Ethical Culture Fieldston School

ECFS describes its educational approach as integrating academic excellence with progressive education and ethical learning, with ethics positioned as the heart of its program. Learning is characterized as project-based, inquiry-driven, and student-centered, developing critical thinking and independent scholarship. Students also engage with a formal ethics curriculum intended to connect classroom learning to social and moral responsibility and meaningful action in their communities.

ECFS applications are submitted through its online application/parent portal (SchoolAdmin), where families select the division(s) they’re applying to and submit the $75 application fee (fee waivers are available). (ecfs.org) For the 2026–2027 cycle, ECFS lists an application deadline of November 14, 2025, and notes that the deadline has now passed (though it may still accept applications for a limited number of grades). (ecfs.org) Need-based financial aid is handled via the Clarity application; ECFS states the deadline to complete the financial aid application (including supplemental documents) is Monday, December 1, 2025. (ecfs.org) Requirements vary by grade: Pre-K/K/1 have age cutoffs (4/5/6 years old by September 1, 2026) and include school report forms plus playgroup/tours (and ECFS says it does not require or accept standardized testing for Pre-K/K/1), while Fieldston Middle/Upper require school report(s), teacher evaluations, transcripts, and ISEE/SSAT scores, plus interviews for entry grades (6th and 9th) and a campus tour; Fieldston Middle 6th-grade decisions are emailed after 4:00pm on February 6, 2026 (reply by noon February 25, 2026) and Fieldston Upper decisions after 4:00pm on February 18, 2026 (reply by 12:00pm March 10, 2026). (ecfs.org) The website does not publish a detailed waitlist policy, but it describes many grades as attrition-based (openings depend on available seats); sibling, alumni, and faculty/staff applicants receive special consideration, though admission is not automatic or guaranteed. (ecfs.org)