How to Get Into NYC’s Most Selective Private Schools: Fall 2027 Dates, Tuition, Aid and Testing
By Rona Aydin
Which NYC private schools publish acceptance rates?
None of the nine schools in this guide (Trinity, Collegiate, Brearley, Spence, Chapin, Dalton, Horace Mann, Riverdale and Ethical Culture Fieldston) publishes an acceptance rate or an applicant count. In our view, these nine are the independent schools New York City families most often treat as the most competitive; since none publishes a rate, the selection reflects our experience, not a ranking. Several publish how many new students they expect to take, which in our view is the closest public measure of competition: about 50 Kindergarten admits at Collegiate (Collegiate Kindergarten), about 60 new Grade 9 students at Trinity (Trinity Grades 5-12), 30 to 35 Kindergarten and 40 to 45 Grade 9 places at Horace Mann (Horace Mann Kindergarten; Horace Mann Grades 6-11), 42 Kindergarten and 40 to 45 Grade 9 openings at Riverdale (Riverdale admissions process) and about 40 Grade 9 openings at Fieldston (Fieldston Upper).
Regis High School, a tuition-free Jesuit school for Catholic boys, does publish counts: its 2026-2027 profile says “The Class of 2027 had 579 applicants, 149 admitted students, and 134 matriculated students,” which is 25.7% admitted by our calculation, for the class that entered in fall 2023 (Regis School Profile). Our guide to NYC private school college admissions covers Regis in more detail.
How do NYC’s most selective private schools compare on cost and aid?
| School | Grades and students | Tuition 2026-27 | Students receiving aid | Free-tuition income level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collegiate | K-12, boys | $72,070 | Not published | None published |
| Trinity | K-12, coed | $71,500 (dated August 29, 2025; no school year given) | Almost 20% | None published |
| Riverdale | Pre-K-12, coed | $71,350 | 20% (admission page) | None; “no income cutoff” for aid |
| Spence | K-12, girls | $71,185 | One in five | None published |
| Chapin | K-12, girls | $71,000 | 20% (2026-27) | None published |
| Ethical Culture Fieldston | Pre-K-12, coed | $70,890 | 22% | None published |
| Dalton | K-12 | $70,800 | About 21% | None published |
| Brearley | K-12, girls | $69,600 | 21% | About $100,000 (pages say “less than” and “or less”), without significant assets |
| Horace Mann | Nursery-12, coed | $68,700 (full day) | 17.5% (2026-27) | Under $150,000 from 2027-28 |
All nine describe their aid as need-based; Horace Mann says aid “is awarded based upon need” (Horace Mann applying for aid). Horace Mann also says admission “is need-blind” and that 17.5% of students receive “more than $19,500,000” in aid; from 2027-28 its Ingenio Non Censio Scholars Program gives “full tuition” to admitted families “earning less than $150,000” (Horace Mann tuition and aid). Brearley offers free tuition “For families earning less than $100,000 a year and without significant assets” (Brearley tuition and aid); its program page says “$100k or less” (Brearley Free Tuition Program). Chapin reports that “the median household income of families receiving tuition assistance for the 2026-2027 school year was $240,000,” which in our view shows that aid reaches well beyond low-income families (Chapin tuition and aid).
What are the fall 2027 admission dates?
ISAAGNY, the admissions association most of these schools belong to, says its notification and reply dates apply to “applications completed by Friday, January 8th, 2027” (ISAAGNY notification and reply dates). Its grade-by-grade table did not load for us, so the dates below come from member schools’ own pages.
| School | Application deadline | Testing for Grade 9 | Grade 9 decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton | November 13, 2026 (noon) | ISEE or SSAT | ISAAGNY timetable |
| Ethical Culture Fieldston | November 13, 2026 (noon) | ISEE or SSAT | February 17, 2027 |
| Trinity | November 15, 2026 (Grade 9); Kindergarten closed October 16 | ISEE or SSAT | February 19, 2027 |
| Collegiate | November 16, 2026 | ISEE or SSAT | Mid-February 2027 |
| Riverdale | November 16, 2026 (preliminary) | ISEE or SSAT | February 19, 2027 |
| Horace Mann | November 18, 2026 | ISEE (SSAT if also applying to boarding schools) | February 2027 |
| Brearley | December 1, 2026 | ISEE or SSAT | February 12, 2027 |
| Chapin | December 1, 2026 | None; Chapin’s own math and English assessment | Not stated in page text |
| Spence | December 13, 2026 (Grades 9-11) | ISEE or SSAT | February 19, 2027 |
At schools that offer ISAAGNY Early Notification, siblings, legacies, faculty children and other groups ISAAGNY names may be eligible, and member schools may narrow the list: decisions come no earlier than noon on Wednesday, December 9, and replies are due by noon on Wednesday, December 16 (ISAAGNY gives no year; the weekdays match 2026) (ISAAGNY early notification). Brearley, Chapin, Dalton, Horace Mann and Riverdale run applications through Ravenna, and Fieldston uses SchoolAdmin; ISAAGNY says only that “many ISAAGNY schools host their applications on an admissions platform, such as Finalsite or Ravenna” (ISAAGNY application process).
