Middle School
5th grade - 34 spaces
6th grade - 51 spaces
7th grade - 0-2 spaces*
8th grade - 0-2 spaces*

We typically receive about seven to eight applications for every available space.

*availability based on attrition. 

All parts of the application carry equal weight in the review process; no one required part of the application is more important than another. Lakeside's approach to evaluating applications is holistic. This means we look closely all submitted materials to gain a comprehensive understanding of each student.

The admissions committee first builds a profile of the grade to identify how we might need to balance the class across gender identity, sending school type, race/ethnicity, zip code, students’ co-curricular interests, and personality. The admissions committee then reviews the applicant pool to identify which students demonstrate the ability to be academically successful in Lakeside’s program and meet the needs of the class. Director of Admission and Financial Aid Wellesley Wilson reviews this process in detail in the Admissions at Lakeside webinar. 

We do not share our acceptance rate. Knowing any school's acceptance rate adds to anxiety for students and families in an admission process, and it does not give any information about who Lakeside admits. Lakeside's admission and financial aid team responds to the needs of the school (see: the response to how we make admissions decisions), and this means we look for different things each year based on what we need to balance the grade. We encourage you to register for an Admissions at Lakeside webinar with Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Wellesley Wilson to hear more about how Lakeside makes admissions decisions each year.

Students applying to grades 5 through 8 for the 2023-2024 school year must submit scores from the SSAT. The SSAT website outlines which test level a student should take.

Lakeside has no minimum score for admission and we enroll students who score across a wide spectrum. A perfect score on the SSAT does not guarantee admission. Admissions testing is one part of the application process and is not more important than any other piece. As educators, we know what a standardized test can and cannot tell us about an applicant, therefore we consider all aspects of the application through our review process.

We recommend testing only once.

Lakeside's SSAT School Code is 4462.

We encourage families to begin the application process in the fall, one year before the desired start date. For families seeking entry for the 2023-2024 school year, the application is available September 1 and due January 12, 2023.

All Middle School applicants will register to participate in the Middle School admissions activity once the application is complete. The activity gives information about a student's ability to work with others in a group setting, and there is no need to prepare ahead of time. 

Families whose primary residence is outside of Island, King, Kitsap, Pierce, or Snohomish Counties are welcome to attend an activity virtually via Zoom. Specific dates are available in Ravenna and please email admissions@lakesideschool.org with your desired event date. 

The admissions process is the same for all applicants to Lakeside with the same application requirements and deadlines. Each applicant is considered on their own merit.

Middle School
5th grade - 34 students
6th grade - 85 students
7th grade - 85 students
8th grade - 85 students

Lakeside offers shadow days for admitted students (in late February for Upper school students and late March for Middle School students).

Our average class size is 17 students.

Successful Lakesiders have a demonstrated joy for learning and a record of academic success within the context of their own experience; a willingness to be open-minded and positively engaged in a diverse community; and the skills, potential, and desire to progress within our program.

Lakeside has a generous and extensive need-based financial-aid program that supports qualifying families with incomes from $10,000 to over $250,000. Financial assistance for recipients extends beyond tuition and covers additional school-related costs including, but not limited to, food, books, bus, laptop, and field trips. For additional information, including average awards by income, click here and select the Policies and Income Commitments tab. We encourage families to attend the virtual Financial Aid at Lakeside webinar in October or Janary.

It's delicious! When school is on campus, faculty, staff, and students all eat on campus in either the Middle or Upper School cafeteria. Led by a professional chef, our kitchen staff sources as many ingredients as possible from local sustainable farmers and producers. Vegetarian alternatives are always available, and food is labeled to help students manage food allergies. Students can choose to bring lunch from home, purchase their entire lunch on campus, or do a combination of both. Learn more here!

Students walk, bike, drive, carpool, or take the bus! To learn more about our transportation options, please visit our dedicated transportation page.

Yes, attendance at all admissions event is optional. Although there are many ways for prospective students and families to get to know Lakeside, families do not have to participate in every event. We very strongly encourage families to attend only the events that give them the information they need to help them in their search process. We do not consider event attendance in the admissions process.

For the vast majority of Middle School students, the Middle School program is appropriately academically challenging and offers the necessary opportunities for students to develop socially and emotionally with their peers. Only in the rarest of cases, and with approval from both the Middle and the Upper School teams, are Middle School students able to take classes at the Upper School.

