Applying to Brooks
UPDATE: Brooks School Offices Are Closed
Discover all that Brooks has to offer, from your own home, with our VIRTUAL VISIT page!
Brooks School is spread out across 270 acres in North Andover, Massachusetts, 35 miles north of Boston. We provide a co-educational, college preparatory program for 345 students. Small classes allow students to work closely with teachers, fostering relationships that are at the core of the school’s mission: to provide the most meaningful educational experience our students will have in their lives.
Admission Process
- Complete the Inquiry Form: Please complete this online Inquiry Form to receive our viewbook.
- Learn More: We are excited to get to know our applicants better and to help them discover what makes Brooks School unique. Our admission process will be different this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Unfortunately, we will be unable to welcome outside visitors on campus for the fall term. Please take our virtual tour and peruse our virtual visit page frequently to learn more about our community. The admission team is more committed than ever to providing the best possible admission experience during these unprecedented times.
- Apply Online: We welcome online applications from Gateway to Prep Schools or SSAT's Standard Application (SAO). Applications are due by January 15, 2021. As part of the admission process this year, we invite applicants to complete the Character Skills Snapshot, which is meant to complement more traditional cognitive assessments, such as the SSAT. This new online assessment tool is not a required component of the application, but it will provide us with a more complete picture.
- Testing: Brooks will be test optional for students applying for admission for the 2021-2022 academic year. All applicants can decide whether or not to submit standardized test results. Students will not be penalized for opting out of testing, nor will those who do submit scores gain an advantage. Admission decisions are based on a variety of factors, including recommendations from current teachers, transcript, extracurricular interests and achievements, and the interview. Please note: Candidates for whom English is a second language are required to take one of the following three tests: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) — our school code for the TOEFL is 4442 — IELTS or Duolingo.
- Recommendations: We prefer recommendations from students' current English and math teachers. If you are unable to get those recommendations, we will accept a recommendation from a teacher from a different discipline.
- Transcript: We understand that students may have taken classes pass/fail last spring and possibly this fall. We also know that many students are taking courses virtually or in a hybrid fashion for this academic year. We recognize that these are difficult times and we will take everything into consideration as we assess an applicant's candidacy.
Interview Appointments
Please call the admission office at (978) 725-6271 or (978) 725-6272 to set up a video interview with a member of the admission office. The interview will be scheduled for one hour. The first half hour will be for the prospective student to talk with the admission officer and the second will be for the parents and/or guardian. We will also be setting up times for prospective families to go on a virtual tour with a current student.
Brooks' admission office will be closed:
- October 12, 2020
- October 17, 2020
- November 21 - 30, 2020
- December 15, 2020 - January 4, 2021
Application Checklist
Gateway to Prep Schools Application:
Candidate Profile
Candidate Personal Statement
Transcript Report
Principal/Counselor Recommendation
English Teacher Recommendation
Math Teacher Recommendation
Personal Recommendation (optional)
SSAT's Standard Application Online:
Student Biographical Information
Student Essays
Parent Statement
Principal Recommendation
Academic Record and Transcript
Mathematics Recommendation
English Recommendation
Chinese Applicants
