A grade-by-grade breakdown of application, assessment, and enrollment dates.
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In This Guide
Quick Answer for Busy Parents
Episcopal Day School of St. Matthew’s admissions calendar runs on two tracks: PreK-4th grade applications are due January 21, and 5th-8th grade applications are due January 5. Kindergarten assessments and the Middle School Shadow Day both fall in the following weeks, with decisions arriving in late February (PreK/K) or mid-March (1st-8th), and enrollment deposits due shortly after.
Application Deadlines by Grade Band
| Grade Band | Application Deadline |
| Pre-Kindergarten & Kindergarten | January 21 |
| Grades 1 through 4 | January 21 |
| Grades 5-8 | January 5 |
Applications received after these dates are considered on a space-available basis, so families targeting the primary Kindergarten or 6th grade entry points should treat these as hard deadlines rather than guidelines.
Don’t Miss a Deadline
Cardinal Education keeps Bay Area families on schedule for every stage of the Episcopal Day application.
Assessment & Shadow Day Windows
Kindergarten applicants attend a mandatory assessment in early February, while Grades 5-8 applicants attend a Middle School Shadow Day around January 10, alongside a required admissions interview. Older applicants also complete a proctored writing sample through Test Innovators; our Proctored Writing Sample prep is built around this exact format.
Notification & Enrollment Deadlines
| Milestone | Timing |
| Preschool & Pre-K decisions | Late February |
| Kindergarten-8th grade decisions | Mid-March |
| Preschool & Pre-K enrollment deposit | Early March |
| Kindergarten-8th grade enrollment deposit | Mid-to-late March |
Staying on Schedule
The tightest window in the whole calendar is the six weeks between the January application deadlines and the shadow day/assessment dates that follow. Families who start gathering recommendations and transcripts in the fall, rather than waiting for the January deadline to approach, avoid the scramble that catches most late applicants.
Get Into Episcopal Day with Bay Area Top Admissions Consultants
Cardinal Education’s private school admissions consultants help families build a timeline backward from these dates so nothing gets missed. See our guide on when to start the private school admissions process for how far in advance to begin.
Families specifically interested in how these same fundamentals apply to Asian American applicants can also see our dedicated guide to Episcopal Day School of St. Matthew for Asian American families.
Applying to Episcopal Day School of St. Matthew?
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