In an effort to maintain a healthy and safe community this admissions season we are offering virtual admissions events and EPS community experiences; we hope that after the new year (when the EPS campus will potentially open to visitors) we will be able to add some in-person, on campus experiences as well.

We know that the admissions process can be overwhelming sometimes!  To help with your potential needs and concerns, here’s an overview of changes to the 2020-21 admissions season.

• The Microsoft Teams platform will be used for all virtual meetings and events:
  • Families will register for all events in Ravenna and a Microsoft Teams link will be emailed 1-2 days before each event.

• Opportunities for students and families to connect with EPS include:
  • Optional Events – Not required for the admissions application, but providing opportunities for families to get to know our EPS community.
    • Virtual Tours and Q&As will be offered during a variety of times throughout the admissions season – and a recorded session will be posted online for those unable to attend a live session. The 90-minute session will include a video walk-through of campus, a condensed curricular overview, and time for Q&A with the Admissions team. (A link to the Virtual Tour will be posted on the Admissions page at https://www.eastsideprep.org/admissions/)

• • • Live topic-based Q&As with EPS community members will cover a range of topics and take place at a variety of times to accommodate diverse family schedules. Sessions will be recorded and made available for view on the Admissions page at https://www.eastsideprep.org/admissions/

• • • Student Game Sessions with Q&A hosted by current EPS students. These activities will be scheduled after school

• • Required Admissions Events:  These events are required in the EPS admission process.
    • Parent/Guardian Interviews are a core aspect of our process.  Interviews will begin in early fall and conclude in February when application review begins.  Again, a diverse variety of days and times, including evenings and weekends, will be made available to accommodate family schedules.

• • • Student “Visits” will take place after the January 14 application deadline and include mock classes as well as group activities.

• • • Upper School (Grades 9-11) Student interviews with a EPS faculty/staff will also continue.  We build in fun but thought-provoking questions,

• Contacting Admissions: The Admissions Team is currently working remotely. The best way to contact the Admissions Team with any questions is via email at admissions@eastsideprep.org .  This email is monitored throughout the day and we are committed to responding to all emails within 24 hours.

Eastside Prep utilizes testing as just one data point in our holistic admissions review process. Test scores and essays help us to gauge students’ readiness for the Eastside Prep academic experience. We value norm-referenced testing in our process as an indicator of students’ language and math skills. Norm-referenced tests are ones in which students’ performance, as measured by a score, is compared with other students’ scores from the same grade level. We have no minimum scores for admission consideration. Our Admissions Committee members also read student writing samples submitted with ISEE and SSAT testing.

You can submit test results from the ISEE or SSAT to meet Eastside Prep’s admission testing requirement. Please review all of the options to determine which test results you want to submit, and contact us with any questions you have at admissions@eastsideprep.org.
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.

Deadlines

January 16 is the Upper School deadline to submit  ISEE or SSAT results.

February 20 s the Middle School deadline to submit  ISEE or SSAT results.

ISEE and SSAT
Eastside Prep accepts ISEE and SSAT scores equivalently.

We understand admissions testing can potentially be challenging for many reasons, so we want to offer you options for fulfilling your testing requirement. Testing centers may not have paper or electronic testing options available in your area, and we are not offering paper-based testing on our campus for groups of students this year. Therefore, we recommend that you register for at-home testing.

ISEE Eastside Prep has partnered with ERB to make their admissions test, ISEE at Home, available to your student to take at home. ERB has created a program that allows Seattle area families to reserve specific testing times and proctors.  For all of the details and to register for a test, please visit their ISEE at Home Seattle webpage: https://www.erblearn.org/families/isee-at-home/seattle/

• Important preparation for ISEE testing – If you will be registering for one of the ISEE at home testing dates, it’s very important that you follow the recommendation to download the ISEE Secure Browser onto the computer that your student will use for testing and that they complete a full practice test on that device. Downloading and thoroughly reviewing the posted ISEE at Home Family Guide will help you to complete these necessary steps. As long as you take these steps at least a few days in advance of the scheduled test, we have every assurance from ISEE that your student’s testing experience will be as smooth as possible on their scheduled test day.

• Does my child need to register for ISEE at home being offered to Seattle area families now? – Please note that if you have already successfully completed SSAT or ISEE testing this season and submitted your scores, there is no need for additional testing or to change testing formats. However, if you are still trying to secure a testing option for the admissions season, or would like to have an alternative or redundant testing option to the SSAT, we encourage you to consider whether ISEE at home might be a good fit for your student and family.

