Apply to Harpeth Hall
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Inquiring online is the best way to begin the admission process at Harpeth Hall. This ensures we have your current contact information and allows you to receive communication from the Admission Office. Inquire here.

Inquire Online & Create An Account

When you inquire, you provide us with your household information and year interested in applying. With that inquiry, you will be added to our mailing list and receive information about upcoming admission events and our monthly electronic newsletter.

Our system will send you an email with your login and link to create a password. This login information allows you to access the admission portal where you will be able to register for tours, student visit days, admission events, and apply for admission

*Returning or current families may navigate directly to the admission portal to add a candidate, access admission events, and our online application. 

Join us on Sunday, November 5 for Admission Preview Day! Hear from our head of school, division directors, faculty, coaches, and students about our academic, co-curricular, and signature programs such as Winterim, SEEK, and College Counseling. Admission Preview Day is your opportunity to learn about Harpeth Hall and explore areas in which you have specific interests. We look forward to sharing our campus and community with you. Registration information will be available on our website.

The admission application process begins the fall prior to the desired year of enrollment. If you are looking to begin at Harpeth Hall in the fall of 2024, your process begins in September of 2023, and your application is due no later than January 8, 2024.

Harpeth Hall’s largest entry classes are 5th, 7th, and 9th grades. Admission to 6th, 8th, and all other grades is entirely dependent upon available space.

The Admission Committee seeks to enroll a cohesive and diverse group of girls. The Admission Committee considers every piece of an application which includes school transcripts, the interview, application essays, teacher recommendations, and ISEE testing. Harpeth Hall’s holistic review process allows the Admission Committee to evaluate every aspect of an application within the context of a student’s academic and life experiences. Successful Harpeth Hall applicants demonstrate intellectual curiosity, engagement in community, social emotional strengths, and are ready to develop their unique talents and interests.

To learn more about Harpeth Hall girls, please visit Portrait of a Graduate.

Harpeth Hall requires recommendation forms from current math and current English teachers. These forms are very helpful in understanding a student’s learning environment and approach to learning. Recommendations are due no later than February 2, 2024. If your student has the same teacher for both math and English, your teacher will complete only the math recommendation form.

Please contact the Office of Admission and Financial Aid at 615.346.0126 if your school does not provide teacher recommendations.

Additional letters of recommendation are not necessary and are not expected.

The student essays provide an opportunity for the applicant to share her own thoughts and interests, allowing the Admission Committee to get to know her. We expect the essays to be completed thoughtfully and in her own words.

Register to take the ISEE this fall and have scores sent to Harpeth Hall. Harpeth Hall's ISEE School Code is 431670. Please make sure to enter Harpeth Hall’s school code upon registration to ensure scores are sent when available.

• We recommend taking the ISEE late fall through mid-January and encourage you to schedule testing promptly as test dates/locations fill up quickly. Your student must sit for the ISEE no later than 1/31/24.
• We will offer the ISEE to Harpeth Hall applicants on three dates this fall/winter: 12/10/23, 1/13/24, and 1/20/24. You will need to request an invitation code via your admission portal to register with ISEE to take the exam at Harpeth Hall.
• We highly discourage any type of paid test prep/tutoring for the ISEE. The ISEE website provides free practice tests and tips.  

• ISEE fee waivers are available to Harpeth Hall applicants. To request a fee waiver, families must complete the Parents' Financial Statement portion of the School and Student Services (SSS) financial aid application. Upon completion, please notify the Office of Admission and Financial Aid for your request to be considered.

Standardized test scores from the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) are helpful to the admission committee as it seeks to build a cohesive and diverse group of girls.

The ISEE is offered multiple times throughout the year; therefore, the expectations for student comprehension varies. ISEE scores are based on the number of correct answers a student gives. It benefits the student to make an educated guess by eliminating answers that are likely incorrect and choosing a response from what remains. A wrong answer and an omitted answer count the same. 

It is important to keep in mind that students in multiple grades take each test level. For example, students currently in 4th and 5th grades take the Lower Level ISEE. Naturally, there will be material on the test that is unfamiliar to students, and no student is expected to know the answer to every question.

With scoring, your student is compared only to other independent school applicants who tested for the same grade during the past three years. Your student is not compared to students applying to a different grade who are taking the same level of the test. 

As educators, our admission committee is well versed in interpreting an applicant’s score report. In each of the four sections of the score report, subsections of specific concepts are measured. When reviewing a student’s report, the committee takes into consideration the concepts with which an applicant is not as proficient or have not yet been introduced to the student. 

The ISEE is a required part of the Harpeth Hall application, yet is only one aspect of our holistic application review. The admission committee reviews the ISEE within the context of a student’s entire file including her application essay, interview, transcript, teacher recommendation. Harpeth Hall strongly discourages test preparation outside of the ISEE website and accepts only one ISEE score per admission cycle.

Applicants with a complete file are either admitted, placed on the waitlist, or denied. 

Yes. Each year the Admission Office receives more applications than there are spaces available. We advise prospective families to apply to more than one school.

For the 2023-24 school year, there are 724 total students, 312 in the middle school and 412 in the upper school.

Yes! Visit Tuition & Financial Aid fpr more information about tuition and financial aid.

Harpeth Hall has a full-time learning specialist for both middle and upper school to assist with student support. Our learning specialists work in collaboration with faculty, advisors, parents, and students to support learning in the school environment. The specialist can help reinforce skills necessary for student success at Harpeth Hall, including academic planning, time management, organization, and strategies for note taking, reading, studying, and test taking. In addition, the learning specialists offer opportunities for intellectual growth and academic enrichment. For more information on learning services, please reach out to Director of Enrollment Management Jessica Viner '89.