Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker day school in Washington, DC, and most new students arrive in a small set of entry grades. For fall 2027, the Middle and Upper School application covers Grades 6, 7 and 9. Sidwell has published a set of dates and steps for those grades, and this guide puts them in the order a family will meet them, with the details Sidwell gives for each one.
Who can apply, and where
Sidwell says it admits most new students in what it calls expansion grades. In the Middle and Upper School those are Grades 6, 7 and 9. The school lists typical new-student numbers of 16 in Grade 6 and 16 in Grade 7, and it lists 30/35 for Grade 9 without explaining that figure on the page we reviewed. Students may be admitted in other grades only if space is available, and Sidwell says spaces open only through attrition. Applications for those other grades are due by January 30, 2027.
Every family starts in Ravenna, the portal Sidwell uses to submit the application, reach forms, register for events and track progress. Create the account first, because almost every other step runs through it.
The first step: the Family Information Form
The Family Information Form is the first piece of the file. Sidwell asks families to plan 20 to 30 minutes to complete it and to do it early. There is a $75 non-refundable application fee, and families facing a financial hardship can request a fee waiver through a form on the Sidwell website and in Ravenna. The form is due by December 1, 2026.
What comes next for Grades 6, 7 and 9
After the Family Information Form, the Middle and Upper School file has several parts. Sidwell publishes them in two groups of dates.
By December 15, 2026
- Register for the Sidwell Friends School Assessment.
- Request confidential teacher recommendations from your child's current math and English teachers. Sidwell says to wait until after November 1, and forms received before that date will not be accepted.
- Provide a copy of your child's previous year's report cards.
- Schedule the parent meeting. For Grades 6 and 7 the meeting can be in person or virtual. For Grade 9 it is a virtual parent meeting and interview.
By December 31, 2026
- Provide the first quarter or first trimester report card for the current school year.
- Submit the applicant video. Sidwell has not published the instructions on the pages we reviewed, so watch Ravenna after you submit the Family Information Form.
- Submit standardized in-school testing, which is required.
- Admissions testing is optional. For Grade 9, Sidwell names the SSAT and the ISEE as the accepted optional tests.
Sidwell asks every family to finish all steps by December 31, 2026.
Dates at a glance
| Step | Date | | --- | --- | | Teacher recommendation requests open | After November 1, 2026 | | Family Information Form | December 1, 2026 | | Assessment registration, recommendations, previous report cards, parent meeting | December 15, 2026 | | First report card, applicant video, in-school testing | December 31, 2026 | | Middle School information session | November 11, 2026 | | Upper School information session | November 20, 2026 | | Middle and Upper School Open House | December 6, 2026 |
Visiting before you apply
Sidwell lists tours for Middle School families on Fridays and for Upper School families on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tours and events need advance registration in Ravenna because capacity is limited. The information sessions and the open house in the table above are the remaining large events listed for this fall.
What Sidwell has not published
Several details that families often ask about are not on the pages we reviewed. Sidwell does not publish an admit rate, the number of applicants, or a clear count of seats. It does not list decision release dates or a reply deadline, so ask the admissions office if your family needs to plan around them. It does not describe the format of the Sidwell Friends School Assessment, the length of the parent meeting or interview, or which in-school tests and scores it accepts. Where the school has not said, we have not guessed.
Families moving from out of town should start early. Sidwell says it does not reserve spaces for families who move to the area after the admissions season, and all students must live in the DC area with a parent or legal guardian.
A simple way to work backward
Start with Ravenna and the Family Information Form, since that opens everything else. Next, decide which math and English teachers will write for your child and tell them early, since requests open after November 1 and Sidwell wants them in by December 15. Then schedule the parent meeting and register for the assessment together, because both are due on December 15. Leave the last two weeks of December for the applicant video and for confirming that your child's current school has sent in-school test results.
For a longer view, see the application steps, the timeline and the FAQ.
Sources
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