Admission FAQs

Our selection is based on both academic and non-academic considerations. The admission committee looks for students who love to learn, are curious and have varied interests. A strong applicant demonstrates strong character and integrity and has a desire to engage in both the Harker and the greater communities. We look for families who support our mission and want to partner with us to build a community where students are supported on their own unique journeys, growing at their own pace into the global citizens of tomorrow.

We admit students with a range of interests, talents and perspectives. We receive more applications than we have spaces, so if your child is not admitted in a given year, they may be admitted in different year. We are always balancing the needs of the grade level with the applicant pool that year. Sometimes a child is a better fit for Harker in another grade level. Please contact us if you have specific questions about your child.

Our main entry points are kindergarten and grades 3, 4, 6 and 9. We accept applications to all other grades except grade 12, and enrollment will be offered to qualified applicants if a space becomes available.

*Harker, K-12, has a 97% retention rate with minimal attrition.

We value the commitment of our families, alumni and faculty/staff who want to have their children attend the same school and this is considered by the admission committee. Admission is not automatic, and they must be a good match for our program and meet our qualifications.

The Harker School will release decisions through Ravenna, our online application portal, on March 21, 2025, 4 p.m. PST Application and decision notification dates are established by the Bay Area Admission Directors (BAAD) consortium of independent school admission directors.

The parent/guardian response (signed contract and deposit) is due by March 28, 2025, 12 p.m. PST

Members of the admission committee review applicant files and then meet as a group to discuss and make recommendations to the admission office. The committee’s goal is to find the best fit between Harker and the students we enroll, seeking those students and families who represent a range of diverse interests and experiences. We take a holistic view of each applicant’s file, with every component being considered in our admission decision. There is not a single piece that determines whether or not a student is offered admission. We strive to admit a balanced and diverse group of students who will thrive at our school and add to the overall Harker community.

All completed applications will receive one of the following admission decisions:

• Acceptance: An offer of admission is extended, and the applicant is invited to enroll.

• Wait Pool: When an applicant meets our qualifications, but space is not available, they will be placed in the wait pool. There is not a ranked list within the wait pool. Should space become available between March and late summer, the admission committee will review all wait pool applicants and select one who best fits the composition of that grade. The wait pool does not carry forward into the next admission season, and applicants will need to reapply.

• Regrets: Harker may not be the right fit at this time and the applicant does not meet our qualifications. Some students will be stronger applicants when re-applying for a later grade level.

We only enroll students in the fall of the new school year. We do not accept mid-year transfers, and we typically don’t fill from the wait pool once the school year has started.

Offers of admission cannot be deferred to the following year. Because many considerations go into each admission decision, including the number of spaces available and the strength of the applicant pool for a particular grade level, we are not able to defer offers of admission to the following school year. If you decline the offer of admission for this year, you may reapply for admission next year.

We are a day school only. All students must be living with a parent or guardian while attending Harker.

We welcome international applicants who are fluent in English and prepared to fully engage in our program. Applicants who are attending a school outside of the United States and/or require the I-20 are considered as “international applicants.”

• At Harker we work directly with applying families and do not work with educational consultants or agents. International families must apply directly to our school and communicate with the admission directors.
• We do not offer an ESL program, boarding or arrange home-stays. It is expected that lower and middle school students reside in the Bay Area with a parent. We prefer that upper school students live with a parent.
• We do not have a separate pool for international applicants. International students applying to The Harker School must meet the same admission standards as domestic students, and successfully complete all stages of the highly selective admission process.
  • Unless students have been attending a school where all their courses are taught in English, it is unlikely that they will qualify.
  • We do not accept the TOEFL.
• If an international student is accepted and enrolls, Harker will issue an I-20 after full tuition is received in mid-June.
• While Harker does not offer ESL curriculum during the regular school year, we do offer a robust English Language Institute (ELI) in the summer. For more information visit https://www.harker.org/summer#bookmark-eli or contact ELI@harker.org.

Kindergarten-Grade 2

Applicants will schedule an an in-person classroom visit/readiness assessment with our teachers and submit a cognitive assessment from one of our preferred psychologists (found in Ravenna).

