The Pennington School

Students and their parents choose The Pennington School for many different reasons, and we hear them over and over again. So why Pennington?

You can be yourself. Pennington students can expect to be respected by our community. You will feel comfortable in your own shoes, whoever you are.

You can think globally. Most middle and high school students have to wait until college to gain a global perspective. With dozens of opportunities to study and travel abroad and a diverse, multinational student body, Pennington students have a head start.

You can challenge yourself in the classroom. Our academic program combines a high standard for excellence with the means to help you reach your full potential and achieve success in preparing for life-- as well as for college and beyond.

You can explore the arts. The Pennington program is one of breadth and depth, beginning in Middle School, and includes both method and theory in the visual and performing arts. Our inclusive community and facilities for the arts will encourage you to discover your talents.

You can take risks. Our faculty members will challenge you to think critically, work cooperatively, develop great study skills, and step out of your comfort zones to try new experiences.

You are a part of a supportive community. Everyone in our school talks about our warm and inclusive community of students, parents, and teachers as one of their favorite things about The Pennington School. Come and see for yourself!

You have access to everything. You will have small classes, and your teachers will also be your coaches, advisors, and dorm parents. More than 50 percent of our faculty live here. We’re a boarding school; our door is always open—to the library, the gym, the pool, the art studios. Pennington is located between New York City and Philadelphia, and the town of Princeton is just minutes away.

Our students are remarkable.

We really know our students-- as participants in our classrooms and athletes on our teams, artists in our studios, and actors on our stages. They are the avid readers who notice that untold stories await in the science labs. They are the lifetime soccer players who realize that kicking for the football team would offer new challenges. They are the actresses who discover that directing allows them to continue their passion while honing their leadership skills.

Apply Now

The Pennington School is fully enrolled for the current academic year. If you have any questions, please reach out to the admission team at admiss@pennington.org. We will begin accepting applications for next year in mid-September.

Application Process

Applying for Grades 6–8

Online Application

Pennington accepts two online applications. Equal consideration is given to both forms of application.

Choose One:

• The Pennington School Online Application
• Standard Application Online (SAO): Applicants applying to multiple schools may want to consider applying through a common application, known as the Standard Application Online, or SAO.

If you are using The Pennington School Online Application, you will be asked to complete the following steps:

• Candidate Profile: On this form, you will provide us with basic information about yourself and your family.
• Application Fee: The application fee for domestic applications is $50. The international application fee is $150.
• Parent Questionnaire: We believe that your parent or guardian knows you better than anyone. The Parent Statement should be completed and signed electronically by your parent or guardian.
• Student Questionnaire: You will be asked to answer five questions about yourself and your interests. Tip: Write in Word and then copy into the application; there is no option for saving drafts!
• Academic Recommendations (English and math): You will be asked for the names and emails of your current English and math teachers. They will receive an email with a link for their recommendation letters, and they will submit their recommendation online.
• Character Recommendation: You will be asked for the name and email of a community member (not a relative) who can comment on your character and citizenship. He or she will receive an email with a link for the recommendation letter, and he/she will submit the recommendation online.
• Principal Recommendation: You will be asked for the name and email of your current principal, head of school, or school guidance counselor. Like your teachers and parents, he or she will complete the recommendation online. He or she will be asked to comment on your character, academics, and citizenship.
• School Report and Transcript Form: We will look at the last two years of your academic achievement.

Testing

As a Middle School applicant, you are NOT required to take the SSAT as part of the admission process.

Spend-A-Day Campus Visits and Interview

Once your application has been started, you may schedule an interview, a Spend-A-Day visit for you, and a campus tour for your parents by calling the Office of Admission at 609–737–6128 or emailing admiss@pennington.org. All interviews and Spend-A-Day visits must be scheduled by February 1.

Financial Aid Information (if applicable)

Information about financial assistance application procedures is located here.

Applying for Grades 9–12

Online Application

Pennington accepts two online applications. Equal consideration is given to both forms of application.

Choose One:

The Pennington School Online Application

OR

Standard Application Online (SAO): Applicants applying to multiple schools may want to consider applying through a common application, known as the Standard Application Online, or SAO.

If you are using The Pennington School Online Application, you will be asked to complete the following steps:

• Candidate Profile: On this form you will provide us with basic information about yourself and your family.
• Application fee: The application fee for domestic applicants is $50. The international application fee is $150.
• Parent Questionnaire: We believe that your parent or guardian knows you better than anyone. The Parent Statement should be completed and signed electronically by a parent or guardian of the applicant.
• Student Questionnaire: You will be asked to answer five questions about yourself and your interests.
• Academic Recommendations (English and math): You will be asked for the names and emails of your current English and math teachers. They will receive an email with a link for their recommendation letters, and they will submit their recommendation online.
• Principal Recommendation: You will be asked for the name and email of your current principal, head of school, or school guidance counselor. Like your teachers and parents, he or she will complete the recommendation online. He or she will be asked to comment on your character, academics, and citizenship.
• School Report and Transcript Form: We will look at the last two years of your academic achievement.

