How to Apply

Our admissions team is eager to get to know your student and your family!

While your student will have an active voice in this process, we know that choosing a middle school is ultimately a decision guided by parents and caregivers. It's not about where their friends are going, or who they imagine being in high school. This decision is about right now, at the beginning of adolescence, when the environment, relationships, and values around them will help shape their identity and confidence in critical ways.

Throughout the admissions process, we'll ask questions to better understand your child's personality, interests, and goals, and to get a sense of your family's hopes for these formative middle school years. We'll also connect with teachers and others who know your child well. Our goal is to learn who your child is and how we might serve and support them during this unique and powerful phase of their growth.

If cost is a consideration, we encourage you to explore financial assistance regardless of what you assume you might qualify for; it's a separate process from admissions, and the conversation costs nothing.

Apply Now!

Step 1: Create a Ravenna Account 

Ravenna is our online, paperless admission system that helps families manage their child's applications to private and independent schools. It is our strong preference to receive applications and accompanying forms through Ravenna. Please contact us if applying online is not possible for you.

Step 2: Visit Campus 

Our school building is beautiful, and we'd love to welcome your family into our teaching spaces. All students applying to L-Dub will have a required student visit day, spending time on campus experiencing L-Dub firsthand.

We'd genuinely encourage you to stay for the parent/caregiver tour as well. Every year, parents tell us that walking through our halls, sitting in on a class, and meeting our teachers and students in person gave them a clearer sense of L-Dub than anything they'd read beforehand. If you're still weighing whether a standalone middle school is the right fit, a visit is often the fastest way to find your answer.

The parent/caregiver tour is optional. When you register for your student's visit day through Ravenna, you're automatically included for the 8:30 to 10:30 AM tour; simply plan to stay on campus after drop-off, then return at 2:30 PM for pickup.

Step 3: Submit the Application

Submit an online application to L-Dub through Ravenna before January 14, 2027. Ravenna guides families through the online application process, including form submissions, teacher evaluations, deadline tracking, application status, and decision notification. Students can apply to multiple schools using Ravenna (essays must be submitted separately). After the deadline, our admissions process is rolling, and we accept applications on a continuous basis throughout the school year.

 

Required Application Components 

Please make sure to review the application components below and submit all required components.

Application form

Submit the online application to L-Dub through Ravenna. Ravenna guides families through the online application process, including form submissions, teacher evaluations, deadline tracking, application status, and decision notification. Students can apply to multiple schools using Ravenna. (Essays must be submitted separately.)

Application fee

A non-refundable fee of $75 must accompany the application, paid directly through Ravenna. If the application fee is a possible barrier, please call the Admissions Office at 206.709.3800 or email Sarah Campbell-Harris at [email protected].

Current Photo

Please include a recent student photo.

Student Visit Day

All students applying to L-Dub will visit campus in person and spend a day experiencing L-Dub firsthand. Please register through Ravenna.

Teacher recommendations

Two teacher evaluations are required.

  • 6th grade applicants: one from a 5th grade core teacher, plus one from a teacher who has taught the applicant within the last two years
  • 7th grade applicants: one from a 6th grade core teacher, plus one from a teacher who has taught the applicant within the last two years
  • 8th grade applicants: one from a 7th grade core teacher, plus one from a teacher who has taught the applicant within the last two years

Rainier Scholars applicants: please also request one additional letter of recommendation from a Rainier Scholars employee who knows your student well. This letter can be emailed directly to Sarah Campbell-Harris at [email protected] and submitted electronically through Ravenna.

Parent/caregiver statement

This form is submitted through Ravenna.

Student essays and activity form

We request handwritten student essay responses, in the student's own words and own handwriting, so we can hear her voice directly, not a polished or edited version of it. Please print the form, complete each question by hand, and either mail it to us or take a photo and email it, no scanner needed.

Mail to:
LWGMS Admissions | 2100 S Walker St | Seattle, WA 98144

Or email a photo to:
[email protected]

The student activity form is submitted through Ravenna.

interview

Throughout January and February, each applicant and at least one parent/caregiver will participate in a required 30-minute admissions interview. Our interviews are conversational, not a test; students don't need a script or perfect answers, just a willingness to talk about their interests and how they see the world.

Confidential school report/Transcript request

L-Dub accepts confidential school report and transcript forms either electronically via Ravenna or by mail directly from your student's school. We ask that you choose one method of delivery, either hard copy or electronic, rather than both.

Please use the PSIS Transcript Request form on Ravenna.

Optional Application Components 

The below components are optional.

Personal Recommendation

L-Dub will accept an optional additional reference letter from an adult (tutor, coach, instructor, etc.) who knows your student in a unique capacity and may share additional insight. Please send personal recommendation letters via email to Sarah Campbell-Harris at [email protected].

Supplemental Information

Please feel free to email or mail hard copies of any additional test scores, artwork, writing samples, awards, or other information that will help us get a clearer overall picture of the applicant. Please do not send original artwork you'd like returned.

LWGMS Admissions | 2100 S Walker St | Seattle, WA 98144

Test scores

L-Dub does not require standardized testing (ISEE or SSAT). Members of the admissions committee will not have access to any ISEE or SSAT results, even from applicants who choose to take a test and submit their scores.

Nondiscriminatory Policy
Lake Washington Girls Middle School admits students (who identify as girls) of any race, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual identity, or family composition. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual identity, or family composition in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship programs, athletic, co-curricular, or other school-administered programs.