Admissions FAQ

No. Brearley does not want letters of recommendation.

Sibling and legacy families may opt for early notification if they have submitted their application by October 1, 2024, and completed the entire application file by December 1, 2023.

The early notification financial assistance application deadline is December 2, 2024.

A legacy candidate is a child whose mother attended the Brearley School and a sibling candidate's sister must be a currently enrolled student.

Brearley’s student-to-teacher ratio is 6:1. This small ratio allows for personal attention to be given to every student, wider participation in the classroom, and more meaningful relationships to be built between our students and our faculty members.

Brearley is a member of the Interschool, a consortium of eight Manhattan independent schools that offer programming at various times throughout the year. These schools include the Brearley School, the Browning School, Chapin, Collegiate School, the Dalton School, Nightingale Bamford School, Spence School, and Trinity School. 

Here is a list of events/activities:

• Brearley-Collegiate Service Day: Starting in ninth grade, Brearley and Collegiate students partner for an annual event called Service Day. Each year, students engage with an organization to make a lasting impact and learn from both local and nonlocal communities. 

• Frost Valley: In 10th grade, sophomores from Brearley, Chapin, Spence, Nightingale, Collegiate and Browning travel to YMCA’s Frost Valley camp for three days of bonding, learning and growing. In fact, seniors from each school can even apply for a peer leadership role to support students from sophomore classes.

• Interschool events: These exciting events include coffeehouses, plays and dances, among other activities.

• Interschool classes: Interschool offers game theory class and driver’s education.

• Chapin-Brearley Brooklyn bus: Brooklyn families from both the Brearley School and Chapin can pay for their students to take a private bus to school. 

Brearley students commute to school in a variety of ways from over 96 zip codes. While families living in the Yorkville area have a short walk, the majority of students have a somewhat longer commute, which involves many different forms of public transportation. Some students in Classes K–VI use the DOE bus service, and others commute to school with an adult. Every student in Classes VII–XII receives a MTA metrocard to commute to and from school.

Brearley does have a small waitlist of qualified candidates, which the Admission Office will contact if space becomes available.