Mcdonogh School

McDonogh School describes its academic approach as "LifeReady" learning: it starts from the belief that all children want to learn and aims to develop each child’s potential through authentic experiences that build intellectual and emotional ownership, joy in learning, and self-reliance. The school emphasizes rigorous academics alongside critical and creative thinking, communication, collaboration, perspective-taking, and service to others, with the goal of preparing students to thrive in a complex world and do good in it. (mcdonogh.org)

Families begin by creating a McDonogh admissions profile, which lets them request information, sign up for tours, apply online, and manage application forms; for the 2026-2027 cycle, the online application opened on September 1, 2025, and the application deadline for all divisions was December 5, 2025. (mcdonogh.org) Lower School applicants submit the online application and supporting materials, with PK-1 applicants also completing a parent meeting, one teacher referral, available school records, and a small-group assessment, while grades 2-4 applicants submit school records and teacher referrals and take the ISEE Primary at McDonogh. (mcdonogh.org) Middle and Upper School applicants submit transcripts, two teacher recommendations (preferably English and math), and ISEE or SSAT results by January 15, 2026; both divisions include interviews, and Upper School requires an interview even if the student skips the optional shadow visit. (mcdonogh.org) Key dates published by the school were December 19, 2025 for financial aid, January 15, 2026 for supporting materials, February 19, 2026 for admissions decisions, and February 23, 2026 for the Accepted Families Reception; optional essays/additional materials were also listed for grades 5-12. (mcdonogh.org) I did not find a published general admissions waitlist policy or applicant priority categories on the admissions pages I reviewed; the only explicit waitlist language I found was that late financial-aid applications are automatically waitlisted for aid until funds become available, potentially through the summer. (mcdonogh.org)