Applying to EPS

Preliminary Application (complete online with Ravenna Hub)

• Complete Student and Household Profile
• Application fee – $75 (If your family needs financial assistance with the application fee, please use waiver code PSIS2024.)

Family Forms (completed online with Ravenna Hub)

• Parent / Guardian Statements*
• Student Interests and Activities*
• Student Essay*
• Student Short Answers*

*Puget Sound Independent School (PSIS) Common Form (forms used by multiple PSIS schools)

Student Records (completed online with Ravenna Hub)

• Grades/Transcripts for three years, including the current school year
• Past standardized test results (if available)

Teacher Evaluation Forms (completed online with Ravenna Hub)

• You need two teacher evaluations. These evaluations should come from educators who know your student best and/or with whom they have had the most contact in-person or remotely who have taught your student in the following school years: 2022-2023, 2022-2021, and 2021-2020.
  • Fifth and sixth grade applicants: Preference to hear from homeroom/primary teachers. Ideally, the teachers would be from two different disciplines.
  • Seventh through eleventh-grade applicants: Preference to hear from teachers from core subjects such as English, history, math, and science. Ideally, the teachers would be from two different disciplines.

ISEE or SSAT  See ‘Admissions Testing’ in the Expandable Menu Below

Admissions Preview Event

• This event is available to families in the applied status only.
  • (If your family needs financial assistance with the application fee, please use waiver code PSIS2022)
  • If you are currently in the exploring or inquiry stage and are not quite ready to hit the apply button, we invite you to choose an evening or weekend timeframe to take an interactive self-guided campus tour in person. When you arrive on campus, you will see the maps of tour stops at which you can use QR codes to access photos and videos of EPS.
• Admissions Previews provide students and families with a sense of the EPS experience in a two-and-a-half-hour visit. Included in the experience are:
  • Students directly engage with EPS teachers through two EPS mini-classes
  • Parents and guardians  attend an interactive Q&A panel of EPS faculty, current parents, and students
  • Both students and parents experience what makes EPS unique through a self-guided tour with “hubs” around campus that are hosted by EPS teachers, students and current parents, or a Student Ambassador-led tour
• For international applicants or families applying from outside of the local area, we are offering one virtual Admissions Preview.

Online Student Assessment: Interview and Writing Sample

• Why: Our priority in our admissions process is that we get to know each student as an individual – their personalities, interests, and the unique way that they think. Through recorded video interview responses, students can express these in their own words, providing authentic insight for our admissions committee into their identities and personalities. Students will also respond to questions in writing. By completing this online assessment, members of our admissions committee get to hear from your student directly, in their own words.How: Applicants will be invited to complete the online assessment via an email invitation sent to your Ravenna account email address. Students will record video responses to video question interview prompts, and they’ll also write at least one response.Beginning on October 23, 2023, all Ravenna accounts in “applied” status will receive an email with a link to register with our online assessment platform. After that time, we will email links out on a weekly basis as new applicants create accounts.We’ll share further instructions when you receive your invitation link, but here’s a quick summary:
  • Students will complete a quick registration so that we have their name correctly paired with the email you have provided to us for your Ravenna account (see instructions below if you have multiple students applying to Eastside Prep this year).
  • Students complete a “tech check” to make sure cameras and microphones are working on their computer.
  • Students will answer some practice questions to get comfortable before beginning their interview. They can repeat the practice questions as many times as they wish until they feel comfortable with navigating the platform. You can learn more about the Kira online assessment platform here – please note that your student’s assessment type will be an asynchronous assessment. That means they can complete the assessment at any time prior to the application deadline; they will not be completing a ‘live’ interview in real time.
  • Students will answer video and writing responses. The online assessment platform automatically records and sends us their responses; your student does not need to use any separate form of communication (e.g. email) to send their responses.

  If your student requires accommodations for writing tasks, please contact admissions@eastsideprep.org. Please include:

  • Student’s full name,
  • Apply grade, and
  • If you are requesting 1.5x or 2.0x for writing tasks (based on the time they receive for writing tasks in school).

  We will ensure that you receive a link to an online assessment that will meet your accommodation needs.

  If you have more than one student applying to EPS this year, we also ask that you reach out to admissions@eastsideprep.org.

  All links to complete the online assessment will be sent to the Ravenna account email, so for parents or guardians with more than one student applying, we need two different emails to which to send each link, and we will make sure that we specify which link is for which student in the invitation emails you receive. When you contact us, please include:

  • Each student’s name and the separate email addresses to which you would like the links sent.

Parent/Guardian Interview (Register on Ravenna Hub)

• A thirty-minute session designed to learn about students through the parent/guardian lens and provide an opportunity to ask questions about EPS.
  • Please email admissions@eastsideprep.org if you have two students applying, and we will extend your interview to sixty minutes.

 

SSAT and ISEE paper testing spots filled up quickly this year! If you are looking for a local testing location, please feel free to contact us at admissions@eastsideprep.org, and we will do our best to help. 

