Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
| What is the boy/girl ratio? |
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| We make every effort to keep a balanced boy/girl ratio in each grade level. |
| What is the average class size? |
| In Preschool, associate teachers assist the lead teachers in each class of 16. In grades 1 through 4, the average class size is 17. In the Middle and Upper Schools, the average class size is 18. |
| Do Greenhill students wear uniforms? |
| No. However, there are dress guidelines for each school division. |
| Does Greenhill provide transportation? |
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Greenhill does not offer bus service generally, though we do have a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Dallas to provide transportation to their members who are enrolled at Greenhill and express a need. There is a cost associated. Many of our families form carpools. We provide new Greenhill students with a list of families within a few miles of their home to help them coordinate carpools. |
| What foreign languages are offered and when? |
| Spanish is offered in prekindergarten through grade 4 to build foundational structures between language and culture. In grade 5, students are exposed to language learning through a trimester-long sequence of Mandarin Chinese, Latin, and Spanish. Grade 6 students will choose Mandarin Chinese, Latin, or Spanish to study throughout their Middle School years. Upper School students must begin their study in grade 9 and complete Level III of one language. Students often continue to study their Middle School language of choice throughout Upper School allowing them to achieve a strong depth and breadth of understanding in the language. |
| Does Greenhill have a religious affiliation? |
| Greenhill does not have any religious affiliation. We celebrate and learn from students and families with many different religious backgrounds. We accept students of any race, color, religious, national, and ethnic origin, and offer all the rights and privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. |
| How long is the school day for each division? |
| Prekindergarten & Kindergarten: 8:00 am – 2:45 pm Lower School (Primer – 4th Grade): 8:00 am – 3:15 pm Middle School (5th – 6th Grade): 8:00 am – 3:40 pm Middle School (7th – 8th Grade): 8:00 am – 4:05 pm Upper School (9th – 12th Grade): 8:30 am – 3:55 pm |
| Does Greenhill offer after-school care? |
| Yes, Greenhill offers after-school care in our Extended Day program from Preschool through Middle School. Various pick-up options are offered with care available until 6:00 pm. Visit our Extended Day webpage for more information. |
| Do you offer mid-year admission? |
| We do not admit any students after the school year has begun. Any interested applicants will need to apply for the following fall. |
| Does Greenhill accept international students? |
| Greenhill welcomes applications from international families moving to the Dallas area. However, our school does not offer assistance obtaining visas (including I-20s) or provide housing, and we are unable to admit students for the current school year once it begins. |
| What are Greenhill's immunization requirements? |
| All students enrolled at Greenhill School must be immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases caused by infectious agents in accordance with the most current immunization schedule adopted by the Texas Department of State Health Services. All students must have a complete and current immunization record on file to enroll or reenroll at Greenhill School. Exemptions for reasons of conscience are not accepted. Exclusions for medical reasons must have a written statement from a board-certified allergy/immunology or hematology/oncology physician licensed by any state in the United States (M.D. or D.O.) who has examined the student. |
Application Questions
| At what age can my child apply to Greenhill? |
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| A child must be four years old and toilet trained by September 1st of the year they would begin prekindergarten at Greenhill. A child must be five years old by September 1st of the year he/she would begin Kindergarten at Greenhill. |
| When are your application deadlines and requirements? |
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Please see our Applying to Greenhill webpage. |
| What openings are available at each grade level? |
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Average Spaces Available: |
| Do siblings and alumni children have preference for admission? |
| We take great care with applicants who are siblings of currently enrolled students, children of alumni, and/or children of full-time faculty and staff. We value their close association with the School and hope to continue those relationships. However, we cannot guarantee the admission of community applicants based on association alone. All applicants, including community applicants, are evaluated according to the same individual criteria, combined with an effort to achieve class balance, diversity, and consideration of space available. We admit students who we believe will benefit from our mission-specific program and will flourish in the environment we foster, both in and out of the classroom. |
| Can my child apply after the deadline? |
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We are unable to evaluate applicants to Prekindergarten and Kindergarten after the application deadlines have passed and we have notified applicants to those grades. For Grades 1-12, we will try to accommodate families by allowing late applications and reviewing those applications on a rolling basis. Late applicants are typically applying for a place in our waitpool because we do not anticipate having enrollment openings after our process concludes in March. If a space becomes available in the spring or summer, we will consider applicants who are in the waitpool. We do not admit students once the school year has begun. Please contact the Admission Office at (972) 628-5910 before submitting a late application. |
| Should I call to find out if my required documents have been received? |
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Please check your Online Application Checklist to see if your documents have been received. Please allow our office time to process test scores, transcripts, and interview reports. If you believe something should be checked completed and you have waited a week and it isn’t, then you should call or email to ask the question. |
| What should I do if my school issues grades after the required deadline? |
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Schools issuing grades after our deadline should just email the grades to us as soon as possible. Please do not fax. |
Testing Questions
| Why does my child have to take a test? |
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| Testing and observations provide an objective report of the academic and/or developmental readiness of an applicant. We utilize the same tools for all our applicants. Results from testing and observations are only one part of the application process. The application in its entirety – the questionnaires, teacher recommendations, grades, student and parent interviews, and observations and test scores – are reviewed by the Admission Committee individually and as a group. Please note that the strength of an individual application will be determined, in part, by the strength of the applicant pool. |
