FAQs

Nursery School and Kindergarten: N3, N4, and K (ages 3–6)
Primary School: Grades 1–2 (approx. ages 6–8)
Lower School: Grades 3–5 (approx. ages 8–11)
Middle School: Grades 6–8 (approx. ages 12–14)
High School: Grades 9–12 (approx. ages 14–18)

All applicants should begin the application process in fall of the year prior to the desired year of entry.

Nursery 3 applicants are two years old when they apply and must be  three years old on or before September 1 of the year of entry.

Nursery 4 applicants must be four years old on or before September 1 of the year of entry.

Kindergarten applicants must be five years old on or before September 1 of the year of entry.

Grade 1 applicants who are not already enrolled in Kindergarten must be six years old on or before September 1 of the year of entry.

Applicants to all other grades should apply to the net sequential grade to follow the one in which they are currently enrolled.

Applicants from non-US schools who have significantly different age or grade-level cutoffs are asked to email the admissions office at admissions@ucls.uchicago.edu.

Lab's application process begins in the fall of the year prior to enrollment. For example, entering ninth-grade students begin the application process in September of their eighth-grade year. Similarly, Nursery 3 (three-year-old children) applicants are two years old when they apply, and are three years old when they enroll at Lab.

Nursery 3, Grade 6, and Grade 9 are typically the best points of entry into Lab. Other grades typically have openings only through student attrition. Special circumstances determine the consideration of applications to Grade 12.

Yes! Every class contains a diverse group of families, including many who are not affiliated with the University of Chicago. Lab welcomes all applicants, both affiliated and non-affiliated, into its community.

All applicants to the Laboratory Schools go through an application process that seeks to understand both the applicant and their family.

All families are also required to pay an $85 application fee (need-based fee waivers are available) and submit a descriptive summary of their child, teacher recommendation forms, and two years of progress reports. Details for each grade level of application are made available at the start of the application process.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact the Admissions Office at 773-702-9451 or admissions@ucls.uchicago.edu.

We believe that each child is an individual, and can shine in ways not captured by test scores or paper applications. Therefore, we strive to have individual interactions with all of our applicants.

Our youngest applicants (Nursery 3, Nursery 4, and Kindergarten) will be invited to attend an assessment. 

Applicants to Grades 1–4 will be invited to participate in an age-appropriate assessment.

Applicants to Grades 5 and above will be assessed using the Independent Schools Entrance Exam. In addition, Middle School (Grades 6–8) and High School (Grades 9–12) applicants will meet with a member of the Admissions Committee.

First round notifications are shared each year in late February or early March for all applicants who have timely completed the process. Thereafter, applicants may be offered enrollment from the waitlist as space develops. 

Each year, a number of highly qualified students apply to grades where Lab has limited space. Students who have completed the application process and are academically and socially prepared to join the Laboratory Schools may be asked to join Lab's wait pool until space becomes available through student attrition.

Students in the wait pool are not ranked, and the Admissions Office cannot provide families with an applicant’s number or position within the pool. Wait pools are only open/active for the current admissions season. Students who wish to be considered for admission the following year must reapply.

Lab's mailing address is 1362 E. 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
Admissions Office
1362 E 59th St, Chicago, IL 60637
Telephone: 773-702-9451
Email: admissions@ucls.uchicago.edu 
Email: financialaid@ucls.uchicago.edu (for financial aid questions)
Website: www.ucls.uchicago.edu/admissions

Lab does not provide any type of transportation (bus service) to school. However, Lab families who live in the Hyde Park-Kenwood area or are coming to Lab from other Chicagoland areas (including Indiana, and surrounding suburbs) have several good transportation options. 

If you live in the Hyde Park-Kenwood neighborhoods, you are likely within either a short drive or walking/biking/scootering distance from Lab. Lab families who live in other neighborhoods may come to school in a variety of ways. 

Carpooling: Once you are enrolled at Lab you will have access to the online family directory where a zip code search may help find other families living in your neighborhood that you might carpool with. 

Private van service: Lab families may also choose (often in groups) to use a private van service to get to and from school.

Other available local transportation options include CTA bus routes #171 (Hyde Park), #172 (Kenwood), and #192 (Hyde Park/Downtown). In addition, UChicago Shuttles run 7 different free shuttle routes around campus and surrounding neighborhoods. Additional transportation options include CTA’s rail system; the Green Line and Red Line train service as well as commuter rail service provided by the Metra Electric District serving Hyde Park and the South Shore line with service from South Bend to downtown Chicago, also with a Hyde Park train stop. 

Click here for details about University transportation options available to Lab families.