SSAT and ISEE are used by independent schools worldwide and are designed to measure the basic verbal, quantitative, and reading skills students develop over time. Each applicant must take one of these tests with no preference between testing types; both tests are not required.

Note: This is a required component for all applicants to register for the SSAT or ISEE. However, this is not a Ravenna-required step because registration and score submission takes place directly through SSAT or ISEE, not through Ravenna.

Eastside Prep uses admissions testing as one component of our holistic admissions review. We do not have minimum scores for admissions consideration. We review student-written essays as well as the admissions test scores on multiple choice sections. We understand that admissions testing provides a ‘snapshot’ of students’ performance on the tests on just one day in time, and that some students may have more experience with these types of tests. We encourage students to be familiar with the testing format through taking a practice test, however extensive test preparation is not an expectation or requirement. We recommend that students endeavor to have the best night’s sleep possible before the test, have a good breakfast the day of the test, and to pack snacks and water to enjoy during the testing breaks.

SSAT/ISEE Testing Deadlines
Upper School Deadline to Receive Score: January 26, 2024

Middle School Deadline to Receive Score: January 26, 2024

SSAT Information

For more information, visit https://www.ssat.org/

SSAT offers in-person testing for 5th-12th grade
SSAT offers at-home testing for 6th-12th grade
You can register for the SSAT here: http://www.ssat.org
Eastside Preparatory School’s code is 2949

ISEE Information

ISEE offers in-person testing for 5th-12th grade
ISEE offers at-home testing for 5th-12th grade
If you have questions about the ISEE, how to register, or technological requirements for at-home testing, please get in touch with ERB’s ISEE Operations Office at 1 (800) 446-0320 or iseeoperations@erblearn.org.
Eastside Preparatory School’s code is 48171

Questions About Admissions Testing

Please contact the Admission Team with any testing-related questions you may have. If test fees or a space for remote testing outside of your home are concerns for your family, please reach out to us at admissions@eastsideprep.org. We are happy to help with testing fee waivers and arranging safe testing spaces if needed.

In addition to the standard application requirements, here are some additional considerations as your family completes the application if your student has been doing a homeschool program:

Student Records (completed online with Ravenna Hub)

• Transcripts for homeschool: If you have a transcript of your student’s homeschool experience that is provided by their program (e.g. an internet-based school) then please send these records along. If you have created your own program as a family, we recommend that you briefly list some topics/skills/experiences by academic discipline areas. For example:

History

Topics: Pacific Northwest history, US History to 1845

 Skills: Reading primary source documents, writing reflective essays on critical thinking prompts, creating interactive history timelines

 Experiences: Visiting Washington State History Museum online, visiting Fort Nisqually

• We recommend including any and all disciplines/subjects included in the homeschool experience. Please include any physical education and creative expression as these are part of our EPS core program.

Teacher Evaluations:

• It is most helpful to hear from a parent or guardian about their student in the Parent/Guardian Statements component of the admissions application. Rather than also completing the teacher evaluation as a parent, we recommend that you delegate the teacher evaluation forms to anyone who knows your student in an educational context outside of your family. This could include current or prior year teachers, tutors, coaches, or anyone who has taught a unit or module of study to your student that has been part of their homeschooling. If your student has solely had you as their educator, then it would be appropriate to complete a teacher evaluation as a parent/guardian.

 

Eastside Prep defines an International Student as someone who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, for whom English is their second language, and who has either never lived in the U.S. or who has attended school in the U.S. for less than two years. Note: a student who is entering their third year of school in the U.S., and who is no longer enrolled in an ELL/ESL curriculum, may be considered for admission without needing to submit TOEFL or TOEFL Jr. scores. This type of student would apply for admission with a domestic application. Eastside Prep provides an I-20 form for any enrolled student who requires an F-1 visa in order to attend school in the United States.

International Student Housing
While attending Eastside Preparatory School, all international students must reside with an immediate family member. Eastside Prep will not consider international applicants if they plan to live on their own, in an independent dorm environment, or at a homestay.

The Application Fee for an International Application is $100.

International Student Applicant Checklist

In addition to the items required on the standard applications, International Applications require the following:

Student Records (completed online with Ravenna Hub)

• International Applicants must provide translated grade reports if the reports are not already in English.

English Language Proficiency Testing

• Take an English Proficiency Test
  • Eastside Prep does not have an ESL program, so students must demonstrate highly proficient ability to both speak English and learn in English. Applicants must submit English proficiency test scores as part of the application process. Eastside Prep prefers the TOEFL or TOEFL Jr., but all of these test options are acceptable. The scores listed are the typical score range for accepted students.
    • TOEFL: Typical score range for an accepted student is iBT 70 to 90
    • TOEFL Jr.: TOEFL Jr. is an option for 9th and 10th grade applicants. Typical score range for an accepted student is 850-1100
    • IELTS: Typical score range for an accepted student is 6.0 to 6.5
    • iTEP-SLATE: Typical score range for an accepted student is 5.5 to 6.0
    • EIKEN: Typical score range for an accepted student is Grade Pre-1 to 1