Grades 3-4

Applicants will take the ISEE in person at Harker Lower School with our teachers.

Grade 5

Applicants will submit scores from either the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) and attend an in-person activity session with our teachers.

Grades 6-11

All applicants to grades 6-11 are required to submit testing results, either the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) or SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test) entrance exam. We do not have a preference for either exam, and it can be taken at any location. Location options include a test center in a group setting on paper, or on a computer either at home or at an individual testing location. Entrance exams need to be taken no earlier than August 1 in the year you are applying. For more information about each exam and to register, please check the ISEE and SSAT websites. Since there are multiple options to take the entrance exam, Harker is not a test center this year.

Our admission evaluation process is holistic and values all facets of a student, taking into consideration many aspects beyond a test score, such as interests, character and love of learning. Test results are one of many components of an application and are not valued more than other components. We use standardized testing as a common assessment tool because applicants come from a wide variety of academic programs. We understand there are benefits and limitations of standardized testing and accept a range of scores. Very high scores will not necessarily gain admission to Harker. In order to ensure this holistic view, our application readers review all applications first without seeing test scores. Only after this initial evaluation of the entire pool do we review test scores.

Since testing is a quantitative, seemingly more controllable measure, we understand the inclination to prepare for the test. We strongly discourage enrolling in a test prep program or spending excessive time preparing as test results are only one factor in the admission decision. We recommend becoming familiar with the entrance exam by visiting their website and taking their sample practice test. The best prep you can do is get a good night sleep the night before and eat a nutritious breakfast the morning of the exam.

Tuition covers the vast majority of the cost to participate in the academic, extracurricular and other programs offered at Harker. For example, lunch, before- and after-school care, intercampus shuttles, and local transportation to athletic and performing arts events and field trips are included. Please see below for an overview of costs by division. See current year tuition.

Lower School

Additional costs include school uniforms and a few optional after-school activities where Harker brings in an outside organization onto campus to run a specific class, i.e., karate or gymnastics.

Middle School

Additional costs include school uniforms, a laptop, textbooks and elective fees such as performing arts show fees, or non-local travel fees such as orchestra or debate trips. These additional costs are about $500-$1,000 annually.

Upper School

Additional costs include a laptop, textbooks and elective fees such as performing arts show fees, or non-local travel fees such as orchestra or debate trips. These additional costs are about $500-$1,000 annually.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, independent school and our strong culture of philanthropy plays an essential role in the overall quality of our academic, extracurricular and character programs. Our board of trustees works closely with the school administration to ensure all funds are reinvested directly to our programs, which fulfills our mission by providing the best possible student experience and continues our 125+ year legacy of educating children. Our community of students, parents, educators and staff is united in our efforts help build community and ensure success. Annual giving provides the “margin of excellence” in our programs that makes the Harker education truly exceptional inside and outside the classroom, in areas such as teacher development, athletics, the arts, library, technology, field trips and so much more. In addition, our occasional capital campaigns provide the facilities and infrastructure that help our students thrive. The buildings that are the result of those campaigns are a direct legacy from past families to our future students.

For more complete information visit www.harker.org/giving.

Student:teacher ratio: 9:1

Average Class Sizes

K-5: 15-22
Grades 6-8: 16-18 students
Grades 9-12: 14-15 students

We have buses from south San Jose and the Peninsula and continually evaluate the transportation needs of our families. Many families also carpool. We also have a free intercampus shuttle between our three campuses (lower, middle and upper school), so families with multiple children may easily drop them all at one campus where they can take a shuttle to the other campuses. To learn more please visit our transportation site: http://www.harker.org/transportation

Students attend Harker from across the Bay Area. The largest source of students are from San Jose, Saratoga, Los Altos/Los Altos Hills and Los Gatos, but we have students who attend from more than 45 cities, 120 ZIP codes and as far away as Santa Cruz, Hillsborough, Gilroy and Pleasanton.

It’s a common misperception that Harker prefers students who attended more structured, heavily academic-oriented schools. Our newly admitted students come from more than 100 different public, charter, for-profit, independent and parochial schools.