No, Lakeside does not offer an Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Lakeside’s curriculum is carefully designed with the knowledge of the skills, competencies, and mindsets our students will need to thrive in the world beyond our campus. All Lakeside faculty apply best practices in teaching to engage students in the work and support their learning. Although Lakeside does not teach to any particular test, students are well prepared to take AP exams.

No, please only submit what is required of you for teacher evaluations and personal reference forms. Any additional evaluations or letters of recommendation will not be reviewed. 

Upper School
9th grade: 60-65 spaces
10th grade: 0-2 spaces*
11th grade: 0-2 spaces*
12th grade: 0 spaces

We typically receive about seven to eight applications for every available space.

*availability based on attrition. 

All parts of the application carry equal weight in the review process; no one required part of the application is more important than another. Lakeside's approach to evaluating applications is holistic. This means we look closely all submitted materials to gain a comprehensive understanding of each student.

The admissions committee first builds a profile of the grade to identify how we might need to balance the class across gender identity, sending school type, race/ethnicity, zip code, students’ co-curricular interests, and personality. The admissions committee then reviews the applicant pool to identify which students demonstrate the ability to be academically successful in Lakeside’s program and meet the needs of the class. Director of Admission and Financial Aid Wellesley Wilson reviews this process in detail in the Admissions at Lakeside webinar. 

We do not share our acceptance rate. Knowing any school's acceptance rate adds to anxiety for students and families in an admission process, and it does not give any information about who Lakeside admits. Lakeside's admission and financial aid team responds to the needs of the school (see: the response to how we make admissions decisions), and this means we look for different things each year based on what we need to balance the grade. We encourage you to register for an Admissions at Lakeside webinar with Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Wellesley Wilson to hear more about how Lakeside makes admissions decisions each year.

Students applying to grade 9 for the 2023-2024 school year must submit scores from the SSAT. Students applying to grades 10 through 12 have the option of taking the SSAT, PSAT, SAT, or ACT in lieu of taking the SSAT. The SSAT website outlines which test level a student should take.

Lakeside's SSAT School Code is 4462.

Lakeside has no minimum score for admission and we enroll students who score across a wide spectrum. A perfect score on a test does not guarantee admission. Admissions testing is one part of the application process and is not more important than any other piece. As educators, we know what a standardized test can and cannot tell us about an applicant, therefore we consider all aspects of the application through our review process.

We recommend testing only once.

We encourage families to begin the application process in the fall, one year before the desired start date. For families seeking entry for the 2023-2024 school year, the application is available now and due January 12, 2023.

The interview is a required part of the application for students applying to the Upper School (grades 9 through 12). Students meet one-on-one with a faculty member or member of the admissions team to discuss their school experience, interests, aspirations, and opportunities for growth. Students will also have time to ask questions about Lakeside. Authenticity is essential, and we encourage students to be themselves during the conversation. The interview is for students only and is being offered in-person or virtually.

There is no difference. The same faculty and staff members conduct both interviews and both are one-on-one. Lakeside offers the two options to provide more flexibility for applicants and families. 

The admissions process is the same for all applicants to Lakeside with the same application requirements and deadlines. Each applicant is considered on their own merit.

Middle School
5th grade - 34 students
6th grade - 85 students
7th grade - 85 students
8th grade - 85 students

Upper School
9th grade - 148 students
10th grade - 149 students
11th grade - 145 students
12th grade - 146 students

Lakeside offers shadow days for admitted students (in late February for Upper school students and late March for Middle School students).

Our average class size is 17 students.

Successful Lakesiders have a demonstrated joy for learning and a record of academic success within the context of their own experience; a willingness to be open-minded and positively engaged in a diverse community; and the skills, potential, and desire to progress within our program.

Lakeside has a generous and extensive need-based financial-aid program that supports qualifying families with incomes from $10,000 to over $250,000. Financial assistance for recipients extends beyond tuition and covers additional school-related costs including, but not limited to, food, books, bus, laptop, and field trips. For additional information, including average awards by income, click here and select the Policies and Income Commitments tab. We encourage families to attend the virtual Financial Aid at Lakeside webinar in October or Janary.

