How to Get Into St. Paul’s School: Acceptance Rate, Fall 2027 Deadlines, Tuition and Aid

What is the St. Paul’s School acceptance rate?

St. Paul’s School does not publish an acceptance rate, an applicant count or the number of students it admits. None appears on its admissions, application, financial aid or college advising pages, or in its Profile for Colleges 2026-27, so rates quoted elsewhere are outside estimates rather than SPS figures (St. Paul’s Admissions; Profile for Colleges 2026-27). What the school does publish:

Founded in 1856, St. Paul’s is a coeducational, fully residential school for Grades 9 to 12 in Concord, New Hampshire, and maintains a historic affiliation with the Episcopal Church while supporting the beliefs of many faiths (Profile for Colleges 2026-27). The grounds began as 50 acres and now cover 2,000, with 25 miles of wooded trails, four ponds and the upper third of the Turkey River (About St. Paul’s). SPS is one of the ten founding members of the Ten Schools Admission Organization (Ten Schools) and a member of the Eight Schools Association, a collaborative of eight independent boarding schools (Eight Schools Association). Our guide to the Ten Schools compares the members.

When are the St. Paul’s School deadlines for fall 2027?

The application for 2027-28 opened on July 1, 2026. The completed application and financial aid documents are due January 15, 2027, and admissions decisions are posted online on March 10, 2027; the same page says decisions will be emailed that day (St. Paul’s Admissions, Important Dates). Financial aid decisions are available to newly admitted families on March 10 as well (St. Paul’s Tuition and Financial Aid).

In our view, a family applying for fall 2027 should submit Gateway Part 1 now, because SPS requires it before an interview can be scheduled and the interview is part of a complete application; choose a test date that reports by January 15, 2027; and ask the current English and mathematics teachers, the counselor and a personal recommender early. The student should also pick the graded writing sample, a longer piece with teacher comments from this academic year, before winter break. A family that may need aid at any point should begin the aid application on November 20, 2026 and file it with the admission application by January 15, 2027, since SPS considers later requests only after a significant change in circumstances.

What does the St. Paul’s School application require?

St. Paul’s uses the Gateway to Prep Schools application, and all materials are submitted through it (St. Paul’s Application Process). Interviews are offered on the grounds from June through January and virtually from September through January. A complete application includes:

• The Candidate Profile (Gateway Part 1) and the admissions interview.
• A Candidate Statement and a Parent Statement. The only required writing is the four questions on the Gateway Part 2 form, plus a graded writing sample from this academic year with teacher comments.
• Current grades and an official transcript from the previous two years.
• Recommendations from the current English teacher, the current mathematics teacher, the principal or counselor, and a personal recommender; a special interest recommendation is optional.
• An official copy of standardized test results.

The English, mathematics and counselor recommendations must come from current teachers; students on a block schedule who have not yet had one of these classes may use a history or science teacher (St. Paul’s Application FAQs). SPS says it expects all writing to reflect the work of the applicant without assistance, including artificial intelligence tools (St. Paul’s Application Process). Athletes, ballet dancers, musicians, artists and actors may send supplementary material, such as 5 to 20 images of artwork or a recording of 6 to 10 minutes of music.

Our guides to ISEE preparation and private school interview questions cover two of these steps.

What does St. Paul’s School cost, and how does financial aid work?

For 2026-27, tuition, inclusive of room and board, is $75,400; with $1,480 in mandatory fees and an estimated $3,485 in personal expenses, the school puts the total cost of attendance at $80,365 (St. Paul’s Tuition and Financial Aid). There is no day tuition, because there are no day students.

SPS says its financial aid packages meet admitted students’ full demonstrated need, with no gap between what it determines a family can afford and what it awards, and nothing to pay back. Families of admitted U.S.-based students with household income up to $150,000 generally qualify for full tuition support (St. Paul’s Tuition and Financial Aid). Families apply through Clarity by January 15, 2027, and must also say on the Gateway Candidate Profile that they intend to apply. The school requires any family that expects to need aid at some point during enrollment to apply at the time of admission; later requests are considered only after a significant change in circumstances.

