Columbia Families

Who is Eligible to Apply?

To apply, at least one parent/guardian must be a Columbia University full-time Officer eligible for the PTS (Primary Tuition Scholarship) benefit. For additional information about PTS eligibility, please click here.
Members of Columbia University bargaining units can apply through the neighborhood lottery process if they reside in New York City Public School District 3 or 5.
Adjunct professors, students, certain post docs, and affiliates of Teachers College and Barnard College are ineligible to apply even if they live in District 3 or 5. However, please see the bullet above if you are a member of a Columbia bargaining unit who falls into any of these groups. Visiting officers may be eligible to apply in certain circumstances; please contact us for more information.
Applicant families must live in one of the five boroughs of New York City; they may start the application process before moving to New York City, but must establish residency at the time of matriculation. Residency must be confirmed by CU Human Resources and the Office of the Provost.
Students applying to kindergarten for the 2023-24 school year must turn five by August 31, 2023.
The School does not require any educational testing (ERBs, etc.) for admission.
The School does not have an application fee.

Admissions criteria are administered by the Office of the Provost. Group 1, admitted first, is officers of instruction of professorial rank; Group 2 is officers of instruction of other ranks, officers of the libraries and research, and teachers at the K-8 School; Group 3 is officers of administration.
Lotteries are held by the Office of the Provost within each Group if there are more applicants than available seats.

Online inquiry opens August 15, 2022 and closes October 15, 2022. Families may complete an online form.
Applications are sent via email in mid-October to all Columbia families who submitted an inquiry form. Application receipt does not guarantee a space.
Application deadline for 2023-24 is noon on December 2, 2022 . School reports are due by December 2, 2022.
For all applicants, the process includes an assessment by The School to confirm it can serve the child.
Notifications are sent in early February 2023.
Signed contracts and deposits are due by noon on February 16, 2023.  We have a limited number of openings at each grade level. Children may be placed on our waitlist to be offered admission if additional spaces become available. The waitlist stays active only until the start of the school year, and does not automatically carry over to the next year. Families must reapply if they wish to be in the next year’s application cycle.