The Hill School

The Hill School is in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1851 as The Family Boarding School and is a coeducational independent boarding and day high school for grades 9 through 12, with a PG (post-graduate) year. The 2026-27 school profile reports 539 students from 31 states and 27 countries; the school’s website gives a boarding-to-day ratio of about 77 to 23 and reports that 16 percent of students are international. Day students must board for at least one year, which the school profile phrases as “all students must reside on campus for one year.” The head of school, Kathleen Devaney, holds the title of The Meigs Family Head of School. The campus is about an hour from Philadelphia and about two hours from New York City and Baltimore. The school reports that Niche’s 2027 rankings place it first in Pennsylvania for private high schools, boarding high schools and college prep private high schools.

The Hill School runs on a trimester calendar. Each student takes five classes and may add a sixth graded course and a seventh ungraded course. The school reports a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio; its “Hill By the Numbers” page gives a typical class size of 10, while the 2026-27 school profile gives an average class size of 11. The school states that it offers 92 AP (Advanced Placement), Honors and College Level (CL) courses. Apart from math, computer science, English and world languages, students generally take AP and CL courses in grades 11 and 12, and students who complete an AP course are not required to sit the AP exam. Math follows an Integrated Mathematics sequence that reaches Multivariable Calculus and the Higher Mathematics and Proof Seminar; in science, students follow either a traditional single-subject track or apply to an advanced integrated track that combines biology, chemistry and physics. World languages include Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish, and the classics program teaches Latin and ancient Greek.

Graduation requires four years of English, math through Integrated Math 31 or higher, three years of one world language or two years each of two, two years of laboratory science, two years of history including U.S. History, and one year of Religious Studies and Philosophy, a department the school profile describes as not aligned with any religion. Every student takes Eudemonia, the school’s well-being course, each year and belongs to an advisory of five to seven students that meets weekly. In college counseling, students are assigned a college counselor in January of tenth grade; they take the PSAT (Preliminary SAT) on campus in March of tenth grade and the PSAT/NMSQT, the version used for National Merit Scholarship selection, in October of eleventh grade, and a group test-prep course with a local partner runs on campus in the spring of eleventh grade. The school’s matriculation list for the classes of 2022 through 2026 covers 223 colleges, and the school reports that about half of graduates enrolled at colleges admitting fewer than 25 percent of applicants and about a quarter at colleges admitting fewer than 10 percent.

The Hill School accepts applications through Gateway to Prep Schools or the Standard Application Online (SAO), and the deadline for the 2026-27 admission season is January 31, 2027. Ninth and tenth grade applicants submit one of the SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test), the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) or the PSAT; applicants for grades 11 and 12 and the PG year may submit the PSAT, SAT, ACT or SSAT. International students whose first language is not English also submit the TOEFL or Duolingo English Test, unless they have attended an American or international school for the last three years. Recommendations come from an English teacher, a math teacher and a school counselor (or principal), preferably current-year teachers. The school enrolls students for September only and asks applicants not to send certificates, artwork or videos as supplements, and to describe recent achievements in part two of the application instead.

Interviews and testing must be completed between September 16, 2026 and January 31, 2027. An on-campus visit includes a student-led tour, and a limited number of Saturday appointments are reserved for families living 100 miles or more from Pottstown; virtual interviews are likewise reserved for applicants 100 miles or more away who cannot visit, and missed virtual appointments cannot be rescheduled. Admission officers travel for interviews from September through November, and the 2026 schedule includes Northern California Bay Area interviews from October 25 to 27, Southern California interviews in Santa Monica from November 1 to 4, and an evening admission reception in Los Angeles on November 4. The school holds an Admission Open House on October 24, 2026, with a limited number of interviews afterward for families living 100 miles or more away. Admission and financial aid decisions are released on March 10, 2027, and enrollment contracts are due April 10; complete applications received after February 1 are reviewed on a rolling, space-available basis. The school does not publish its application fee or an acceptance rate.

The Hill School publishes 2026-27 tuition of $81,040 for boarding students and $54,980 for day students. Boarding tuition covers instruction, room and board, on-campus events, Wellness Center health services and some athletics equipment; textbooks and supplies are extra, and some electives, athletics activities and music instruction may carry additional fees. The school reports that 39 percent of students receive need-based aid, that it awards about $10.1 million in need-based grants each year, and that the average award is $55,200 for boarding students and $33,550 for day students. All aid is given as grants that do not need to be repaid, and the school offers no academic, athletic or merit scholarships.

Families apply for aid through Clarity, which opened on September 1, 2026; applications are due January 15, 2027, when 2025 Form 1040 and W-2 data can be imported automatically and any other tax documents must also be uploaded. New families receive their aid decision with the admission decision on March 10, 2027. Families reapply every year; the school commits to supporting qualifying families throughout their time at Hill but reviews need annually and notes that tuition rises each year, so a family’s contribution usually rises too. Applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents may apply, but the school states that it typically does not award aid to international students. Monthly payment plans are available.

The Hill School’s application deadline is January 31, 2027, but financial aid materials are due January 15, so a family seeking aid should plan backward from the earlier date. The school is interviewing in Santa Monica from November 1 to 4, 2026, which lets an Irvine family drive to an interview rather than fly east for one; a virtual interview is the fallback, but a missed virtual appointment cannot be rescheduled. SSAT, ISEE or PSAT results must be in by January 31, so plan the last SSAT sitting before December. Pennsylvania is three hours ahead of California and about 2,350 miles from Irvine in a straight line, and students must leave campus for every break, which means several cross-country flights a year and ideally a trusted adult on the East Coast. Seated family-style meals, twice-weekly Chapel, a dress code and evening study hall make for a structured routine, so talk it through as a family before applying. EDUBUS is based in Irvine and works on school selection, SSAT preparation and high school planning around this school’s published dates.