| What is CATS Testing? |
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CATS testing is an individually administered measure of intellectual ability that is designed to assess a child’s capacity to learn. In this assessment, your child will be asked to perform various tasks that will evaluate skills using verbal and visual cues. We know that no matter how remarkable or respected an assessment may be, no number can capture the innate intelligence or character of a child – especially when the child is so young! Therefore, we use this evaluation along with direct observations, teacher evaluations, parent statements, and interviews to assess your child’s readiness for Greenhill. |
| How should I prepare my child before testing? |
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Greenhill discourages applicants from taking test prep courses or being tutored specifically for admission testing and observations. Young children should absolutely not be "prepped” for the CATS testing or our on-campus observations. They should rest well, have a good breakfast, and be encouraged to participate in activities with Greenhill teachers, or in the case of CATS, a trusted adult. Test prep may result in anxiety and possibly an admission decision that is not in the applicant's best interest. For students applying to grades 2-11 and taking the ISEE, if you are interested in familiarizing your child with the ISEE, you can click here to gain insights and practice tests to prepare your child for the day of testing. Remember that testing and observations are part of an application that is considered comprehensively. Higher scores do not guarantee admission and lower scores do not automatically rule out admission. |
Financial Aid Questions
| What is financial aid at Greenhill? |
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| Greenhill offers financial aid in the form of tuition grants. A tuition grant is money applied toward the tuition for the upcoming school year and does not need to be repaid. |
| Does Greenhill offer merit or athletic scholarships? |
| To keep our process fair, equitable, and need-based, we do not offer any type of merit, including athletic, scholarships. Financial aid decisions are based solely on a family’s demonstrated need. |
| Does applying for financial aid factor into the admission decision-making process? |
| Our admission process is need-blind, meaning our admission committee does not consider a student’s need for financial assistance in its decision. |
| Will I qualify for a tuition grant? |
| Any family may apply for assistance. The ability to pay is based on combined salaries, business cash flow, and assets while considering the number of children in tuition-required schools and any unusual expenses. The Family Income Chart gives an idea of past grants based on average family income levels, but should not be used to assume a specific amount will be granted. |
| Who can apply for financial aid? |
| Families who have students entering prekindergarten through grade 12 may apply. |
| Is there help for extra costs associated with attending a private school? |
| Yes, Greenhill devotes a part of its financial aid budget to assist families who demonstrate a financial need for supplemental support (including but not limited to approved fine art and athletic costs). $570,000 of the 2024-25 budget is earmarked to cover these costs. |
| Do I have to reapply every year? |
| Because a family’s financial situation may change from year to year, the committee requires all current financial aid recipients to reapply each year. Grants may be adjusted if a family’s financial circumstances change significantly. |
| Where can I find additional information? |
| You can visit Greenhill’s Financial Aid webpage. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) website and the School and Student Services (SSS) by Community Brands website provide helpful tips and articles. |
| Who can I contact if I have more questions? |
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Please contact Amy deBorst, Director of Financial Aid: |
Waitpool Questions
| My child was offered a place in the waitpool. What does this mean? |
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| Each year, Greenhill typically receives more applications from qualified students seeking admission than we have room to accept. A waitpool is created to offer these students an opportunity to remain in consideration for admission, should space become available. You must complete the Waitpool Form to be considered if a space becomes available. |
| What is the probability for waitpool applicants to be invited for admission? |
| It varies every year, depending on the response from applicants offered admission, the characteristics of the total applicant pool, and the individual qualifications of waitpool candidates. |
| How soon will we hear updates on the status of our application? |
| The deadline to complete the Waitpool Form in your admission checklist is March 22, 2024. Initial waitpool openings, if any, are determined soon after this date. Additional openings may become available when there are changes in an enrolled student’s plans to attend Greenhill. It is possible for a waitpool candidate to be offered admission as late as August. The waitpool formally closes before the new school year begins. Though we do not provide regular updates, if your child is selected from the waitpool, you will receive a telephone call from the Admission Office. |
| Are waitpool applicants ranked in any way? |
| Greenhill does not rank applicants in the waitpool. As space becomes available, all waitpool candidates are individually reconsidered. |
| How should I fill out the Waitpool Form? |
| We understand that while your interest in Greenhill may remain, you may have deadlines — such as a contract at another school — that only allow you to remain in the waitpool for a certain amount of time. Please indicate on the form when you would realistically still accept a place at Greenhill. |
| Should my child accept an invitation to attend another school? |
| If Greenhill is your first choice, we welcome you to wait until March 22, 2024, before accepting admission to another school that may have offered your child a space. If Greenhill is unable to offer your child a space by March 22, and you would like to be assured a space in an independent school, then we would encourage you to accept enrollment in another school of your choice by March 22. If you do so, please understand that you will likely be required to pay a non-refundable enrollment deposit at that school. Please take that into consideration when filling out your waitpool form and if you need to make any adjustments, let us know by email. |
| Can my child increase their chances of being selected from the waitpool? |
| No additional action is required; however, we welcome any new information that could be relevant to the admission process such as a copy of a fourth-quarter report card, teacher comments, or notice of awards received or other significant accomplishments. If you are able to share your intent to enroll if accepted from the waitpool, please reflect that on the waitpool form. Any new materials can be emailed to admission@greenhill.org. |
