Applicants attending school in countries where English is not the only official language

All students attending schools in countries where English is not the only official language are required to interview with Vericant after June 1 (regardless of citizenship or the type of school they are attending) before scheduling a tour or interview at St. Mark's. Vericant will conduct initial interviews and facilitate short writing prompts.

Please understand that Vericant does not evaluate candidates; all videos and writing samples are sent to St. Mark's for assessment. Our Admission Office will review the completed Vericant interviews along with each applicant's SSAT* and TOEFL or IELTS score reports to determine which students will be offered an interview with a member of the St. Mark's Admission staff.

In order to meet St. Mark's January 15 application deadline, applicants must interview with Vericant no later than December 15. Please make sure that you also complete our online inquiry form including your full name, preferred name, and email address so that we can contact you upon review of your Vericant interview.

Vericant: https://www.vericant.com/high-school-applicants/

*The SSAT is optional

*The SSAT is optional.

All TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, and Vericant interview submissions must be sent directly through the ETS, IELTS, and Vericant portals. We cannot consider submissions forwarded by families, schools, or consultants.

• In terms of preparing for the TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic tests, the best times for you to take them are October, November, December, and January.
• Our TOEFL code is 9222.
• St. Mark’s does not accept DuoLingo, SLEP, iTEP SLATE, TOEFL Essentials or the TOEFL Junior tests.

Please do not assume that the admission office is aware you may qualify for or are interested in an English language proficiency waiver.

If you believe you may qualify for a Vericant and TOEFL or IELTS waiver based on one of the reasons in the requirement section above, please complete the English Proficiency Waiver Request Form immediately so that we can determine if you are eligible for a preliminary language screen waiver and note it in your application record.

International students who are US citizens or who are attending a school where English is the language of instruction are not automatically exempted from the English proficiency requirement. We have found that students attending English-speaking international schools have a wide spectrum of English language skills and that being a student at one of those schools does not guarantee strong enough language skills to be successful at St. Mark's.

• Our minimum TOEFL iBT score is 100 and the median TOEFL iBT score for our accepted 2023-2024 international students was 111. For students applying for 10th grade, the TOEFL score expectations are somewhat higher than those for 9th grade candidates.
• Our minimum IELTS overall band score is 7.5.
• Scores from multiple tests may not be combined. While St. Mark's is willing to review MyBest TOEFL scores as a supplement, we will not superscore TOEFLs and MyBest scores will not meet the TOEFL submission requirement or the minimum score requirement.
• St. Mark's does not consider the Vericant SEE score when reviewing interview videos. Instead, each Vericant video and writing sample is reviewed indepentdently by our Director of Admission.

Approximately 5 business days.

Application fees are non-refundable.

The SSAT/ISEE is optional. For applicants who choose to submit an SSAT or ISEE, score reports must be sent directly from SSAT or ERB, we cannot accept copies sent by schools or consultants.

Students who opt to submit a score report may only submit an exam taken within the past year.

Our SSAT code is 6730.
Our ISEE code is 570103.
Our TOEFL code is 9222.

The SSAT is optional. For 2023-2024 applicants who submitted an SSAT the median SSAT score for accepted applicants was 93%.

The application fee for St. Mark’s School is $50 USD for both domestic and international applicants. The application fee is not refundable.

St. Mark’s accepts the Gateway to Prep Schools (GTP) application and the Standard Application Online (SAO).

Yes, no matter which application method you are using, all applicants are required to submit a total of three current teacher recommendations – English, math, and another core academic course such as foreign language, science, or history. Supplemental forms for the common applications can be found on the SAO and GTP websites. Please contact our office if you are not sure which recommendation forms to submit.

No, if English is your foreign language, we will still require a third teacher recommendation from either a current science or history teacher.

Our Admission Officers do travel around the US and overseas to interview in the fall and winter. Please refer to the admission calendar to see our travel plans for fairs, receptions, and interviews. While we believe that a campus visit is always helpful, if you are unable to visit the campus, you may contact us to schedule a Zoom interview. Please note, interviews cannot be scheduled prior to the submission of your completed application including SSAT and TOEFL / IELTS scores. Please contact our office prior to January 1 to request your interview so that we can schedule it prior to January 31.

St. Mark's does not offer interviews through third party organizations, however, we have partnered with Vericant to provide initial video interviews for applicants attending school outside of the United States. The Vericant interview does not replace a formal St. Mark's interview.

If you have a well-developed talent in the creative or performing arts, you may submit samples of your work for review by St. Mark's art, theater, and music faculty. You may also submit athletic videos for our coaches to view. St. Mark's accepts athletic videos and art submissions via Slideroom. Please review the detailed submission instructions on the Slideroom website.

If you elect not to submit materials via Slideroom, you may include with your application a printed art portfolio or athletic resume that lists your training and experience, repertoire or roles performed and honors received. Be aware that media links submitted via SAO and Gateway will not be available for faculty or coach review. Faculty and coaches only have access to media submissions made via Slideroom.

For network security, St. Mark's does not accept media submitted via email, CD, DVD, or USB. 

Yes, St. Mark’s is authorized by SEVIS (US Department of Security’s Student and Exchange Information System) to issue the I-20 application form. Students must apply, be admitted, and enrolled before St. Mark’s may issue the application. We have around 70 international students each year to whom we issue I-20 Forms annually.

After new students enroll in April they must provide us with financial certification, parent affidavit, and a copy of their passport page. In nearly all cases, our newly admitted students succeed in obtaining student visas. Due to legal regulations, St. Mark’s cannot issue I-20’s for enrolled students more than 90 days prior to the start of school.

International students who require an I-20 visa may not enroll as day students. Only US citizens and US Permanent Residents may apply to enroll as day students.

We do not accept students at mid-year. Our admissions application deadline is January 15 to begin study the following September.

Due to our graduation requirements, we typically cannot accept international applicants for 11th grade. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Director of Admission for international students who have been studying in the US or Canada for more than 3 years. St. Mark’s does not admit any applicants for 12th grade regardless of citizenship and we do not offer a post-graduate year.

There are occasions where applicants may repeat a grade level, however, this must be approved by the Director of Admission after review of the application by the admission committee. The student’s age is also taken into consideration when requesting to repeat a grade level.

While it is very common for applicants to complete a grade elsewhere and then repeat that grade at St. Mark's, students who have already attended a particular grade at St. Mark's may not repeat that same grade while they are here unless approved by the Academic Dean.

Applicants may not repeat multiple grade levels (i.e. current 11th grade students may not apply as 10th grade).

St. Mark’s is willing to consider applications for financial aid from international students. Application is relatively easy from Canada, a country with income and asset verification analogous to US tax reporting. However, we must caution applicants that our international student financial aid is very limited and highly selective. St. Mark’s requires as much income and asset verification as families can provide, including tax schedules, proof of salary, bank statements, property assessments, etc. Additionally, we must caution families that, although we have granted financial aid to a highly select group of non-US citizens, international student financial aid is extremely difficult to obtain at American colleges and universities.

St. Mark’s cannot provide fee waivers for the PFS/application to SSS for international students. For families with great demonstrated need, we can provide an admission application fee waiver upon completion of the PFS and a St. Mark’s interview.

Please read through the SSS by NAIS International Financial Aid sections. Please send all supporting and verifying income and asset documents directly to SSS/NAIS. You can upload all information into the extra supporting document file spaces within the document section of the Parent Financial Aid Statement (PFS). Additionally, complete and submit the Supplementary SSS International Financial Aid Form.

Please refer to our financial aid FAQ and timetable for more information regarding financial aid at St. Mark’s.