If you have any questions about the ISEE, how to register, or technological requirements for at-home testing, please contact ERB’s ISEE Operations Office at 1 (800) 446-0320 or iseeoperations@erblearn.org.

In addition to the ISEE testing program, we would like to remind you of our the expanded options to meeting the Admissions Test requirements https://www.eastsideprep.org/admissions/applying-to-eps/

SSAT offers at-home testing for grades 6-12. Note: In administrations of the SSAT at Home, students have experienced technical issues that have impacted or interrupted their testing experience. SSAT continues to work to resolve these issues, but please know that your testing at home may be interrupted or discontinued when taking the SSAT at Home.

For more information or to register you can visit their website https://www.ssat.org/

Previous year ISEE or SSAT If you are applying to Eastside Prep and you took the SSAT or ISEE during the 2019-2020 Admissions Season, we can include these scores in your 2021-2022 application if you prefer. Please email us a pdf copy of your scores to studentrecords@eastsideprep.org so that we can include them in your current year application. If you are reapplying to Eastside Prep this year, we can transfer your scores from the 2019-2020 application at your request to studentrecords@eastsideprep.org.

Standardized testing previously taken through your school
If you would like to add school-based testing to your application to provide an additional data point, we welcome you to do so. Your school’s testing may have been cancelled this past year during remote schooling, so please note that these school-based testing scores are not required. If you did take a standardized test at your school during the 2019-2020 school year (such as ERBs, MAP, SOL, Stanford, IOWA, CTPs) you can check with your current school to ensure that Eastside Prep receives their test results as part of the school transcripts/school records they will submit on your behalf by the admissions application deadline of January 14. If your school indicates that they will not include these scores in the records they send to Eastside Prep, but you have records of the tests, you can send a pdf of them to us directly at studentrecords@eastsideprep.org.

College admissions or program testing
Applicants to Upper School may submit a PDF of official results for any PSAT, SAT, or ACT testing that has been taken within the last two years to studentrecords@eastsideprep.org.

Questions about admissions testing
Please contact the Admission Team with any testing-related questions you may have at admissions@eastsideprep.org. We are happy to help.

Financial Aid

We make every effort to continue supporting families with financial aid once it has been awarded. Current EPS families do need to reapply for financial aid each year so we have information on the current financial picture. Re-enrollment contracts and financial aid awards go live on School Forms Online in mid-January. An email will go out to families indicating when those are available. To secure your seat for next year, please sign and submit the online contract and submit the deposit by the due date. The timing of these contracts is important for the school to better understand available spaces at each grade level as we go into admissions committee meetings for new applicants. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Admissions Office.

Re-enrollment Timeline

• December 7, 2021– Financial aid applications for re-enrolling families are due
• January 8, 2021– Re-enrollment contracts and preliminary financial aid awards will go out to families electronically
• February 5, 2021– Contracts and deposits are due back to EPS

Financial Aid
Eastside Prep is committed to ensuring that all families applying for financial aid receive full and impartial consideration. To help achieve this goal, we use the School and Student Services for Financial Aid (SSS) to independently assess each family’s ability to pay for education. This service is a function of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and is used by over 2,400 schools nationwide. Independent school education is a choice, and many families make significant sacrifices to provide this learning environment for their children. The SSS process is based on the premise that parents are responsible for financing their child’s education to the full extent that they are able. We strive to make the assessment of that ability objective and consistent.

1. Go tohttp://sssbynais.org/parents
2. Select “Complete your PFS” at the top right of the screen to begin your Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS).
3. If you already have an account, you can use the same login information to sign in on the right side of the screen. If this is your first time applying, you will follow instructions on the left side of the screen.

• You only need to complete one PFS per family.
• Eastside Prep’s SSS code is 3665.
• A list of documents you will need is available on the site.
• You are able to start the application, save your work, and return to it at a later time.
• Please submit your application based on your estimated 2020 tax return.
• All of your information is secure and confidential.

1. Complete the application and pay the filing fee.
2. Submit your 2019 Tax Forms as backup documentation to SSS. Given the early nature of re-enrollment, we understand that 2020 returns are not yet available. Please submit your application based on your estimated 2020 tax return, and include your 2019 tax forms as a place holder. You will need to submit your actual 2020 return as soon as it is available. Tax documents should be uploaded directly to the SSS website or mailed to them.
3. Submit a copy of your last pay stub. This can be uploaded to SSS directly.