Admissions FAQs

Sun Valley Community School is located on three different campuses in the towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley, Idaho.

• The pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade academic campus, referred to as the Trail Creek Campus, is located at One Community School Drive in Sun Valley, Idaho.
• Our playing fields and Air Barn are located at the Dumke Family Sagewillow Campus at 100 Arrowleaf Road in Sun Valley, Idaho.
• The school's Rufus M. Brown Hall, which houses the boarding program, the Julia Argyros Athletes' Training Center, and a campus hub, is located at 280 Northwood Way, Ketchum, Idaho.

Rising Upper and Middle School students and their parents can expect to see the parts of campus most relevant to their program, including classrooms and communal areas. We will have an opportunity to meet a few teachers and students briefly as well as seeing our Cutthroat campus "in action." After the tour, students will meet with an Admissions Team member for an interview to debrief their visit, and parents will have a chance to ask any additional questions during this time. Boarding students will additionally tour the Residential hall and have their interview with the Director of Residential Life. For day student applicants, we ask families to plan for 1.5-2 hours for their entire visit, including the tour and the interview. Boarding students and their families should plan on 2-3 hours.

Students in grades 1-5 touring the campus will see the areas of campus relevant to elementary programming, including their main classroom and some of the specialist areas, and they will see their rising class "in action." Students will have a chance to debrief their tour and share something meaningful to them at the end of their visit, while parents meet with an Admissions Team Member to ask any final questions. All Elementary School tours last approximately 1 hour (ECC-5th grade).

Applicants for the Early Childhood Program through Kindergarten typically tour without their children and see the classroom to which their child is applying, and where, applicable, some of the areas used by our specialist teachers (Science, Art, Dance, STREAM, P.E., Music, Spanish). Children of these ages come to campus for a separate visit with a small cohort their age(ECC- K Visit Day). In circumstance where an ECC-K child must attend the tour with their parents, we will adjust the length of the tour to an age-appropriate length of approximately 30- 45 minutes.

Our ECC and Kindergarten Visit Day is an opportunity for our teachers to briefly get to know children applying for these grade levels, and for children to visit our classroom spaces. These are not "testing" situations, nor is there any need to prep children, other than letting them know they will get to spend part of the morning in our classrooms. Visits will take place in a classroom with a few different activities set up and children will be invited to participate and engage. For children who are uneasy separating from their parents, parents may stay in the room, especially for our youngest applicants.

Admissions Committees look at the whole child, considering all aspects of a student's application when making admissions decisions, including personal qualities and character, academic record, areas of contribution to the school, and family educational philosophy and goals. The committee must also consider the needs of each individual class as well as the needs of the school in order to create a vibrant, dynamic, and diverse learning environment at every grade level.

Every year, Sun Valley Community School welcomes an average of 80 new students to the school. The exact number of spaces varies year to year, depending on attrition and the size of the graduating class.  The average acceptance rate in recent years has been approximately 40%.

Our biggest entry years are ECC1, Kindergarten, 6th grade, and 9th grade. More limited space is often available at other grade levels as well, so please be in touch with the Admissions Office if you have further questions about your children's grades.  

The Mission of Sun Valley Community School is central to our program, as is our relationship-based approach. We therefore appreciate the value of siblings and multiple generations attending the same school. Although admission is not always possible, siblings of current students and children of alumni receive additional consideration in our process.  As we weigh decisions and evaluate multiple complex factors, we cannot guarantee a spot to any student solely based on their relationship to the school.

Decisions to admit, wait pool, or deny applicants are heavily dependent on the pool of students applying. Our primary goal is to admit students we feel will be successful at our school. In making these decisions we consider a variety of factors such as academic ability, attitude, character, talents, interests in both academic and non-academic areas, and most importantly, the desire of the student and family to be at our school and to support our mission. We also take into consideration the personality and academic makeup of the current class as well as various forms of diversity.

We maintain a wait pool instead of a waitlist. If an opening occurs, we carefully look at the current class makeup and determine what student from the wait pool will bring the best balance to that given class. Because openings can occur suddenly, acceptances can be made up until the first day of school in late August.

Yes. Applicants who are wait pooled or denied admission may reapply in following years. You should contact the Admission Office to see what forms will need to be resubmitted. It can vary by grade but in general, you will always need to update the teacher recommendation forms and submit your child’s most recent grades.

Because Sun Valley is a destination resort, our applicants come from many different regions within the United States and from foreign countries. While the majority of our applicants currently live in the Wood River Valley (which consists of Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, and Bellevue), every year we have families who apply from all around the United States and the world.

Since the introduction of our Boarding Program in 2011, we have welcomed international students from 11 different countries and all across the United States.

One hundred percent of Sun Valley Community School students apply and are accepted for admission to college. Our two full-time College Counselors work closely with juniors and seniors and help over 70% of our seniors gain acceptance to their first or second choice colleges across the country and world. For a full listing of college acceptances in the last four years, visit our College Counseling page.

Yes, if we feel that the student can manage our program with the accommodations that we offer. All applicants, regardless of special learning needs, will be considered in the review process. We have learning specialists in all three divisions of our school and there is a separate learning specialist fee if your child is admitted into this program. Please visit the Learning Services page to learn more.

To maintain the integrity of the Admissions Process, gifts to Sun Valley Community School with the intent to sway an admissions decision are not accepted. For further detail, please see our Prospective Family Gift Policy.