The Ravenna Application, Step by Step
Proof School manages its entire admissions process through Ravenna, the same platform used by many Bay Area independent schools. Families create an account once applications open in September, and everything from the questionnaires to the recommendation letter and transcripts is submitted through that single portal.
Parent Questionnaire
The parent questionnaire asks families to describe their child’s relationship to math and to explain, in their own words, why a small, math-first liberal arts school is the right setting. This is not a formality: Proof School’s founders built the school specifically for families who felt their child was intellectually isolated in a conventional classroom, and the questionnaire is where that story gets told.
Student Questionnaire
The student questionnaire gives the applicant their own voice in the process. Proof School’s admissions team reads this alongside the parent questionnaire, but the two are deliberately separate: the school wants to hear directly from the student about what draws them to math and to a collaborative, discussion-heavy classroom.
Transcripts and Recommendation Letter
Applicants submit current academic transcripts and at least one recommendation letter through Ravenna. Because Proof School admits students into a wide range of math levels, from Algebra 1 to calculus, the transcript matters less as a measure of acceleration and more as a picture of a student’s overall academic engagement.
Building a Strong Proof School Application
Cardinal Education’s admissions consultants help families prepare every piece of the Proof School application, from the questionnaires to the Math Ollie.
The Math Ollie and Math Diagnostic, Explained
Two assessments set the Proof School application apart from a typical private school application: a math diagnostic and the Math Ollie. Both are given on one of two dates each fall, mid-November or early December, and both are designed to reveal how a student thinks about math rather than simply what they already know.
| Assessment | What It Measures | What It Looks Like |
| Math Diagnostic | Current math level, used for placement | A more traditional assessment covering the applicant’s current coursework |
| Math Ollie | Problem-solving process, persistence, creative reasoning | A fun, open-ended set of problems in the style of a math circle, not a timed drill |
Families sometimes assume the Math Ollie rewards speed or memorized technique. It does not. Proof School’s own math program spends two hours a day on proof writing and problem solving precisely because the school values depth and investigation over acceleration, and the Math Ollie is built around that same philosophy from the very first assessment a family encounters.
The Visit Day: What Happens After You Apply
Selected applicants are invited to visit the school between February and March, after the January 8 application deadline has passed. On a visit day, a student attends a morning meeting alongside current Proofniks, sits in on a couple of demo classes, and has the chance to meet the community informally rather than sit through a single formal interview.
This structure reflects how small the school is: with roughly 130 students total and an average class size of 12, admissions decisions weigh fit with a tight-knit community as heavily as academic readiness, and a visit day is where that fit becomes visible in both directions, for the school and for the family.
Building a Timeline That Actually Works
Because the Proof School admissions process has more moving parts than most private school applications, from two questionnaires to two assessments to a possible visit day, families do best when they work backward from the January 8 deadline rather than starting the questionnaires the week they are due.
Top Tips for Applying
- Register for one of the two Math Ollie and math diagnostic dates as soon as they are announced; scheduling conflicts are the most common reason families feel rushed.
- Draft the student questionnaire early and revise it together; the strongest answers sound like the student, not like a polished essay written for them.
- If applying for financial assistance, start that application well before the February 12 deadline, since it requires separate documentation from the admissions application itself.
Best Practices for Families
- Attend the October Admissions Open House even if the family feels confident about the school; it is the best low-stakes way to confirm fit before investing time in the full application.
- Treat the parent questionnaire and student questionnaire as complementary, not redundant; admissions officers are looking for two honest, distinct perspectives, not one story told twice.
- Plan for the visit day to be unscored and low-pressure for the student; it works best when a student shows up curious rather than rehearsed.
Getting Started on the Proof School Application
The Proof School admissions process asks families to show, in several different ways, that a child’s love of math is genuine and that a small, collaborative, liberal-arts-plus-math environment is the right fit. Families who start early, take the questionnaires seriously, and treat the Math Ollie as an invitation to think rather than a test to cram for tend to find the process far less stressful than it first appears.
Need Help With Timing and Strategy?
Cardinal Education has guided Bay Area families through the Proof School admissions timeline, from the first Ravenna login to Decision Day.
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