Frequently Asked Questions

We accept applications for Kindergarten through Grade 8. Our planned entry points are Kindergarten (approximately 24 new students), Grade 4 (approximately 8 new students), Grade 6 (approximately 12–15 new students), and Grade 7 (approximately 8–10 new students) but spaces in other grades may become available.

We do not know from year to year what spaces may become available in these grades. While we ask our families to complete the re-enrollment process by February of the current school year, parents sometimes find out later that their child will not be returning to Milton Academy for a variety of reasons. In an increasingly mobile society, it more frequently happens that one or two spaces become available in non-entry point grades; in order for a candidate to be considered for any opening, he or she needs to have completed the application process by the January 15 deadline.

The age requirements for students applying for admission to the 2020–2021 academic year are as follows:

Kindergarten – born by 9/1/15
Grade 1 – born by 9/1/14
Grade 2 – born by 9/1/13
Grade 3 – born by 9/1/12
Grade 4 – born by 9/1/11
Grade 5 – born by 9/1/10
Grade 6 – born by 9/1/09
Grade 7 – born by 9/1/08

We know that different schools have different age requirements or ways of organizing grade levels. Therefore, some applicants may be in a grade level other than their age requires at Milton Academy. If you have specific questions, the admission office will be happy to discuss your situation with you. Based on developmental considerations, however, we have a strong preference for keeping students with their chronological peer group.

We seek to enroll students who will thrive personally and academically at Milton. We want our students to fit comfortably into the nurturing, rich, challenging, fast paced and rigorous academic atmosphere we provide. We also seek applicants who will not only benefit from our community but will contribute to it. Some characteristics that describe our students are:

• Curious, enthusiastic, and eager to learn
• Willing to take risks
• Accepting and appreciative of differences
• Resilient
• Focused and motivated
• Increasingly self-reliant and independent while also being able to work collaboratively and share ideas, strategies and information
• Thoughtful, kind, respectful of others

We also strive to build a class of students that is cooperative, collegial and rich in variations: balanced in terms of gender, socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, culture and geography.

We get to know each child in a variety of ways, and as thoroughly as possible, during the admission process. No one piece of information is determinative: each part contributes to our overall understanding of your child. The admission process consists of a parent interview, student interview and questionnaire for grades 6–7, review of prior school records and any standardized test results (depending on age), evaluations from current teachers, a family history form submitted by parents, and a group visit by the applicant (Kindergarten, Grade 4, Grade 6 and Grade 7). We also consider each candidate’s social and emotional readiness for our program at all grade levels. Kindergarten applicants are scheduled for an individual visit for a readiness assessment. In some cases, the admission office may request additional information if we feel more information is necessary to make an informed decision.

When you arrive at Milton, you will begin by taking a tour of our campus. These tours are conducted either by the admission office staff or by a current parent volunteer and last approximately 45 minutes. When you return to our office, you will have an interview, which lasts for approximately 30 minutes. This is an opportunity for you to meet with a member of the admission office, speak candidly about your child, and ask any questions you have about Milton. We recognize that this process is about matching your family’s philosophy with ours, and we want to make sure that we get to know you and your child and that you have an opportunity to know us.

Your child will join you on the tour of our campus. When you return, a member of the admission office staff will meet first with your child. This gives us a chance to get to know him or her. This also gives your child an opportunity to reflect on their tour and ask any remaining questions. After we finish talking to the student, we will invite the parents in for their interview.

We invite applicants for Kindergarten, Grade 4, Grade 6 and Grade 7 to visit Milton in small groups. The length and content of the visit will vary depending on the age of the applicants, but we aim to provide a comfortable setting that will allow us a chance to meet each child individually and give each child a feeling of what it is like to go to school at Milton. We want to offer an opportunity for the children to be with their peers, and to get involved in activities that are developmentally appropriate and reflect the style of teaching and learning that are the hallmarks of Milton Academy. The visits are highly interactive and involve individual and group activities designed to give the children an opportunity to use the skills they have developed in areas such as literacy and math, and also to engage in creative thinking and problem solving.

Milton welcomes applications from families who are considering relocating. Please be aware that we do not offer boarding in Grades K–8. While we hope you can schedule a visit to campus, we do understand that sometimes this can prove challenging. Therefore, we offer a small number of interview slots via Skype, should you be unable to visit us in person. Please contact us at (617) 898-2509 if you need to schedule a Skype interview.

