Frequently Asked Questions

Westminster is a busy place with lots of activity going on at all times of the day. Westminster is a large school with a small school experience. Classrooms in the younger grades maintain a 9:1 student to teacher ratio, while the older kids average 15 children per class. There’s always someone to talk to who has similar interests as your child, but there’s also always someone from whom your child can learn something different. While students in grades Pre-1st – 4 stay in the same classroom for math, language arts, and social studies, they do move about the building for science, computer education, library skills, art, music, discovery, exploration, and physical education. They may also move about for Bible Values and French or Spanish. The fast-paced program is structured so children can work in small groups with the guidance of the two certified teachers in every classroom. Students in grades 5 -12 change classes throughout the day, with increasing responsibility as they move to Junior High School and High School. Students in 5th grade move as a group to different teachers and classrooms for their core subjects, while students in grades 6 -12 carry individual schedules. Sports and the Arts are important here at Westminster. An after-school visit to Turner Gym or the Broyles Arts Center proves that our students are active and involved, as most Junior High and High School students routinely participate in some after-school activity. Over 75% of the students in grades 7 – 12 participate in after-school sports, many of whom are also talented musicians or artists.

While our curriculum sets high standards for our students, it is extremely important for our students to be involved in the life of the school. We know that it is through these experiences on the athletic fields, in the performance venues, and in competitive pursuit of excellence that friendships are created and the bonds are woven even tighter. If you want a school where your child can be challenged, but have fun; where he or she can learn to ask questions, and have teachers who respond with another question; where he or she can learn how a community works, and then have places to contribute and give back to that same community, then Westminster is for your family.

Westminster’s thorough preparation of students is a gift for your child that can never be taken away. Our graduates return repeatedly to share how well-prepared for the responsibility and autonomy that college demands, but also the responsibility and connectedness that a community demands. We teach them what they need to know: we teach them how to become independent learners, how to ask questions, how to think on their own. We want them to learn from their mistakes. We teach them to care for and about each other, whether they are interacting on campus or with the community or world.

Over 19.5% of Westminster’s students are minority students.

Yes, Westminster has one of the best athletics programs in the state. Please check out our athletics programs for a comprehensive look at our successful Wildcat teams!

We offer over 28 Advanced Placement courses in the High School. We do not offer the IB program.

Westminster students do not wear a uniform but instead follow a dress code. The purpose of the dress code is to instill in a students a sense of pride in appearance - and that does not mean wearing the most expensive or newest fashions.

Westminster relies heavily on parental support and is organized through the Parents Association of The Westminster Schools (PAWS). In the Elementary School parents participate in classroom-oriented events, such as parties or field days, as well as school-wide occassions, such as the yearly Halloween Parade or Christmas Pageant. In the Junior High School and High School, parental support is typically centered around social, sporting, community service, and arts events.

Westminster is a non-denominational school that serves students of many different faiths and cultures.

The Elementary School admissions office is in Love Hall. The main admissions office is located in Pressly Hall, on the first level, across from the President’s Office. If you plan to stop by our office, please always call us first at 404-609-6202, as we may already have meetings scheduled.

The Westminster Admissions Committee attempts to enroll well-rounded students who are intelligent and ambitious, and who seek the strong academic and character foundation necessary for college and a life of service and achievement.

Westminster’s student body is a diverse community of people – many of whom are talented in one area, but who may have to work a little harder in another area. Applicants who are accepted tend to be bright students in their respective schools. There is no specific test score minimum.

Provided that you, the parent, asked SSAT to send your child's scores to Westminster, the test results are available to Westminster within two weeks of the test date.

Yes. In the past, SSAT has sent the February test scores to Westminster in time for the deadline, provided the parent of the applicant requested that the scores be sent from SSAT to Westminster.

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No, it is not a requirement. You are welcome to schedule a visit, particularly if you have specific questions.

We appreciate and respect the difficulties you face as you move to our area. However, each student who applies is given equal consideration by the Admissions Committee. We are happy to help out-of-town families with observation or interview scheduling.

All students must qualify for admission based on our standards, and all applications are taken to the Admissions Committee for a decision. Once the committee reviews the applicant pool, they do attempt to offer spaces to siblings of current students and the children of alumni first in an effort to keep families together. In Pre-first or an expansion year, such as 6th grade, there are plenty of openings for applicants.

