’ participates in a shared online application system that streamlines the collection of test scores, essays, and the like, then creates a repository for all schools to access. “You can create one account that minimizes paperwork and lets you apply to as many schools as possible,” says Wright. That should leave you to take advantage of in-person activities. And when all else is equal, those personal connections might mean the difference between acceptance and rejection.

“Doing those things is not a requirement,” says Windham. “But they’re the sort of things that will set you apart.”

Advertisement
  • TAGS
  • 2016-17
  • independent schools
  • Private schools
  • school guide
Beth Castle

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Sponsored

Thinking Outside the Box

Sponsored

Digging up the Past

Sponsored

Space to Grow

Follow Us

69,386FansLike
144,836FollowersFollow
493,480FollowersFollow
Atlanta Magazine
Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the city’s premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles.

Most recent

What to know before you visit Harry Potter: the Exhibition in Atlanta

7 things to know before you visit Harry Potter: the Exhibition in Atlanta

October 24, 2022
A love letter to the Flora-Bama

A love letter to the Flora-Bama

March 22, 2023
Three ways to spend spring break on Florida's Gulf Coast

Three ways to spend spring break on Florida’s Gulf Coast

March 22, 2023

GREAT READS

Repurposing downtown Atlanta springs

The scent of water: Searching for hidden springs in downtown Atlanta

February 3, 2023
Abu Talib

Hell and high water: A harrowing journey from Myanmar to Clarkston, Georgia

February 1, 2023
Stop Cop City protestors South River Forest Atlanta

“The birds stopped singing”: Inside the battle for Atlanta’s South River Forest

January 20, 2023
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Business Forum
  • Privacy and Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • General Contest Rules
© 2023. All rights reserved.