By our calculation, the average need-based grant of $66,688 equals 88.4% of tuition, room and board. SPS also offers regional scholarships for students who apply from particular U.S. areas, and encourages families in those areas to apply for financial aid (St. Paul’s Regional Scholarships). Families in these areas should read the terms before filing Clarity:

Where do St. Paul’s School graduates go to college?

Harvard enrolled more St. Paul’s graduates than any other college across the Forms of 2025 and 2026, with 13, followed by Columbia, Georgetown and Yale with 11 each, according to the Profile for Colleges 2026-27 (Profile for Colleges 2026-27). The profile lists every college where two or more SPS students enrolled over those two years.

On average, 98% of Sixth Formers go directly to college, and 3 to 6 graduates each year pursue a postgraduate opportunity (Profile for Colleges 2026-27). Students are assigned a college adviser in December of the Fifth Form (Grade 11) year, and by June they have a preliminary college list built with that adviser (St. Paul’s College Advising). See our Ivy League acceptance rates analysis for the college side.

What academic programs set St. Paul’s School apart?

St. Paul’s does not offer an AP curriculum; its profile says many courses go beyond normal secondary school work and several use college-level texts (Profile for Colleges 2026-27). There are no traditional English or history departments: students take double-credit Humanities courses instead. Since the 2025-2026 academic year, SPS has used an A+ to F scale, and it does not weight grades or rank students. Students take five credits in each of three terms.

• Classical Honors: four years of Latin at the Honors level and at least two sequential years of Greek, travel to Greece or Italy in March, and a Sixth Form capstone.
• Applied Science and Engineering Program: accepted students take Honors Scientific Research Methods in the Fifth Form spring, a summer laboratory internship, and a capstone that can continue the research.
• Independent Study Program: Sixth Formers design an approved experience outside the classroom for one to three terms.
• School Year Abroad in France, Italy and Spain.

Every teacher and student lives at the school, according to SPS, and the community gathers in Chapel four mornings a week (About St. Paul’s; Get to Know SPS). The Honor Code asks members of the community to be truthful, respectful and kind.

How does St. Paul’s School compare with other Ten Schools members?

St. Paul’s describes itself as one of the only fully residential independent high schools in the country (St. Paul’s Admissions). Each of the other six schools below publishes a separate day tuition for 2026-27, and St. Paul’s has one of the lower boarding figures among them:

Families often ask whether a more selective boarding school helps a student in college admissions. The view of Oriel Admissions is that a student needs to stand out within their own high school as well as in the national pool, and that it is better to be a top student at a smaller school than an average student at a more competitive one, for the opportunities that open up to top students as well as for grades. Our reach, match and safety guide applies the same thinking to a list, and our guide to Phillips Exeter Academy covers the other New Hampshire member.

Frequently Asked Questions About SPS Admissions

Sources: St. Paul’s Admissions, St. Paul’s Application Process, St. Paul’s Application FAQs, St. Paul’s Tuition and Financial Aid, St. Paul’s Regional Scholarships, St. Paul’s Profile for Colleges 2026-27, St. Paul’s College Advising, About St. Paul’s, Get to Know SPS, Ten Schools Admission Organization, Eight Schools Association, Lawrenceville Tuition, Taft Tuition, Hill Tuition and Financial Aid, Hotchkiss Tuition, Loomis Chaffee Tuition, Choate Tuition and Financial Aid. All read November 5, 2026.

About Oriel Admissions

Oriel Admissions is a college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy, with offices in Princeton, New Jersey and New York. Our team pairs deep admissions expertise with a distinctive 360 approach spanning academic planning, extracurricular strategy, essays and application execution. To discuss your strategy, schedule a consultation.