Yes. The group visits are an essential part of the admission process for all applicants applying to Kindergarten, Grade 4, Grade 6 and Grade 7. We strongly recommend that students applying to our School from international or other distant locations plan to attend the group visits. Please reach out to our main office to confirm specific Group Visit dates.

We do not provide individual feedback during the admission process. Since this is not a formal testing procedure, there are no standardized results to share. The admission office traditionally handles a large number of applicants, and our goal is to make the process an informative and positive experience for every family. We aim to make each candidate feel welcome, comfortable, and able to be themselves during their visits with us. We also want parents to feel fully informed about Milton Academy, its philosophy and programs.

Yes. Milton Academy is committed to diversity and welcomes the opportunity to consider all qualified applicants. Our School is greatly enriched by the racial, ethnic, socio-economic and religious diversity within our community. Acceptance and appreciation of differences is a cornerstone of our philosophy, our curriculum, and our way of life at Milton.

We certainly wish to support families and build upon a sense of community, and while we welcome applications from qualified siblings of current students, we cannot guarantee places. We need to make sure that Milton is the best fit for each child. We also recognize that new families are a vital part of the composition of the School.

The tuition rates for the 2019–2020 school year are as follows:

Grades 6–8 – $49,200
Grades 4–5 – $39,550
Grades 1–3 – $34,550
Kindergarten – $32,500

In addition to tuition charges, other moderate fees may apply in certain grades. Additional costs include fees for field trips, and optional programs such as Kindergarten Extended Day and After School Program activities.

Financial aid is available and awarded based on need. All financial aid information is strictly confidential. Admission applications are read without regard for a family’s ability to pay. Only in the final phase is the selection process “need aware,” as the admission committee weighs its decision against available funds.

Financial aid information is included with all admission information packets. Any questions concerning financial aid should be directed to Chris Kane in the Office of Financial Aid at 617-898-2239 or by email at Chris_Kane@milton.edu. The Academy subscribes to the general principles and needs analysis of the School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS). Click here to learn more about financial aid.

Absolutely. Our students come from a wide range of towns.

For students in Kindergarten through Grade 5, the primary means of transportation is carpools organized by parents. There is a parent-organized downtown Boston bus available for students in Kindergarten through Grade 5. There is an additional cost for this service, and more information is available through business office. Students in Grades 6 through 8 have the option of using a bus service arranged by Milton. There is an additional cost for this service and routes vary each year, depending on the transportation needs of students. Additional information about the optional bus service is available through the business office.

Milton Academy does not require any particular parent involvement, but we certainly welcome the many ways in which parents support the School. Each family is free to determine what, if any, contributions of time they are able to make. All parents are automatically members of the Parents’ Association and are welcome to attend the monthly morning or evening meetings and participate in a wide variety of committees. Parents are always welcome to help with field trips, volunteer in the library, or visit their child’s classroom—for a morning or an afternoon—from November 1 through the end of April.

No. Our students do not need to reapply when it comes time to move to the Upper School.

We will notify candidates of our admission decision on their application portal on March 10. We do not report admission decisions by telephone.

Because our School is committed to small class sizes, we are limited in the number of children we can accept. Each year, we meet many wonderful applicants during the admission process, and we are simply unable to offer all of them a place. We welcome reapplications from students and remind you that Milton Academy is a Kindergarten through Grade 12 school with openings and entry points at many different levels.

We place a small number of candidates for each grade level on a waiting list. This list is purposefully short and does not include every qualified candidate who has applied. We want to be realistic about the number of openings that traditionally become available after our initial acceptances are sent, and we want to feel that each candidate on the waiting list has an honest possibility of moving off that list. The waiting list is not ranked in any order, but rather is a pool of names. The candidate who best complements the space that becomes available will be chosen from the waiting list. Please note that the waiting list is not held over into the next admission cycle. We begin a new admission process at the beginning of each school year.

Kindergarten–Grade 5
8 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Monday and Friday

Grades 6–8
8 a.m.–3:45 p.m. Monday through Friday

Click here to learn about after school activities for our Lower School students in Kindergarten through Grade 5.

Click here to learn about programs for our Middle School students in Grade 6 through Grade 8.

All students should wear neat, clean, comfortable and appropriate clothing. Students in Grades 3 through 8 do have a liberal dress code that is consistent with the Upper School.

Milton provides lunch for all Lower and Middle School students who have the option of a hot entrée each day, along with choices from a salad bar, pasta and sandwich fixings. Milk and water is provided for everyone.