Testing

We require you to take the SSAT. You may register for the test directly through the SSAT website: https://ssat.org/about-ssat/registration Our school SSAT code is 5734. As the test results will take three weeks to process, please register for the November or December test dates to allow for the results to reach us by our February 1 deadline. Note: If you are applying for grades 10 or 11, we accept SSAT, PSAT, or SAT scores.

Interview

Once your application has been started, you may schedule a tour of the campus and an applicant interview by calling the Office of Admission at 609–737–6128 or emailing admiss@pennington.org. While interviews are required, upon request, interviews may be conducted via Skype. Applicants from China should schedule their interviews through Vericant; selected applicants will be invited to interview via Skype or on campus. All interviews must be scheduled by February 1.

Financial Aid Information (if applicable)

Information on financial assistance application procedures is located here.

International Admission

Pennington has been welcoming international students for more than 100 years! Please read the instructions below in order to complete your application to The Pennington School.

Online Application

Pennington accepts two online applications. Equal consideration is given to both forms of application.

Choose One:

• The Pennington School Online Application
• Standard Application Online (SAO) : Applicants applying to multiple schools may want to consider applying through a common application, known as the Standard Application Online, or SAO.

If you use The Pennington School Online Application, you will be asked to complete the following steps:

• Candidate Profile: On this form you will provide us with basic information about yourself and your family.
• Application Fee: The application fee for international applicants is $150.
• Parent Questionnaire: We believe that your parent or guardian knows you better than anyone. The Parent Statement should be completed and signed electronically by a parent or guardian of the applicant.
• Student Questionnaire: You will be asked to answer five questions about yourself and your interests. Tip: Write in Word and then copy into the application; there is no option for saving drafts!
• Academic Recommendations (English & math): You will be asked for the names and emails of your current English and math teachers. They will receive an email with a link for their recommendation letters, and they will submit their recommendation online.
• Principal Recommendation: You will be asked for the name and email of your current principal, head of school, or school guidance counselor. Like your teachers and parents, he or she will complete the recommendation online. He or she will be asked to comment on your character, academics, and citizenship.
• School Report and Transcript Form: We will look at the last two years of your academic achievement.

TOEFL

International student applicants must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Please request that the test results be sent to The Pennington School; our school code is 2481. Applicants to The Pennington School should have the following minimum TOEFL scores in order to be considered as competitive candidates in the admission process:

• Grade 8: 85
• Grade 9: 90
• Grade 10: 95
• Grade 11: 100

Interview*

Once your application has been started, you will need to schedule an interview as international students are required to interview as part of the admission process. You are welcome to visit campus for a tour and applicant interview, however, if a trip to the United States is not planned, you are welcome to conduct your interview via Skype.*

Applying from China?

To better facilitate the interview process for our students from China, we have established a partnership with Vericant, a company that will conduct the required interview with our applicants from China. Vericant does not evaluate candidates but, instead, posts the interviews online for our admission officers to review. The Vericant interview will serve as the official interview for applying to The Pennington School.

For applicants residing or attending school in mainland China, please visit www.vericant.com for more information about scheduling an appointment with Vericant.

Please note: your application fee does not include costs associated with the Vericant interview. For interview scheduling and fee information, please visit https://www.vericant.com/interview/

International Family Group Tours

For international families traveling in the area, we offer group tours. These tours are approximately 40 minutes in length and are a great opportunity to see the campus with a student tour guide. Interviews and meetings with admission officers are not possible during these times. To register for a group tour, email admiss@pennington.org; spaces are limited and are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Cervone Center For Learning

For admission to the Cervone Center for Learning program, many factors are considered, including:

• Intellectual ability
• The specific nature of the student's difficulties
• The student's demonstrated interest in academic success
• The student's ability and willingness to work collaboratively with our faculty

Applicants to the Cervone Center for Learning should use The Pennington School Online Application. In addition to the general requirements for Middle School or Upper School admission, extra documentation is required for applicants to the Cervone Center as listed below. These documents are integrated into our proprietary application to simplify the process.

Please note that the SSAT is NOT required for admission to the Cervone Center for Learning.

Required additional documentation:

• Psychological Report: This is a cognitive evaluation that includes the results of either the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (for students up to age 16) or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (for students age 16 and above). The evaluation should accompany the application and should be no more than three years old. It should include a full listing of standard scores and percentiles for all subtests within the report.
• Educational Assessment: Comprehensive testing of reading, writing, and mathematics skills is essential. The Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement or the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) provides this information. The evaluation should be no more that three years old. Standard scores and percentiles should be included in the report. The testing should include specific measures of phonological awareness, decoding/word attack, word identification, and reading comprehension, as well as measures of writing and math skills.
• Cervone Center for Learning Supplemental Application: This is a questionnaire to be completed by the parents of the applicant. The form, integrated into the online application, includes areas such as family history, medical history, developmental history, educational history, and educational assessment and intervention.

For more information about the Edmund V. Cervone Center for Learning, please click here.

Please note that the Cervone Center for Learning is not prepared to work with students having primary emotional or behavioral difficulties.

Application Questions? Contact us at:

• admiss@pennington.org
• P: 609–737–6128
• F: 609–730–1405

The Pennington School admits students of any race, religion, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, physical disability, national and ethnic origin, or sexual orientation in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and financial aid programs, employment policies, and athletic and other school-administered programs.