We are so glad that you are interested in Deerfield Academy. To receive a Viewbook and learn more about student life, academic breadth, financial aid, and the many opportunities available at Deerfield, please fill out our Request for Information form.
Student or Parent Requesting a Viewbook
Does Deerfield have what you’re looking for? Find out. Complete the following form to receive Deerfield’s Viewbook, information about our financial aid program, and what to expect from a boarding school experience.
Our online application is provided by Gateway to Prep Schools and can be found online at gatewaytoprepschools.com.
The Candidate Profile is the first part of the Gateway application. Your Candidate Profile should be submitted well in advance of the January 15 application deadline with the appropriate application fee:
Applicants will have an opportunity to provide or update their extra-curricular information within their Deerfield Admission Portal Account.
Fee waivers are granted on the basis of financial need. In order to be considered for a waiver, the Candidate Profile must be completed. Apply for an application fee waiver. We will not offer fee waivers after January 31.
Once you have submitted your Application Part I: Candidate Profile through our application provider Gateway to Prep Schools, you will receive a link via email providing you with access to the Deerfield Admission Portal. In your Deerfield Portal, you will have the opportunity to schedule appointments, submit additional application materials and complete required items.
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After you have completed our Request for Information Form, and submitted your Part 1: Candidate Profile, we invite you to schedule a Campus Tour to learn more about the exceptional program that Deerfield has to offer. Another opportunity to learn more about Deerfield, and for us to learn more about you, is through a one-on-one interview with an Admission Officer. Interviews are an important component of the application and offered in-person or virtually. We highly encourage families to schedule your interview early, as availability is limited later in the season.
We are happy to offer the following visit options for Fall 2024 Applicants. After you submit Steps 1 and 2 above, please schedule through your Deerfield Admission Portal.
This consists of a tour of the campus and facilities with one of our student tour guides (one hour).
Our on-campus tour and interviews include a tour of the campus with a current student, a one-on-one interview with the student, as well as time for parents to speak with an admission officer (two hours).
A one-on-one Zoom interview with the student, as well as time for parents to speak with an admission officer (30-40 minutes).
Visit the Events and Fairs page for more information regarding events in your area.
Standardized testing is one of many ways our admission team gets to know each prospective candidate and is a required aspect of the application process. As of June 2023, Deerfield will require all candidates to submit standardized testing as part of our holistic admission process. Please do not hesitate to contact our office with any standardized testing questions.
Candidates applying for grade 9 or 10 must submit the SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test), PSAT, or the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Examination) taken between January 2023 and January 2024.
Candidates applying for grade 11 must submit the ACT, PLAN, PSAT, SAT, or SSAT taken between September 2022 and January 2024.
Candidates applying for grade 12, or a post graduate year, must submit the ACT, PSAT, or SAT taken between September 2022 and January 2024.
If English has not been your primary language of instruction for at least three years, or English is not your primary language spoken at home, you must submit the IELTS, TOEFL iBT, or Duolingo English Test taken between January 2023 and January 2024, in addition to the standardized testing appropriate to your application grade. If standardized testing dates are not available in your country, please contact our office for assistance. A TOEFL score of 105 or higher is preferred in our process.
Our online application is provided by Gateway to Prep Schools and can be found online at gatewaytoprepschools.com. All application materials should be submitted directly through the Gateway site. Our priority application deadline is January 15. We suggest sending recommendation links to your teacher via Gateway after October 1.
Part II is comprised of three essay requirements. It is also part of the Gateway application, but this section of our application is unique to Deerfield. Applicants are required to submit:
Deerfield accepts students for September enrollment only. All three parts of your Gateway application should be submitted on or before January 15, our priority deadline. If you are not able to submit your application by January 15, we will make every effort to consider late applications, but we cannot guarantee a March 10 notification. If you do not meet the January 15 deadline, please see the below FAQ for our late applicant guidelines.
We feel strongly that applying to Deerfield should be accessible to anyone capable of benefiting from our program. Therefore, if you would like to apply, but are not able to meet the application requirements, please reach out to Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Chip Davis.
Though our application provider, Gateway to Prep Schools, offers its own checklist, Gateway does not offer a comprehensive list of all application items required and processed by Deerfield. Once the items in Gateway are complete, it is time to transition fully to the Deerfield Admission Portal Checklist, which has additional items to complete. If you have any questions, please call 413-774-1400 or email us at admission@deerfield.edu.
July 1 – September
We highly encourage families to take advantage of our on-campus visit offerings. Please see Step 4: Meet With Us for more information on scheduling your visit.
Submit your Application Part I: Candidate Profile. Gateway to Prep Schools application available July 1.
October 1 – November
Submit your Application Part II: Essays
Schedule your interview and tour (schedule early as interview space is limited in January).
Send out Gateway to Prep School recommendations and Previous Grade requests.
Log into your Deerfield Admission Portal to complete additional in-Portal items.
December – January
Complete outstanding application requirements.
