The Crefeld School - Because not all great minds think alike!

Application Process

Thank you for your interest in The Crefeld School. Below is a description of the application process and all of the steps involved. After reading this document, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Stacey Cunitz, Director of Admissions at (215) 242-5545, extension 13. Or, you may write to her at:

Stacey Cunitz
Director of Admissions
The Crefeld School
8836 Crefeld Street
Philadelphia, PA 19118
scunitz@crefeld.org

Before the Process Begins: Learn About The Crefeld School

Before a student submits an application to the school, the family can find out about The Crefeld School in one or more of the following ways:

Visiting our website at www.crefeld.org
Visiting the school during one of our Open Houses
Calling the school and requesting a packet of information
Talking to Stacey on the telephone about the school
Talking to current parents and students of the school.

Private appointments with Stacey are generally scheduled after we have received the application.

Stage One: Information Gathering

During this stage an application is submitted, and Stacey will set up a private appointment with the applicant and his/her family. During this appointment, releases are signed which allow the admissions committee to obtain school records and copies of test reports. These releases also give permission for members of the committee to speak to the various people listed on the application. Admissions committee members are trying to learn as much about the applicant as possible so that we can make a determination about whether Crefeld is capable of meeting the applicant's needs and whether he or she will benefit from Crefeld's program. If concerns or questions arise during this process, Stacey will contact the family to discuss them. If at some point during this stage, it becomes clear to us that Crefeld is not an appropriate placement for the applicant, we will let the family know. Families may call Stacey if they would like the names of other schools they might contact. She also has a list of wonderful educational consultants whose job it is to help find school placements for children.

Stage Two: Visiting Crefeld

Once the committee has made a determination that Crefeld MIGHT be a good placement for the applicant, he or she is invited to spend some time visiting the school. Students applying for admission to the middle school are invited to spend half a day visiting. Students applying for admission to upper school are invited to spend a full day. During this visit, the applicant will shadow a current student. The applicant should bring a notebook and pen to school that day and participate as fully as possible in all of the day's activities. Students applying for admission to upper school should also bring lunch or money for lunch. Lunch can be bought on campus, however, many of our upper school students leave campus for lunch and they enjoy bringing visitors into town. Students visiting middle school will leave before lunch but are encouraged to bring a snack, as the morning is long, and they will undoubtedly get hungry.

Stage Three: The Outcome Letter

There are three possible outcomes to the admissions process. The first comes in the form of an acceptance letter, which indicates that we feel that Crefeld is an appropriate placement for the applicant and we have an available space to offer. Any conditions placed on enrollment will be outlined in that letter. The second possibility is a denial letter. We try to do our best to let families know by telephone or in person that Crefeld is not the right place for the applicant, however, sometimes we must do this through a letter. The third, and most complicated of the outcomes is acceptance into our waiting pool. This means that the admissions committee has decided that the applicant meets all the criteria for admission to the school, but that there are no available spaces.

Information About The Waiting Pool

When space becomes available, applicants are chosen from the waiting pool based on the following criteria:
1) Balancing the diversity of the school (age, gender, ethnicity, learning needs, etc.)
2) likelihood of success at Crefeld and nowhere else.
Other factors, such as how long a particular applicant has been waiting, are not considered.

Our application process is designed to help us determine whether Crefeld will be the right place for your child. Sometimes this takes three to four weeks. In rare circumstances it can take several months. We do our best to make it as easy on the families as possible. If you have any questions about the process, please do not hesitate to call Stacey.