Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have questions about EPS or the Admissions process? You are not alone, and someone has probably asked that question before. Here are some of our frequently asked questions.
Click on the boxes below to learn more about each of these frequently asked questions.
Applications for admission are completed online through Ravenna Hub, and families should complete all student and parent/guardian forms on or before January 11, 2024. Materials that families request from others should be requested on or before that date.
5th Grade – 36 newly enrolling students
6th Grade – 18 newly enrolling students (36 returning students)
9th Grade – Approximately 35-40 newly enrolling 9th graders and 50 returning students
6th Grade – 18 newly enrolling students (36 returning students)
9th Grade – Approximately 35-40 newly enrolling 9th graders and 50 returning students
Students are welcome to apply for 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th grade, though admission to these grades is based on attrition of currently enrolled students and is uncommon.
Mark your calendars:
- Applications open in Ravenna on September 1, 2023
- Application Deadline is January 11, 2024
- Financial Aid Application Deadline for returning EPS Families is December 4, 2023
- Financial Aid Application Deadline for Prospective Families is February 2, 2023
- Upper School Decisions communicated on February 23, 2024, at Noon, via Ravenna
- Upper School Family Responses due to EPS on March 1, 2024
- Middle School Decisions communicated on March 22, 2024, at Noon, via Ravenna
- Middle School Family Responses due to EPS on March 29, 2024
EPS has a truly independent curriculum and does not offer AP or IB classes. To quote our Head of School, Ermerita, Dr. Terry Macaluso:” Sometimes people wonder why we don’t offer AP classes. First, AP classes are offered in public schools, so there’s no need to pay independent school tuition if AP is a priority. The primary reason we don’t offer AP is because it flies in the face of our mission. AP classes are survey classes. They aim to cover as much of the waterfront as possible. EPS is interested in the opposite; our program is designed to go deep, to explore fewer concepts and ideas, but to do so in a way that achieves genuine understanding. For students to be able to practice critical thinking, they must be guided to reach for the essence of an idea or set of data points.”
Please visit our College Counseling Testing page for more information.
We have many students who are an excellent fit for Eastside Prep for whom we would like to offer them admission, yet we may lack sufficient available spaces in their application grade. When this occurs, we will offer students and their families the opportunity to join our waitpool of candidates. Typically if we have the opportunity to offer admission to a waitpool applicant, it will happen within a week of decision notification. Sometimes, offers can come later in the year. We encourage these families to be in touch with us regarding their enrollment intentions.
In an effort to create the most equitable admissions process possible, reviewing siblings in the full context of their applicant peers, we are confident that we make the most informed, mission-centered decisions possible as an admissions committee. Currently enrolled families with siblings applying for admission should review the Sibling Admissions page on the Current Families section of the EPS website for more information.
Please visit the Equity and Inclusion page on our website for more information on how we weave Equity, Inclusion, and Compassionate Leadership (EICL) into everyday life at EPS.
Eastside Preparatory School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, disability, national or ethnic origin, or other legally protected status in admission of otherwise qualified students or in providing access to the rights, privileges, programs, or activities generally available to all students and their families, including educational policies, scholarship and other financial aid programs, or athletic, extra-curricular, and other school-administered programs and activities.
The largest portion of our annual operating budget (over 70%) goes to attracting and retaining the best teachers by compensating them well. Additionally, our campus has grown as our student body has expanded and we continue to develop our facilities as needed. Eastside Prep’s tuition is comparable to that of other Seattle area independent schools, and, as is the case in all of our schools, tuition covers only a portion of actual operating costs each year. Independent schools make up that difference and fund programs like financial aid through generous voluntary annual giving. For more information, we invite you to visit the Giving page.
As is true for other independent schools in the Seattle area, tuition covers only a portion of actual operating costs each year at Eastside Prep. Together with tuition, the Annual Fund helps to support the programs and people that make Eastside Prep a unique and thriving community. The Annual Fund supports everything from faculty professional development to financial aid. At Eastside Prep, we promise there will not be an auction walkathon or cookie sale to support the school! Our hope is that every EPS family will support the Annual Fund because each gift, no matter the size, helps make our vision and mission possible: To inspire students to create a better world through critical thinking, responsible action, compassionate leadership, and wise innovation.
Contributions to the Annual Fund and/or in support of any capital fundraising effort is welcome from currently enrolled families, past parents, alumni/ae, current and past grandparents, friends, and community. EPS will not accept cash, property, or any item of value in exchange for consideration of a student’s application for admission. The admissions and donation processes are separate activities at EPS. Admissions Committee members are unaware of any gifts that may have been made or pledged to the school. Please visit our Giving page for more information on the Annual Fund.