What are the main entry points?
Kindergarten and Grade 9 are the standard entry points at Trinity, Collegiate and Dalton; Trinity fills other grades only as places open through attrition and takes no applications for Grades 8 and 12, Collegiate says limited openings in other grades “may become available through attrition,” and Dalton is not opening a standard Grade 6 application for September 2027. Brearley is considering Kindergarten and Classes V through IX for 2027-28 (Brearley admission), Spence Kindergarten and Grades 6, 7 and 9, and Chapin Kindergarten, Classes 4-7 (Chapin Middle School admissions) and Classes 8-10. Horace Mann, Riverdale and Fieldston also admit at Pre-K or younger and at Grade 6 (Fieldston Middle admissions). Kindergarten applicants take no standardized test at most of these schools; Horace Mann and Riverdale use the First Look Insights assessment, and the others rely on child visits, playgroups or small-group assessments.
Where do graduates of these schools go to college?
Each school publishes its own multi-year list, with different years: Brearley reports 29 Harvard enrollees for 2022 to 2026 (Brearley college advising), Spence 26 (Spence college counseling) and Collegiate 12 (Collegiate college guidance) over the same years, Horace Mann 9 for 2024 to 2026 (Horace Mann college counseling), and Dalton 37 for 2019 to 2024 (Dalton college counseling), while Trinity (Trinity matriculation) and Riverdale (Riverdale college office) post their lists as images. Our guide to Class of 2030 acceptance rates by high school sets these lists side by side with their years.
How should families build a list of NYC private schools?
The view of Oriel Admissions is that a family should build its list around the entry grade, the testing rule and cost after aid, since no school publishes an acceptance rate to compare. In our view, a balanced list includes schools that admit at the grade the child is entering, at least one school whose testing rule suits the child (Chapin uses its own assessment rather than the ISEE or SSAT), and, for families who need aid, the schools with published income levels or no income cutoff. Our guide to getting into Dalton covers one school in detail.
Frequently Asked Questions About NYC Private School Admissions
None of Trinity, Collegiate, Brearley, Spence, Chapin, Dalton, Horace Mann, Riverdale or Fieldston publishes an acceptance rate. Regis publishes counts: 579 applicants and 149 admits for its Class of 2027, which entered in fall 2023, or 25.7% by our calculation.
The remaining deadlines run from November 13, 2026 (Dalton and Fieldston) to December 13, 2026 (Spence Grades 9-11); Trinity Kindergarten applications closed on October 16, 2026. ISAAGNY dates apply to files completed by January 8, 2027.
Schools that state a date list February 4, 2027 for Kindergarten, with replies due February 11. Grade 9 dates vary by school: February 19, 2027 at Trinity, Spence and Riverdale, February 17 at Fieldston and February 12 at Brearley.
Most require the ISEE or SSAT for Grade 9. Chapin uses its own math and English assessment instead, and Horace Mann asks for the ISEE unless a student is also applying to boarding schools.
Among these nine schools, tuition runs from $68,700 at Horace Mann to $72,070 at Collegiate. Trinity lists $71,500 without stating a school year.
Brearley offers free tuition to families earning less than $100,000 (its program page says $100,000 or less) without significant assets, and Horace Mann, from 2027-28, to admitted families earning less than $150,000. Regis charges no tuition at all.
At schools that offer it, siblings, legacies, faculty children and other eligible groups receive decisions no earlier than noon on December 9, with replies due by noon on December 16. ISAAGNY gives no year; the weekdays match 2026.
Oriel Admissions suggests starting from the entry grade, the testing rule and cost after aid, and including at least one school with a published income level or no income cutoff for families who need aid.
Sources: ISAAGNY notification and reply dates, ISAAGNY early notification dates, ISAAGNY application process, Trinity tuition, fees and financial aid, Trinity Kindergarten-Grade 4 admissions, Trinity Grades 5-12 admissions, Collegiate tuition and financial aid, Collegiate Kindergarten admissions, Collegiate Grade 9 admissions, Brearley tuition and financial aid, Brearley Free Tuition Program, Brearley Kindergarten admissions, Brearley Upper School admissions, Spence tuition and financial aid, Spence application process, Chapin tuition and financial aid, Chapin Lower School admissions, Chapin Upper School admissions, Affording Dalton, Dalton Steps to Apply, Horace Mann tuition and financial aid, Horace Mann Nursery and Kindergarten admissions, Horace Mann Grades 6-11 admissions, Riverdale admissions process, Riverdale financial aid, Ethical Culture Fieldston tuition and financial aid, Ethical Culture Fieldston Lower Divisions admissions, Fieldston Upper admissions, Regis School Profile 2026-2027, Horace Mann applying for financial aid, Brearley admission, Brearley college advising, Spence college counseling, Collegiate college guidance, Horace Mann college counseling, Dalton college counseling, Trinity college matriculation, Riverdale college office, Riverdale admission, Chapin Middle School admissions, Fieldston Middle admissions.
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