Poly Prep Country Day School

Poly Prep describes its teaching philosophy as a whole-child, progressive liberal arts approach rooted in diversity of people, viewpoints, and experiences, with the goal of developing intellectual and moral excellence. Across divisions, it emphasizes curiosity, collaboration, joyful but rigorous inquiry, problem-solving, and helping students become empathetic, engaged thinkers who can act as agents of change in their communities and the wider world. (polyprep.org)

Poly Prep’s admissions pages say the 2026–27 application cycle is currently closed, but the process runs through Ravenna and differs by division: the main entry years are Nursery, Grades 5 and 6, and Grade 9, while non-entry grades are reviewed on a rolling basis up to their deadlines and may not all receive interviews. (polyprep.org) For the 2026–27 cycle, applications opened on September 2, 2025; preliminary application deadlines were November 7, 2025 for Pre-K/K and November 21, 2025 for most other grades, supplemental forms for some non-entry grades were due November 10 or November 26, financial aid was due December 15, 2025, and most remaining required materials were due January 8, 2026; decisions were scheduled for February 5, 11, 20, or 26, 2026 depending on grade, with reply deadlines from February 12 to March 12, 2026. (polyprep.org) Requirements commonly include a Ravenna application, interviews (required for entry years; invitation-only for many non-entry years), parent/guardian statements, teacher recommendations, report cards/transcripts, and financial-aid forms if applicable; testing is required for Grades 2–12 (ISEE Primary for Grades 2–4, and SSAT or ISEE for Middle/Upper School), with Upper School also requiring student essays/forms and, for Grades 10–12, a guidance counselor recommendation. (polyprep.org) I did not find a published waitlist policy on the admissions pages reviewed, so the website does not appear to publicly spell out how waitlist decisions are handled. (polyprep.org) The clearest priority categories published are siblings and legacies, who receive special consideration but are not guaranteed admission; Poly also says sibling applicants to Nursery have an early timeline, and current Poly families applying a sibling to Nursery are directed to internal timelines. (polyprep.org)