Admissions FAQ

For Prospective Families

1. Click on the "Apply Now" button on the main admissions page.
2. Select the blue "Create Account" link to create a username and password.
3. After entering your basic information, select the "Create Account" button.

Note that your email address will be highlighted in red if our system recognizes you during the account creation process. If this occurs, please click on "Forgot Login?" This will prompt you to enter your email address to receive an automatic reply with your username and password, which will allow you to complete the online application and monitor your daughter's progress through the admissions process.

For Current Nightingale Families

1. Click on the "Apply Now" button on the main admissions page.
2. Enter your username and password for the Nightingale website when prompted.

During the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, applicants to Classes II-IV are required to submit ISEE Primary II-IV scores. Applicants to Classes V-XI are required to submit either SSAT or ISEE scores. Scores are valid from April 1 of the prior school year; i.e., for the 2023-2024 academic year, all tests must be taken after April 1, 2023. To ensure Nightingale receives official score reports, Nightingale's ISEE school code is 333860 and SSAT code is 5340. Students are welcome to submit multiple score reports.

Admissions applications are due on December 1, 2023. All corresponding application materials are due on January 4, 2024.

Check out the application process -- Kindergarten, Class I, Class II-IV, Middle School, and Upper School.

We are accepting applications for Kindergarten–Class X for the 2024-2025 academic year. Candidates interested in applying for Class XI should contact the Admissions office before submitting an application.

Students applying for the 2024-2025 school year must be five years old by September 1, 2024 (exceptions will not be made).

We do not have strict birthday cut-offs in grades other than Kindergarten, but we do assess the child in relation to how she will fit into each unique class and the student make-up.

Nightingale is committed to being a girls’ school, and we also believe that there are many ways to be a girl and many ways that girls may change over their time with us. We feel strongly that the strength of our community lies in the diversity of our student body, faculty and alumnae. As our founders were committed to being forward thinking and flexible about what being a girl is and can be in the course of her time with us and beyond, so should our current community embrace the myriad ways that our students grow and develop during their time here. Our goal is ultimately to provide a safe and inclusive environment for all Nightingale students so that they can develop academically and socially.

No student is the same, and most of our decisions as educators take the individual situation into account. It is therefore in our best interest and in the best interest of those that we serve, to create a set of guidelines rather than a strict policy, which will inform our conversations with any trans or gender non-conforming students and their families.

Those guidelines are the following:

The school will accept applications from students who identify as a girl.

Keeping in mind that continued health and wellness of each Nightingale student is paramount, the school will happily engage in conversations with current students who identify as male or as ‘gender non-conforming’ to make sure Nightingale continues to be the right school for that student and discuss how both the student’s family and the school can work together to support what is best for that student.

No. Please refrain from sending personal letters of support. Information on required teacher recommendations can be found on the Steps to Apply pages: Kindergarten, Class I, Class II-IV, Middle School, and Upper School

No. Attendance at admissions events is not required, but strongly encouraged. We think they are one of the best avenues for genuinely getting to know our academic programming and our community.

We offer many admissions events each year at which you will meet current parents and be able to ask questions in an informal setting. Please check the Events portion of our website.

There are currently 710 students enrolled at Nightingale.

Nightingale actively seeks an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse student body. Over 30% of the student body are students of color. Currently, we have 44 faculty and staff of color (28.8% of the total).

No. Although many girls do live in the area, students come from all parts of the city, including all of the boroughs, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Westchester County. We have international students, as well.

The New York City Board of Education provides free bus transportation (in Manhattan only) to and from school for students in grades K–6, depending on how far away the student lives from Nightingale. Most often, the New York City Board of Education’s Office of Pupil Transportation is able to assign a bus stop for each student, but not always. Although this service does not pick up your daughter at your door, designated stops are usually within a few blocks of the student’s home. A parent or caregiver must meet the bus on the return trip in the afternoon. Families who live more than one-half mile from school but do not wish to utilize the Board of Education’s bus service may apply for a student Metrocard. Qualifying students in grades 7–12 are issued a student Metrocard.

Private buses, shared with neighborhood schools, from downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx are also available. For more information, please contact schoolbus@focfm.com.

Yes, through Hobbyhorse, our extended day program.

Hobbyhorse offers a series of afterschool workshops Monday through Friday from 3:15–5:00 p.m. for Lower School students, Classes K-IV. Additional care is also available Monday through Thursday from 5:00–6:00 p.m. in the Thinkery (see below). Families who receive financial assistance towards tuition will be given proportionate financial assistance for Hobbyhorse. A sample of classes this fall include: Creative Cooks, Calligraphy, Chess, Filmmakers Workshop, Robot Crafting, Lower School Orff Ensemble, and Yoga.

Additionally, Students in Class IV-VIII are welcome to join the Middle School Thinkery. Thinkery is a place for students, Classes IV-VIII, to study, think, and play from the hours of 3:20–6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Thinkery provides homework help and supervises (and participates in) analog play and socialization for the Thinkers that join us every day. This is a service free of charge.

Thinkery aims to be a space for students to make connections with their learning and each other, and also where students will find the support they need to become the most engaged, courageous, and curious learners and thinkers they can be.

Thinkery offers academic support in specific subjects in a lab-like setting by faculty on a weekly basis and one-on-one support through our peer-tutoring program. In addition, Thinkery will be piloting two new enrichment programs that will occur on a monthly basis: Thinkery Talks, which will be 15- to 20-minute talks by community members and guest speakers sharing something "cool" about what they do followed by student Q&A, and Thinkery Affinity Discussions, where students will have the opportunity to engage in discussions led by community members celebrating various aspects of their shared identities.

From 5:00–6:00 p.m., students K-4 are able to join Thinkery after HobbyHorse.

Athletic teams begin in Class V and are considered no-cut for Classes V-VIII to encourage participation by every student. Varsity and JV sports begin in Class IX and include competitive try-outs. For more information on Nightingale Athletics, please visit the Athletics page.

Yes. The Schoolhouse is in full compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act and is fully accessible, except for the stage and the roof.

The Nightingale-Bamford School is located at 20 East 92nd Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues. See here for directions and details.

On average, our student-to-faculty ratio is 6:1, and our average class size is approximately 12 students. In Lower School, reading and math groups average 5 or 6 students per teacher.

Spanish is taught in Kindergarten and continues through Class III. Lower School students will spend a portion of their day learning and conversing in Spanish, preparing them for a life of global engagement. In Class IV, in addition to Spanish, students are exposed to a trimester each of French and Mandarin, and the student chooses a language to continue on with in the Middle School. A special emphasis is placed on culture and making modern language study part of a student’s overall learning experience. Latin is introduced in Class VI, and Greek is offered in the Upper School.

Our college list includes the finest institutions of learning in the United States and abroad, and the list’s diversity reflects the individual passions and interests of our graduates. Click here to view the list of schools our students have attended over the past five years.

If your student currently receives accommodations at school, we encourage families to share as much information as possible during the application process. Your child will not be placed at a disadvantage in the admissions process for disclosure of this information. Rather, it is important for us to know how we can best support your student if your family decides to enroll at Nightingale. If your student enrolls at Nightingale, please know that the school has its own protocol and procedures for granting accommodations, and students who have been granted specific accommodations at their previous schools may not receive exactly the same accommodations at Nightingale. Families will consult with Nightingale's Learning Resources Department prior to the start of the school year to determine the best course of action for all new students.