Application Preparation
How to prepare
Turn the requirements into a plan your family can follow.
Checked against Hotchkiss's published admissions pages on November 4, 2026.
Testing
Testing at Hotchkiss: required, and it depends on the grade.
Which test counts depends on the grade your student applies to.
- Testing policy
- Standardized testing is required for all applicants, and the accepted tests depend on the grade applied to.
- Grades 9 and 10
- Applicants to grades 9 and 10 submit the SSAT or ISEE.
- Grade 11
- Applicants to grade 11 submit the SSAT, PSAT, SAT or ISEE.
- Grade 12 and postgraduate
- Applicants to grade 12 or the postgraduate year submit the SAT, ACT or PSAT.
- English proficiency
- Applicants whose first language is not English also submit TOEFL, Duolingo English Test or IELTS results, unless they have attended an English-language school for three years or more.
- Timing
- Hotchkiss prefers November or December test dates. January test takers are still considered in the regular cycle once their scores arrive.
- Character Skills Snapshot
- The Character Skills Snapshot is not required, and it is free for students who take the SSAT.
- SSAT code
- The SSAT school code for Hotchkiss is 4012.
- 01
Book a November or December test date so scores arrive well before the deadline.
- 02
Take one timed practice test early, so you know what a first score looks like.
- 03
Send scores to the school code, then confirm the school received them.
Essays
The essays and the parent statement.
Both live inside the application, so plan them as writing projects.
- Essays
- The application includes candidate essays, which students complete in the Candidate Project section.
- Parent statement
- The application includes a parent statement.
- Arts and athletics
- Arts submissions go through SlideRoom, and athletes use an Athletic Interest Form.
- 01
Collect specific moments from your student's year before anyone drafts a sentence.
- 02
Draft for substance first and polish the style last.
- 03
Keep the parent statement in the parent's own voice.
Interview
The interview.
It is a step on the checklist, and families choose how to take it.
- Requirement
- An interview is a step on the application checklist.
- Format
- Families can book a campus tour with an interview, a virtual interview, or a campus tour only.
- When
- Interviews run from mid-September through mid-January, with none during Thanksgiving or Winter Break.
- Before you book
- Families complete the Admission Inquiry Form before they can schedule an interview.
- 01
Have your student bring two or three real stories, not a list of achievements.
- 02
Practice explaining one interest out loud for a minute.
- 03
Bring real questions about daily life on campus.
Preparation plan
A preparation plan that works backward from the deadline.
Adjust the pace to your student's schedule. The order matters more than the exact weeks.
Weeks 1 to 2
Map the application
Do the inquiry form, list every part of the application and decide who owns each piece.
Weeks 2 to 6
Book testing and draft essays
Pick a November or December test date, then write honest first drafts in your student's own voice.
Weeks 4 to 8
Schedule the interview
Book once the inquiry form is in, and practice a few real stories out loud.
Final weeks
Check, submit and file aid
Confirm recommendations and scores arrived, then submit before January 15.