Admissions
Apply to Shipley
We welcome your application to The Shipley School. If you have more than one child applying, please complete a separate application for each child. As soon as we receive your application, we will contact you to schedule a parent meeting and a meeting with your child. Please contact the admissions office at 610-525-4300 or admit@shipleyschool.org if you have any questions.
The Shipley School, a Pre-Kindergarten through 12 coeducational day school in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, is committed to academic excellence and individual and collective well-being. We are dedicated to developing in each student a love of learning and a compassionate participation in the world. Through a strong college preparatory curriculum in the humanities and sciences, the school encourages curiosity, creativity, and respect for intellectual effort. Shipley upholds and promotes moral integrity, a sense of personal achievement and worth, and concern for others at school and in the larger community.
Applications for 2025-2026 have moved to rolling admissions. The Admission Committee will consider applications on a space-available basis. Decisions will be announced in January.
After January, admissions decisions will be shared within two weeks of receipt of a completed application file.
After January, admissions decisions will be shared within two weeks of receipt of a completed application file.
Lower School Application Process
List of 6 items.
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Step 1: Request Admissions Information
The first step in applying to Shipley is requesting Admissions Information. If you have not already done so, submit your information here. -
Step 2: Visit Campus
A campus tour is a wonderful way to envision your child at Shipley. Tours are offered on Wednesday and Thursday mornings throughout the school year. You can also get to know more about Shipley by attending one of our Admissions Events. Learn more and sign up here. -
Step 3: Submit Your Application
We encourage prospective parents to complete our online application (there is an application fee of $60). Once your application is submitted, we will contact you to schedule a Parent/Guardian Meeting and Student Classroom Visit and to discuss the steps of the application process. An applicant must be four years old on or before August 31 to be enrolled in Pre-K and five years old to be enrolled in Kindergarten. -
Step 4: Parent/Guardian Meetings
Parent/Guardian Meetings are conducted either virtually or by telephone. During this meeting, we will learn more about your child and their interests and help you learn more about Shipley.The Parent/Guardian Meeting must be completed before the applicant’s visit to campus. This enables us to consider the applicant’s interests when scheduling their classroom visit day. Please contact the Admissions Office to schedule your Parent/Guardian Meeting.
If you have not yet requested Admissions information or started your application, please submit your information. -
Step 5: Student Classroom Visit
An on-campus classroom visit is required of all applicants. This visit is scheduled after the Parent/Guardian Meeting and following the submission of a completed application. The classroom visit offers students the opportunity to experience a day at Shipley and allows us to get to know your child both as an individual and in a classroom setting.Applicants to Pre-K and Kindergarten will participate in a morning playdate or a half-day visit; grade 1 applicants visit for part of a day, and students applying to grades 2-5 spend a full day at Shipley.
If you have not yet requested Admissions information or started your application, please submit your information. -
Step 6: Recommendations, Records, Testing
Confidential Teacher Recommendation Form
A confidential Teacher Recommendation Form is required of all applicants. This should be completed by your child’s current teacher. To send a request to your child’s teacher, please log into your ShipleyNet account and request the online form in the checklist.
School Records
For application to grades 1–5, transcripts (official school records) are required for the current and previous two school years (if applicable). Please complete the Records Release Form. Once it is completed and signed, please give the Records Release Form to your child’s current school and they will send official transcripts directly to Shipley. Forms may be scanned and sent to admit@shipleyschool.org.
Testing
Applicants to Pre-K – Kindergarten:
No standardized testing required.
Applicants to Grade 1 – Grade 4:
The WISC-V is required for applicants to grades 1-4 and can be scheduled with a local psychologist.
Applicants to Grade 5:
We require all applicants to grade 5 to take the lower level Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE).
Middle & Upper School Application Process
List of 6 items.
-
Step 1: Request Admissions Information
The first step in applying to Shipley is requesting Admissions Information. If you have not already done so, submit your information here. -
Step 2: Visit Campus
A campus tour is a wonderful way to envision your child at Shipley. Individual tours are offered in the Middle and Upper Schools throughout the school year. You can also get to know more about Shipley by attending one of our Admissions Events. Learn more and sign up to attend here. -
Step 3: Submit Your Application
We encourage prospective parents to complete our online application (there is an application fee of $60). Once your application is submitted, we will contact you to schedule a Parent/Guardian Meeting and Student Classroom Visit and to discuss the steps of the application process.
>>>Start your application here. -
Step 4: Parent/Guardian Meetings
Parent/Guardian MeetingParent/Guardian Meetings are conducted either virtually or by telephone. During this meeting, we will learn more about your child and their interests and help you learn more about Shipley.The Parent/Guardian Meeting must be completed before the applicant’s visit to campus. This enables us to consider the applicant’s interests when scheduling their classroom visit day. Please contact the Admissions Office to schedule your Parent/Guardian Meeting.
If you have not yet requested Admissions information or started your application, please submit your information here. -
Step 5: Classroom Visit & Student Interview
On-Campus Student Visits are the best way for applicants to truly understand and experience a day in the life of a Shipley Student. Applicants will spend a half-day (8:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) with a current Shipley student who will guide them through a typical school day.Student Interviews are conducted during the visit day and involve a one-on-one conversation with a member of the Admissions team. The student interview is intended to be conversational and informative.
If you have not yet requested Admissions information or started your application, please submit your information. -
Step 6: Recommendations, Records, Testing
Confidential Teacher Recommendation FormsTwo Confidential Teacher Recommendations are required of all applicants and should be completed by a current math and English teacher. To send a request to your child’s teacher, please log into your Shipley account (ShipleyNet) to access the online form in the checklist.
School Records
Official school records/transcripts are required for the current school year and previous two school years. Please complete the Records Release Form. Please sign the form and give it to your child’s current school to send the transcripts directly to Shipley.
Standardized Testing
We require all applicants to take and submit scores from the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE).
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.