Our school day begins at 8:30 am and concludes at 3:00 pm. Students have four 70-minute class periods each day and ample time in the middle of the day for lunch and rotating activities such as class assemblies, advisory, clubs, and seminars.
Daily Office Hours are from 3:00-3:30 pm during which students can connect with teachers for any questions or needs. Afterschool activities typically take place between 3:30 and 5:30 pm
Afterschool activities typically take place between 3:30 and 5:30 pm
A supervised After-School Study Hall is offered from 3:30-6:00 pm.
After-school supervision is available for all students who are on campus but not actively engaged in a team activity such as sports, theatre, or robotics. Supervision is available until 6:00 pm and is hosted in the Levinger-Poole Commons (LPC).
EPS Bus Service
Eastside Prep offers bus service to several locations around the Puget Sound region. EPS offers three bus routes. Buses arrive to campus at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of classes and depart campus fifteen minutes after the school day ends.
Eastside Prep offers bus service to several locations around the Puget Sound region. EPS offers three bus routes. Buses arrive to campus at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of classes and depart campus fifteen minutes after the school day ends.
EPS Carpool Map
All EPS families are included in the Carpool Map for help coordinating shared rides to and from campus and other school activities. Families decide which contact information they wish to share with the community, or they can opt out of participation in the map.
Metro
With EPS across the street from the South Kirkland Park and Ride, some students elect to take the King County Metro bus to and from school. More information on potential bus routes can be found on the King County Metro website:
Metro Trip Planner
Please visit the Transportation page for more detailed information.
To qualify as a domestic applicant, a student must have completed at least two years of school in the United States before their year of application and demonstrate strong English proficiency. Applicants applying from other countries who have not previously attended school in the USA or an English immersion environment must demonstrate their English ability by submitting TOEFL scores. For more information, please see our International Application guidelines.
EPS teachers support all students’ wide-ranging learning styles. Students with identified learning needs and those for whom needs may be identified while attending EPS are provided with various modes of learning support. Accommodations (e.g., additional time for tests or a separate testing space) are facilitated by Student Support Services for those with documented learning differences.
Additionally, student self-advocacy is encouraged and cultivated, particularly through our Guided Study Hall (GSH) program. GSH meets as frequently as other courses in a schedule (two to three times per week for seventy minutes) and provides a 4:1 student-to-faculty environment where learning strategies and executive functioning skills are cultivated.
Our focus on student well-being centers on students feeling safe and supported at EPS. In addition to ensuring students’ physical safety, we also attend to their social and emotional safety needs.
- Regular drills for unforeseen incidents help us ensure we can always be prepared in any event.
- Safety and security discussions occur in advisory groups; as a preparatory school, we help students prepare for many potential situations they will encounter in their lives.
- Security personnel coverage both during the school day and after hours, helps us to bring specialized support in addition to the vigilance of all school employees.
- Three full-time school counselors help to ensure that experiencing social and emotional safety is an aspect in which all students are supported.
- All employees, substitute teaching staff, and volunteers who will not be directly supervised while on campus have gone through background checks before engaging with our school community.
- Key fob access for entry doors on an auto-locking schedule helps us to reduce risk by limiting entry points to campus buildings.
It’s not just your student beginning at Eastside Prep—you’re joining a new school community too! Our goal is to ensure you feel as connected and engaged with Eastside Prep as your student. We partner with you through regular communication, volunteer opportunities, and events. These events include our new parent welcome evening, grade-level picnics, parent coffees, celebratory events for parents, and parent-teacher advisory conferences. Many parents also choose to volunteer at EPS through our Parent Association. Opportunities include serving as a grade-level parent representative, contributing to events such as our faculty-staff appreciation days, and assisting our athletic teams. We’re happy parents and guardians can be as involved as their interests and schedules allow. While volunteer opportunities are offered, they are not required.
In addition to sharing campus spaces such as our cafeteria, gymnasium, and arts classrooms, Middle and Upper School students interact regularly both during and after school. Each Middle School advisory group is paired with two to three Peer Mentors from the Upper School, joining them on a regular basis to help lead discussions and activities. Classes collaborate on academic projects, for example, our seventh and eleventh graders created historical maps together, and our sixth and tenth graders worked on science labs and presentation skills together. Opportunities for these collaborations vary from year to year. Each year, EPS produces an all-school musical in which all grade levels participate on stage and behind the scenes. Many of our musical ensembles feature a mixture of student grades as well. Additionally, Upper School students assist as leaders in many Middle School sports teams.