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.
Educational Consultant or School Counselor
If you are an Educational Consultant or School Counselor requesting materials about Deerfield, please fill out this Viewbook request form.
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 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 I: Candidate Profile, we invite you to schedule either a Campus Tour or Virtual Information Session 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 a component of the application and are offered in-person or virtually. We recommend scheduling your interview early, as availability later in the season is limited.
We are happy to offer the following visit options for Fall 2023 Applicants. After submitting Steps 1 and 2 above, please schedule through your Deerfield Admission Portal (please note that processing of Steps 1 and 2 can take up to 36 hours).
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 (one hour).
Visit the Events and Fairs page for more information regarding events in your area.
Deerfield offers a test–optional application process. The Deerfield Admission Office will continue to evaluate each application using a holistic approach that considers each student’s achievements and successes in relation to their individual opportunities and challenges. For those students choosing to submit standardized testing, we have created the following testing guidelines:
Applicants to ninth and tenth grade: We will accept an SSAT, PSAT, or ISEE test taken after September 1, 2021.
Applicants to eleventh and twelfth grades and PG: We will accept any SAT, ACT, PSAT, or SSAT that you have taken after September 1, 2021.
For international students, 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, in addition to the standardized test appropriate to your application grade. A minimum TOEFL score of 105 is required for application.
SSAT or ISEE Testing Fee Waiver
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 a testing fee waiver. We will not offer fee waivers after January 31.
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 application deadline is January 15. Gateway recommendations grade/transcript requests will become available 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:
For your short answer and personal essay, choose questions that are most interesting to you from the prompts we’ve provided. We would like you to share your perspective, voice, and hopes for the future. Be straightforward or creative—we appreciate either approach! Your graded essay should include teacher comments and be a product of one of your current academic courses.
Teacher Recommendations: Deerfield requires a Math, English, and third Academic teacher recommendation. All teacher recommendation forms need to be completed by current teachers. You can find these forms through Gateway or via the links below:
Additional Letter of Recommendation: We offer the opportunity to submit a recommendation from a teacher, past or present, whom you feel can speak to your best qualities as a learner and classroom participant. (Instructions for sending an additional letter of recommendation can be found in your Deerfield Admission Portal.)
Current and previous year Grades: Your School Counselor, School Placement Director, or Head of School/Principal should submit your grades as follows:
Principal/Counselor Recommendation: Deerfield requires a Principal/Counselor Recommendation. Schools vary in structure, and in some schools, it is appropriate for both the grade request and Principal/Counselor Recommendation to be completed by the same person.
Deerfield accepts students for September enrollment only. All three parts of your Gateway application should be submitted on or before January 15. 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 priority application 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. For a comprehensive checklist of items received by the Academy, please visit your Deerfield Admission Portal. If you have any questions, please contact us by email or 413-774-1400.
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.
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.
Deerfield’s financial aid program is a need-based program that supports 100% of demonstrated need. Currently, our program provides funding for 37% 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.
Deerfield offers a test–optional application process. The Academy’s Admission Office will continue to evaluate each application using a holistic approach that considers each student’s achievements and successes in relation to their individual opportunities and challenges. For those students choosing to submit standardized testing, we have created the following testing guidelines:
In GPS systems, you can use: 7 Old Main Street, 1 Albany Road, or 1 Academy Lane.
Deerfield accepts students for September enrollment only. Our priority application deadline for September enrollment is January 15. We will make every effort to give full consideration to completed applications (including testing) received 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.
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.
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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