- Submit a Letter of Intent using our online submission form.
The Letter of Intent serves as a demonstration of your interest to enroll your child at MacLaren; it in no way guarantees your child’s enrollment nor legally binds you to enroll your child. Letters of Intent are only good for the school year in which you are applying. We do not keep a waitlist year-to-year. We also do not accept mid-year enrollment after September.
A lottery is held on January 31 each year to offer the seats we expect to have available the following school year. After the lottery, Letters of Intent will be processed on a first come, first served basis. The deadline for Letters of Intent for 2025-26 school year is September 24, 2025.
The Letter of Intent form for the 2025-26 school year is available as of October 2, 2024.
- Attend Information Night
If you are interested in enrolling your child for the 2025-26 school year, please plan to attend one of the Information Nights listed below. These events provide an excellent opportunity for you to ask questions and learn more about MacLaren from our Heads of School, teachers, students, and parent volunteers.
November 14, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
January 16, 2025, 6:30 p.m.
March 6, 2025, 6:30 p.m.
- Sign up your child for Diagnostic Testing.
All students who are looking to transfer into MacLaren in grades 7-12, must take two diagnostic tests – one in math skills and one in literature/composition skills – to assess what grade the student is academically prepared for. Sometimes the outcome of the tests show that a child is not ready for the grade that a parent has requested. If that is the case, we will offer the parent the option of entering that child in the grade below. Please note that students transferring into ninth grade and above must have already completed Algebra I. Testing will begin immediately after the Lottery. More information will be emailed to those families who need to meet this testing requirement.
- Provide proof of Free or Reduced-Price Lunch qualification, if applicable
We give preference in the Lottery for children that qualify for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch. If your child currently qualifies for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch, please forward to the Enrollment Office a copy of the verification letter you received from your current school district. You can do this during the Letter of Intent submission by uploading the letter directly, faxing a copy using our Secure Student Records fax at (866) 587-2608, or bringing in a hard copy to the Enrollment Office.
If you have never applied for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch, but believe you might qualify for that benefit, please fill out the Family Economic Survey
(Encuesta de datos económicos familiaresa) found on our online Letter of Intent form and either deliver it to the Enrollment Office or fax it using our Secure Student Records fax line at (866) 587-2608. We will notify you of our preliminary assessment of your eligibility. All family economic information is kept strictly confidential.
After your child is enrolled at MacLaren, you will need to apply for Free or Reduced-Price Lunches with D11, our partner for the hot lunch program, to receive discounts on student fees each school year.
- Read applicable Enrollment Policies.
Please familiarize yourself with our enrollment policies so that you understand how enrollment is conducted for those Letters of Intent that are received prior to the Lottery deadline which is January 29, 2025, for the 2025-26 school year, and those that are received after the Lottery deadline.