Send out Gateway to Prep Schools Current Academic Year Grades request.
January 15
Priority Application Deadline: Submit your completed application by this date.
Financial Aid Application Deadline: Submit the Parent Financial Statement and all required supporting documentation to solutionsbysss.com by this date.
Our School Code is 2770.
March 10
Admission and financial aid decisions available to applicant.
April 10
Enrollment contracts due for newly admitted students.
Please note that Deerfield accepts students for September enrollment only. If you are starting the application process after January 15, please follow our late applicant guidelines found in the FAQs at the bottom of this page.
SSAT, ISEE or TOEFL
If taking one of these tests, results must be sent directly to Deerfield. Please provide the testing organization with Deerfield’s school code (see below), so your test results, including your writing sample, are sent directly to us.
PSAT, SAT Reasoning Test, or ACT
If taking one of these tests, check to see if your test results are included as part of your school transcript. If they are not included on your transcript, please provide Deerfield a copy of your results.
Deerfield welcomes applications for students currently in 8th-12th grade who are applying to grades 9th-12th or a postgraduate year for the following academic year.
Current 6th graders and beyond may request our viewbook to be entered into our system for future application years.
Prior to 6th grade, we encourage you to explore our website to familiarize yourself with Deerfield and all it has to offer.
7th graders can visit campus April-August. Dates may vary, but traditionally these appointments are offered on weekdays.
Over the summer, our office provides Tour and Interview appointments for 8th grade families and above who are applying for the upcoming fall.
Academic year appointments are for application eligible students only.
In GPS systems, you can use: 7 Old Main Street, 1 Albany Road, or 1 Academy Lane in Deerfield, MA.
An interview is an important part of Deerfield’s holistic application process. As space becomes limited in December and January, we highly recommend that you book your interview appointment early.
No, Deerfield does not admit students in the middle of the academic year.
Yes. If you are thinking of repeating your current grade, we encourage you to discuss this with your admission officer during your interview. This process is also called reclassifying.
You should make the recommendation request through Gateway to Prep Schools with your English or Math teacher from last year and inform our office of your situation.
As of June 2023, Deerfield will require all candidates to submit standardized testing as part of our holistic admission process.
Ninth & Tenth Grade Applicants: We will accept any SSAT, PSAT, or ISEE taken between January 2023 and January 2024.
Eleventh Grade Applicants: We will accept any ACT, PLAN, PSAT, or SSAT taken between September 2022 and January 2024.
Twelfth and Post Graduate Applicants: We will accept any ACT, PSAT, or SAT taken between September 2022 and January 2024.
If English has not been your primary language of instruction for at least three years or English is not your primary language spoken at home, you must submit the IELTS, TOEFL iBT, or Duolingo English Test taken between January 2023 and January 2024, in addition to the standardized testing appropriate to your application grade.
Deerfield does not hold academic classes on Saturdays; instead many of our students participate in co-curricular activities.
Yes, Deerfield has an academic dress code policy. The dress code is a shared experience and an everyday practice that signals seriousness of purpose and mutual respect within our community. You can view our dress code policy HERE.
Deerfield does provide application fee waivers for qualifying families. To be considered for a fee waiver, applicants who have completed their Candidate Profile must submit our Fee Waiver Request Form. This is a financial need based process.
Deerfield’s financial aid program is a need-based program that supports 100% of demonstrated need. Currently, our program provides funding for 39% of our student body. The program is comprehensive and may cover up to 100% of the total cost of tuition and fees. We also support additional expenses such as travel and health insurance for a portion of our community.
Our financial aid deadline is January 15. You can find more information on financial aid HERE.
Financial aid awards are sent on March 10.
Deerfield accepts students for September enrollment only. Our priority application deadline for September enrollment is January 15. We will make every effort to fully consider applications completed (including testing) after January 15, however we cannot guarantee a March 10 notification.
Admission opportunities for late candidates, who do not receive a March 10 notification, is limited by the number of spaces available after April 10. The Admission Committee meets periodically throughout the spring to make decisions on this group of candidates.
Our Day Student vs. Boarding Student Residential Policy:
Deerfield Academy recommends that Day Student applicants reside within a 25-mile radius. This radius restriction does not apply to children of employees.
An Applicant residing more than 25 miles from campus must apply as a Boarding Student. Note: the typical Deerfield schedule requires that students be on campus, at a minimum, from 8:30 am – 5:45 pm.
Any applicant who would qualify as a Day Student per the radius restriction may apply as a Boarding Student. However, a Day student applicant should not expect to change to a Boarding Student any time after the admission process closes (January 15). Please note that tuition and fees may vary depending on the Day or Boarding designation.
admission@deerfield.edu
413-774-1400
Fax 413-772-1129
Main School Building
Mon-Fri, 8:00am–4:30pm
7 Boyden Lane, PO Box 65
Deerfield, MA 01342
7 Boyden Lane, PO Box 87, Deerfield, MA 01342
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS: Deerfield Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
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