Application Preparation
Prepare for the pieces Milton reads
The application mixes essays, a parent statement, recommendations, grades, an interview and optional test scores.
Checked against Milton's published admissions pages on November 4, 2026.
Testing
Testing.
- Testing policy
- Standardized test scores are welcome but not required, and students without scores will not be disadvantaged.
- Which tests
- Milton accepts the SSAT (school code 5098) and the ISEE (school code 221430).
- Grade 11 applicants
- Applicants to Grade 11 may submit the SSAT, ISEE, PSAT, SAT-1 or ACT.
- English-language tests
- For non-native English speakers, and students who have not attended a school where English is the primary language of instruction for at least two years, Milton strongly suggests TOEFL (school code 8125), IELTS or Duolingo results.
- When to test
- Testing should be completed during the current academic year and before the January 15 deadline.
- 01
If your student plans to send scores, pick one test early and take a full timed practice test before building a study plan.
- 02
Leave room for a second sitting before the January deadline.
Essays
Essays that sound like your student.
- Essays
- Short answers and essays are part of the application.
- Parent statement
- A parent statement is part of the application.
- 01
Pick specific moments from the last year, not a list of achievements.
- 02
Get the substance right before polishing the style.
- 03
Write the parent statement in your own voice, as a parent, and keep it separate from the student essays.
Interview
An interview that feels like a conversation.
- Requirement
- Every candidate must complete an interview by January 15.
- Format
- Candidates can interview on campus, with a tour and their parents or guardians, or virtually on Zoom. Either way it is a two-part interview with a member of the admission team. Appointments run September through mid-January.
- Scheduling
- To schedule an interview, request information first to get into the admission portal. Appointments fill up quickly.
- 01
Have two or three stories ready that show how your student thinks.
- 02
Practice explaining an interest out loud, without notes.
- 03
Bring real questions about daily life in the houses and in class.
Preparation plan
A plan that works backward from the deadline.
Adjust the pace to your student's schedule. The order matters more than the exact days.
First
Request information and book the interview
Appointments run September through mid-January and fill up quickly. You must request information first to get into the portal.
Early
Decide on testing
Scores are welcome but not required. If you send them, plan the sitting before the January deadline.
Next
Draft the essays and the parent statement
Milton's essay prompts sit inside the admission portal, so look there before you write.
Fall and winter
Ask for recommendations
Milton requires an administrator, an English teacher and a math teacher. Tell them before you send the request.
By January 31
Submit the financial aid application
Families who want aid apply through Clarity before January 31.
After submitting
Watch for March 10
Decisions and aid awards arrive together on March 10, with a reply due April 10.