St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, is a fully residential high school, so every student lives on campus and there is no day option. New students can apply to enter in Grade 9, 10 or 11. For the 2027-28 school year, the application opened July 1, 2026, and the deadline is January 15, 2027. This guide puts the published steps and dates in the order a family meets them.
The dates in one place
| Step | Date | | --- | --- | | Application for 2027-28 opens | July 1, 2026 | | Financial aid application can begin | November 20, 2026 | | Application deadline | January 15, 2027 | | Financial aid application deadline | January 15, 2027 | | Decisions | March 10, 2027 |
The school lists the application deadline and the financial aid deadline as the same day. If your family expects to need aid, that means the aid application and the admission application are both due on January 15. The aid application can begin November 20, so there is no reason to wait until January.
The six steps the school lists
St. Paul's describes the process as a sequence. First, fill in the inquiry form. Second, complete the Candidate Profile in Gateway. Third, schedule an interview. Fourth, if you need aid, submit the financial aid application. Fifth, take a standardized test. Sixth, finish the full Gateway application.
The order matters in one place. The school says Part 1 of Gateway, the Candidate Profile, must be done before you can schedule the interview. So the first week of work is the inquiry form and Part 1, because those unlock the booking.
The interview
An admissions interview is part of the application. On-campus interviews run from June through January. Virtual interviews run from September through January. You book a tour and an interview through the school's portal after you have submitted the inquiry form and Part 1 of Gateway. The school has not published how long the interview lasts, so ask the admission office if you want to plan the day around it.
Testing
Standardized testing is required for every applicant. St. Paul's accepts the SSAT, ISEE, PSAT, PreACT, ACT and SAT. All tests must be taken within one year of the application deadline. The school prefers scores before January 15, and it will consider January retake results as updated scores.
Students who do not speak English at home need the TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test. The exception is a student who has been enrolled for three or more years in a school where English is the primary language. The school lists score codes on its application page, so send results to the right place: use the codes it gives for the SSAT, ISEE and TOEFL, and send ACT, PSAT and SAT scores to admissions@sps.edu.
What goes in the file
The school lists these parts of the application: the Candidate Profile, an interview, a candidate statement, a parent statement, current grades and a transcript from the past two years, teacher and counselor recommendations, test results and a graded writing sample.
For recommendations, St. Paul's requires a current English teacher, a current math teacher, a personal recommendation and a principal or counselor recommendation. A special interest recommendation is optional. Math, English and counselor recommendations come from current teachers, while a prior-year teacher can write the personal or special interest recommendation. Because those teachers are busy in the fall, ask them early.
The only required writing is the four short-answer questions in Part 2 of the Gateway application. The school asks for no additional essays. It also expects all writing to reflect the applicant's own work without assistance, including AI tools. The graded writing sample is a longer piece from this school year, from any class, with the teacher's feedback attached, plus a form.
If semester grades are not ready before January 15, the school says to ask your school to send what is available.
The fee
The application fee is $75 for domestic applicants or $125 for international applicants, as listed on the Gateway school page. Gateway fee waivers are accepted.
What the school has not published
On the pages we reviewed, St. Paul's does not publish an admit rate, the number of applicants or seats, average test scores, a reply deadline, how long the interview lasts, or the text of the four short-answer questions. The Gateway application holds the questions. Please check the school's admission page for anything that has changed since November 5, 2026.
A sensible order of work
Start with the inquiry form and the Candidate Profile, then book the interview. Ask your recommenders next. Pick a test and a date that leaves room for a retake before January 15. If you may need aid, open the aid application when it begins on November 20 instead of saving it for the last week.
For a plain list of the steps, see the application steps, the timeline and the FAQ.
Sources
- St. Paul's School admissions
- Applying to St. Paul's
- Application FAQs
- St. Paul's School on Gateway to Prep Schools
StPaulsPrep by EduAvenues is an independent service, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by St. Paul's School.