Application Process

The online application must be submitted no later than December 1, 2018.

Prekindergarten through first grade: Only one recommendation is required. Please ­submit the Common Referral Form to your child’s current school no earlier than November 15, 2018. The Common Referral Form must be received no later than January 15, 2019.

Second through fourth grades: Two teacher recommendations are required. We prefer one from your child's current reading teacher and one from your child's current math teacher. If your child has only a homeroom teacher, please ask a specialty teacher or the previous year's teacher to fill out the second recommendation. Please submit the Common Referral Forms to the current school after the first term. They must be received no later than January 15, 2019.

Please be aware that the Common Referral Form is confidential and cannot be shared with parents or students. Therefore, please have your child's teacher or school email the form to admissions@mcdonogh.org, fax to 443-544-7030 or mail the form directly to:

McDonogh School - Admissions Office
8600 McDonogh Road 
Owings Mills, MD 21117

Please take the Transcript Release Form to your child’s school and request transcripts to be sent after the first term of the current year. Transcripts must be received no later than January 15, 2019.

Once we receive your application, a member of the admissions staff will contact you to arrange a date and time for a parent conference.

Kindergarten, prefirst, and first grade applicants come to the Admissions Office for a two-hour assessment. Prekindergarten assessments are held in Dudley Hall. If second through fourth grade applicants test at another school, please request that the results be forwarded to us. Once we receive your application, a member of the admissions staff will contact you to arrange a date and time for your child's assessment.

Due to space limitations, we require a completed file before arranging a day visit. Once the file is complete and has been reviewed, candidates will be invited to visit in their current grade.

To enter Prekindergarten in the fall of 2019:

Applicants must be 3 by September 1, 2018 to apply to prekindergarten. The appropriate birthday range for prekindergarten applicants is late summer/fall of 2014 to August 31, 2015.

To enter Kindergarten in the fall of 2019:

Applicants must be 4 by September 1, 2018 to apply to kindergarten. The appropriate birthday range for kindergarten applicants is late summer/fall of 2013 to August 31, 2014.

To enter prefirst in the fall of 2019:

Ages can vary in prefirst, but the majority of children entering prefirst in the fall of 2019 will have birthdays from May 2013 to December of 2013. Children must currently be in a kindergarten program in order to apply to prefirst.

To enter First grade in the fall of 2019:

Applicants must be 5 by September 1, 2018 to apply to first grade. The appropriate birthday range for first grade applicants is late summer/fall of 2012 to August 31, 2013.