Parnassus seeks and supports students from all backgrounds and our proven rigorous classical program demonstrates that every Parnassus scholar will thrive in the school’s challenging academic environment.
Enrollment at Parnassus is comprised of several steps:
Step One
First, interested families should submit an application for the academic year and grade levels of interest. The application submission does not obligate the family to attend Parnassus nor does it guarantee enrollment at the school. If submitted during our open enrollment period – October 1st to January 31st – the application will be included in the lottery. If submitted after our open enrollment period, the application will be added to the waiting list in the order in which it was received.
Step Two
If you submitted the application during our open enrollment period, you will receive a letter in the mail regarding the results of the lottery. The lottery is held each February, and the letters are mailed out shortly after the lottery. The results of the lottery will be either an offer for an opening at Parnassus or to let you know where your child is on the waiting list. If your child was placed on the waiting list, we will contact you once we have an opening and your child is the next in line.
If you submitted the application after our open enrollment (after January 31st), we will add your child to our waiting list in the order in which the application was received. We will contact you once we have an opening and your child is the next in line.
Until you have an offer for an opening at Parnassus, no further action is required from you.
Step Three
If you have received an offer for enrollment at Parnassus, either through the lottery or through the process described above, you will be asked to complete enrollment forms to confirm your acceptance to enroll your child at Parnassus. There are three ways to accomplish the enrollment: 1) Families can come to Parnassus and complete the enrollment forms in person; 2) We can email the enrollment forms in PDF format that families will need to print, fill out, and either scan and email to the school or drop them off at the school; 3) Parnassus can mail the forms to be completed and returned by mail or dropped off at the school.
Regardless of the enrollment method you choose, once you complete the enrollment forms and they are verified as received by the school, your child will be enrolled at Parnassus Preparatory School.
More Information About the Enrollment Lottery
Parnassus usually receives more applications than available spaces. In this situation, the school holds a lottery to randomly select applications submitted during open enrollment for the open positions and waiting list order. The lottery is held in mid February and results are mailed to families by the end of February.
Siblings
Siblings of currently enrolled students who complete and submit an application by the end of the open enrollment period are automatically enrolled if there are available seats in the grade. After the open enrollment period, siblings of already enrolled students receive preference. If the number of siblings exceeds the number of available seats in the grade, a sibling lottery will be held to identify admitted students and to establish the order of the sibling waiting list for that grade. If all seats in the grade are filled by siblings, the lottery continues and establishes the sibling waiting list, which has preference over the general waiting list and the teacher children waiting list.
Prima (Kindergarten) Age Requirement
Children entering Prima must turn 5 years old on or be September 1st of the year they enter Prima.
Submitting an Application
Visit our Application Overview page for additional details about applying to Parnassus.
Parnassus Admission and Lottery Policy
Enrollment Policy
Parnassus Preparatory School seeks to enroll a diverse and representative student body, welcoming applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, special needs or English-as-a-Second-Language status.
Sibling Preference
Siblings of currently enrolled students who submit an application by the application deadline will receive preference for admission. In the event we have more sibling applicants than open spaces at any grade level, we will conduct a lottery among all of the sibling applicants who met the deadline to determine admission for that grade. Siblings who are not chosen in the lottery will be placed on a waiting list and notified promptly if a space becomes available. For additional information, see our current admission and lottery policies below:
2024-2025 Admission and Lottery Procedures