It's delicious! When school is on campus, faculty, staff, and students all eat on campus in either the Middle or Upper School cafeteria. Led by a professional chef, our kitchen staff sources as many ingredients as possible from local sustainable farmers and producers. Vegetarian alternatives are always available, and food is labeled to help students manage food allergies. Students can choose to bring lunch from home, purchase their entire lunch on campus, or do a combination of both. Learn more here!

Lakeside has an extensive and personalized college counseling process that begins, in earnest, spring of a student's junior year. Our goal is for students to enroll at a school where they will thrive. Visit our college counseling page to learn more. Click here to view our college profile which includes our graduation requirements and five-year college matriculation details.

Students walk, bike, drive, carpool, or take the bus! To learn more about our transportation options, please visit our dedicated transportation page.

Yes, attendance at all admissions event is optional. Although there are many ways for prospective students and families to get to know Lakeside, families do not have to participate in every event. We very strongly encourage families to attend only the events that give them the information they need to help them in their search process. We do not consider event attendance in the admissions process.

No, Lakeside does not offer an Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Lakeside’s curriculum is carefully designed with the knowledge of the skills, competencies, and mindsets our students will need to thrive in the world beyond our campus. All Lakeside faculty apply best practices in teaching to engage students in the work and support their learning. Although Lakeside does not teach to any particular test, students are well prepared to take AP exams.

No, please only submit what is required of you for teacher evaluations and personal reference forms. Any additional evaluations or letters of recommendation will not be reviewed. 

Students seeking entry to Lakeside for the 2023-2024 school year can attend an in-person campus tour or open house. Please visit the Admissions Event page for more information on tours, open houses, and other admissions events. Registration is required for all admissions events and typically opens in Ravenna in October.

We are unable to accommodate tour requests from families looking beyond the current admission season or tours outside of these months.

No, Lakeside does not provide housing for students or help students find homestays or local housing. Lakeside is a day school, and international students must live with at least one parent or legal guardian while enrolled at Lakeside.

No, Lakeside does not offer any specific course or programs to support international students. Additionally, Lakeside does not offer any ESL/ELL support as international students must be fluent in written and spoke English.

After the December 15 deadline, applicants who have submitted the required forms due by this date and meet minimum TOEFL scores (if applicable) will be contacted to schedule an interview (Upper School applicants) or admissions activity (Middle School applicants). All interviews and admissions activities are conducted virtually and via Zoom.

The SSAT and TOEFL are required. Find more information on these tests at www.ssat.org and www.toefl.org.

International applicants, to all grade levels, must take the TOEFL iBT if  the primary language of instruction at the applicant’s current academic institution is not English. We do not accept the TOEFL Jr. Lakeside looks closely at the score for each section rather than the total. The internet-based TOEFL exam (iBT) has four subsections, with a grading scale for each section from 1 to 30 (30 being the best possible score).

The minimum for each section are as follows:

• Reading: 24
• Listening: 22
• Speaking: 25
• Writing: 24

Please designate Lakeside School as an official score report recipient on the TOEFL registration form. Lakeside School code is B621. More information about the TOEFL can be found at www.toefl.org.

We do not work with educational consultants or placement companies. Lakeside accepts applications directly from students and their families.

Yes, Lakeside is registered with SEVIS. If needed, an I-20 form is provided to obtain an F1 visa only if the student enrolls at Lakeside and not prior. Please find more information at www.ice.gov/sevis.

No. The Lakeside academic program is full year and students are unable to enroll for one semester. It is the expectation that a student would remain enrolled through grade 12 and graduate from Lakeside unless the family were to move out of the area or the school was not a suitable match. All applicants must intend to graduate from Lakeside.

No. Financial aid is not available for non-U.S. citizens.

Enrolled international students have the same tuition and fees as domestic students. The international application fee is $75.

Financial aid includes assistance for tuition, books, course-related fees, GSL, laptop, and, for some students, lunch.

No. All financial assistance is need-based.

Please refer to our Policies and Income Commitments located in the Tuition & Financial Aid section of the website.

Each household is evaluated separately. The student's tuition is based on the aggregate of those evaluations.

No. All financial aid awards do not have to be paid back. 

No. Aid applications and admissions applications are considered separately. 

Financial aid decisions are included with admissions decisions.

We ask families to include their current tax return and copies of their W2s. Business owners must submit their business returns and other information relevant to the business. Parents and guardians who are not required to file taxes must submit documents showing all sources of income.