How to Apply

The online application asks for family and student information and includes questions to be answered by parents (grades pre-k - 11) and students (grades 5 - 11).

The application for admission for the 2021-2022 school year is due no later than February 1.

Please note that all applicants to pre-kindergarten must be 4 years old by September 1, and all applicants to kindergarten must be 5 years old by September 1.

PCDS does not accept applications for grade 12.

The $75 application fee is paid online as part of the application submission.

Fee waivers are available for families needing financial assistance and for children of PCDS alumni. Please contact the PCDS Admissions Office to receive a fee waiver code.

All applicant families are required to schedule a Zoom meeting with a member of the admissions team. This interview is our opportunity to get to know your family and your educational priorities, and also answer questions you might have about PCDS.

It is our expectation that your family will have viewed the Virtual Information Session prior to this interview. If you have not already done so, please email admissions@pcds.org to request that information session.

• Lower School (grades pre-k - 4): 30-minute meeting with the parent(s)
• Middle School (grades 5 - 8): 30-minute meeting with parent(s) and child
• Upper School (grades 9 - 11): 15-minute meeting with parent(s) and child together,     immediately followed by a 15-minute interview with the student alone

Please register for your Zoom family interview through the online PCDS application portal once you’ve started the application process.

Transcripts and report cards from the current school after the first grading period are required for all PCDS applicants for Grades K-11.

If the student has done any kind of standardized testing in the past two years at their current school, please ask the school to share test score reports as part of the student’s transcript.

Download a Transcript Release Form.

Teacher recommendations are required for all PCDS applicants. Please note that teacher recommendations must be completed after the first marking period of the current school year.

Applicant families will send electronic recommendation requests via the PCDS application portal. 

In our effort to understand each applicant’s learning profile, the PCDS admissions committee aims to be thorough and thoughtful in its review of a student’s readiness for our school program. Access to skills-based achievement testing and/or aptitude testing is helpful in completing a student’s application to PCDS.

At this point, PCDS intends to administer admissions assessments on select Saturdays in January and February, in small group settings that follow our school’s established COVID-19 precautions and guidelines. See the sidebar for planned assessment dates (grades 1-11). Registration for assessments is available through the application portal.

If your family needs to seek alternate admissions testing arrangements, here are some other options that do not require a visit to campus:

• If the student has done any kind of standardized testing or developmental screening in the past two years at their current school, please ask the school to share test score reports as part of the student’s transcript.
• If the student has completed standardized testing or developmental screening outside of school, or has completed an evaluation with a child psychologist, please share those reports with our admissions team.
• For students applying to grades 6 - 11, PCDS accepts either the SSAT or the ISEE (both tests can be taken at a local prometric testing center or with an independent education consultant). If a student chooses to take either one of these tests, they must register and pay for the test independently and share the scores with PCDS (SSAT school code is 5767; ISEE school code is 030288).
• For students applying to grade 9, we would be glad to receive a writing sample. To do so, please share a copy of a student essay graded by a current English or history teacher.

Please contact the admissions team if you have questions or want to discuss assessment alternatives.

If your family is interested in applying for need-based financial assistance, the financial aid application will become available in November and will be due February 1.

For information about the financial aid program at PCDS and the Arizona Tax Credit options, and for application instructions, please review the Financial Aid page.

Please contact Kristie Berg, PCDS Director of Financial Aid, to gather more information and ask any questions.