Application Requirements

All required application items are listed on your child’s Admission Portal and are necessary before our Admission Committee will review, make an admission decision, and communicate decisions to parents. Depending on the grade applying to, we require demographic information, parent and/or candidate questionnaires, academic records, admission testing, teacher recommendation(s), an interview, and a non-refundable $50 application fee. 

The Bear Creek School accepts international students to all grade levels; however, we no longer issue the Form I-20 to new non-immigrant F-1 visa students. Bear Creek does not offer an English Language Learner (ELL) program.

Note: Price Scholarship applicants have additional requirements. See Scholarships for more information.

Space Availability

Current Bear Creek students are given the opportunity to reenroll to the next academic year in late January/early February, so the number of spaces available to new students will not be determined until after reenrollment is complete.

Age Requirements

Please note age requirements for the following grade levels when applying for the 2024 – 2025 school year:

• Kindergarten
  • Full-day and 2/3-day – five years of age by August 31, 2024
• Preschool
  • P3 – three years of age by August 31, 2024, and toilet trained
  • P4 – four years of age by August 31, 2024, and toilet trained
  • P5 – five years of age by January 1, 2025, and toilet trained

Application Deadlines

Starting an application early (in the fall for the following school year) is highly recommended. Keep in mind interview dates fill quickly, so please schedule these early. For those grade levels requiring admission testing, it is best to test sooner rather than later.

For priority (first round) admission decisions, the following deadlines apply:

• December 1, 2023: Application for admission deadline for siblings of currently enrolled Bear Creek students (all required items submitted)
• December 1, 2023: C.S. Lewis Legacy Scholarship application deadline for sibling applicants of currently enrolled Bear Creek students. Note: This scholarship also requires a separate tuition assistance application. 
• January 22, 2024: Application for admission deadline for all other applicants (all required items completed)
• If your child is a new applicant (and not a sibling of a currently enrolled Bear Creek student) and you would like to apply for a C.S. Lewis Legacy Scholarship, please submit your tuition assistance application and scholarship application by January 22, 2024. 

We may have openings in some grade levels after the above deadlines. See Apply Now for additional information.

 You are welcome to email us at admissions@tbcs.org to inquire about space availability. 

Admission Decisions

Admission decisions for the 2024 – 2025 school year will be emailed:

• Beginning mid to late January 2024 (continuing in February and March): Preschool (P3, P4, P5)
• Between January 17, 2024 – March 15, 2024: Most sibling applicants of current Bear Creek students
• February 16, 2024: Grade 9 and above
• March 15, 2024: Kindergarten – grade 8 (at our discretion, we may make some decisions earlier)

We make rolling admission decisions after the above dates, depending on space availability.

Admission decisions are based on the strength of each applicant’s overall application compared with the overall pool of applicants. Parents or legal guardians will receive one of three admission decision notifications:

• Accepted – Applicant meets Bear Creek’s admission criteria, and enrollment will be offered.
• Candidate Pool – Applicant meets Bear Creek’s admission criteria, but the number of qualified applicants exceeds class capacity. If/When openings in a class occur, a qualified applicant will be selected from the Candidate Pool and offered admission. Applicants are selected from the Candidate Pool based on a variety of factors including but not limited to the comparative strength of other candidates in the Pool (not length of time). If a candidate is not offered admission by the beginning of the school year, he/she is welcome to reapply for the following school year by submitting a new online application for admission.
• Denied – Applicant does not meet Bear Creek’s admission criteria and enrollment will not be offered.