Please refer to the Take a Tour page to see our list of available tour dates. They are listed by school division.

Pre-first: 72
Grade 1: 4
Grades 2-4 : Attrition only
Grade 5: 10
Grade 6: 70
Grade 7: 25
Grade 8: 5
Grade 9: 15
Grades 10-12: Attrition only

Your child must be age 5 by September 1, 2008, to apply to Pre-first for the 2008-09 school year. Children who turn 6 between June 1, 2008 and August 31, 2008 are also eligible to apply to Pre-1st.

The admissions process is designed to give the Admissions Committee the best overall picture of your child. The best thing you can do for your child is to follow the process, have forms submitted in a timely fashion, etc. If you need additional guidance, you are welcome to schedule a meeting with Marjorie Mitchell, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, or Sandy Cooter, Associate Director of Admissions (Elementary School).

With the exception of JATP results - which are due by February 22, 2008 - all admissions application materials should be mailed to our office by the due date of February 4, 2008. Files that are incomplete will not be viewed by the Admissions Committee.

Absolutely. Please tell your school to fax application materials to 404-367-7894. It comes directly to the Admissions Office in Pressly Hall, and will be routed to the proper division to be placed in the child’s file. You or your school may verify receipt of the fax by calling 404-609-6202.

Please have your child's current teacher as well as a former classroom teacher fill out the recommendation forms. The current teacher must teach your child English and math, and the former must have taught your child English and math.

No. We are unable to accommodate new students once a school year begins. Even though current students’ families may move away, we will not bring new students into the school until the following school year.

It is important that your child be comfortable, so please have your child wear what he or she would normally wear to school.

We encourage you to tell your child that they are coming to Westminster to spend some time in one of our classrooms. We’re going to have a little fun, and do some schoolwork. They should be ready to meet some new friends, but be sure to listen carefully and do their very best. Please don’t overstress this as you don’t want to make them nervous, but they do need to be told to listen and try to follow the instructions.

Tell your child that the interviewers want to know about him or her, so prepare to talk about interests that she or he has.

Interviews for both Junior High and High School applicants take place in the Junior High School. Parents and applicants meet in the George Woodruff Library, which is to the right of the Junior High School entrance.

Because we have more qualified applicants than we have available spaces, we do have to place some applicants on a waiting list. The waiting list is not ranked. The first time we take applicants off of the waiting list is after the April 16, 2008, AAAIS deadline by which time all responses are due from first-round accepted families. If spaces become available after that deadline, the Admissions Committee will meet and decide to whom to offer those spaces. Once the available spaces are filled, spaces may become available over the summer if current families leave. The waiting list expires on the first day of school, thus beginning the new admissions season. If at any time you would like to be removed from the waiting list, please contact us. Otherwise, we will leave your child's name on the waiting list until the waiting list expires.

Admissions decisions are made based on a student’s application for a specific year; so depending on why a student was not accepted, his or her chances might be much higher in a subsequent year. For example, a student may not have been offered a space for 5th grade when we take only 10 new students, but might have a much better chance for 6th grade, where we take 65-70 new students.

Approximately 12% of our students in grades Pre-first- 12th qualify for Financial Aid. Students who apply for aid and who are offered admission receive 100% of the amount for which their parents qualify.

No, as a member of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) and the Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools (AAAIS) Westminster offers need-based financial aid only. Merit based scholarships for athletic, academic or artistic talents are prohibited by those two organizations.

We need the financial information before we make the applications decisions because we are running two separate, but parallel processes. These two processes come together when the decision letter for an applicant is being prepared after both the financial aid and admissions committees have met. We must have the data by February 28, 2007 in order to inform your family, if your child as been accepted, how much aid we can offer so your family can make a decision.

Once a family applies for aid, our analyst performs a calculation to determine how much discretionary income is available in a household to fund school tuition. Our analyst divides a portion of the available discretionary income by the number of children in tuition-based institutions, and then offers financial aid to help the family to meet our tuition bill. To calculate discretionary income, our analyst takes the adjusted gross income, subtracts taxes and a per person income protection allowance (the more children a family has, the more income is protected) for food, clothing, etc., and the leftover amount is the household's discretionary income.

Because the qualification formula for financial aid takes into account income, expenses, family size, the number of children in tuition charging institutions, specific cost of living index and other types of information, it is impossible to give a specific bracket or range. However, a few sample family scenarios are presented below: