Secondary School Placement

The Secondary School Placement Office comes under the Admission Office umbrella and serves, on average, 40 families each year. We enjoy a deep connection with the Directors of Admission and their associates at numerous independent schools around the country.

We begin our process in the spring of a student's 8th grade year with individual counseling and advice on finding the "right fit." Our office oversees 400 plus applications to roughly 90 independent schools each year. We are responsible for gathering all recommendations and transcripts and guide our families through the completion of their applications. We coach our students on upcoming interviews and, each fall, provide a seven week SSAT review course complete with practice tests and analysis of individual scores. Hillside School is a test site for the SSAT's and we assist all families with their test registrations, including those requiring specific accommodations.

We kick off our secondary school placement each spring with an annual school fair, attracting over 40 independent high schools. In the fall, we invite over 50 school representatives to join our 9th graders for lunch so that they may learn a little more about each individual school.


Please see our timeline listed below and click here to review our list of secondary schools for the Class of 2017.

Our son attended Hillside for two years (8th and 9th grade), and I can unequivocally say that he had a distinct advantage applying to secondary schools as a result. Hillside's placement team (Bill, Sean, and Matt) were constant guides and provided invaluable advice every step along the way. I cannot provide a higher recommendation for Hillside School. Simply put, the best of the best."
- A Future Groton Parent

2017-18 Secondary School Placement Timeline

April of Eighth Grade Year: Students take the SSAT

May of Eighth Grade Year: Secondary School Fair

May/June of Eighth Grade Year: Parent Meetings

Summer Before Ninth Grade Year: Research Schools

Summer Before Ninth Grade: SSAT Tutoring

August Before Ninth Grade Year: Parents Schedule School

Interviews and Tours

September Ninth Grade Year: Students Sign Up for Princeton

Review, a 7-week tutoring program.

Fall of Ninth Grade Year: Lunch Visits

October 7 through 15: School Visits

November 11: SSAT

November: SAO (Standard Application Online) Applications have
begun

November/December: Ninth Grade Essays

December 9: SSAT

January 6, 2018: SSAT*

January: Recommendations and Transcripts Are Uploaded

March 10: Letters of Notification

March 10 : - April 10: Revisit Days

April 10: Enrollment Deadline