Admissions FAQ

Please visit our admissions page to apply online, or contact us at 415-409-1961 to request a hard copy.

At Pacific Primary, we consider each application based on the needs of our school community, not on when it’s submitted. To be considered for fall enrollment, please submit your application by November 1 of the year before you’d like your child to start. To meet state licensing requirements, your child must be two years old by the end of February of the enrollment year to be eligible to attend.

Once we receive your application, we’ll send you a confirmation email to let you know it’s been received.

Yes. Children must be two and a half and toilet independent by enrollment in September. They must be comfortable on the toilet and may not wear pull-ups or training pants.

To attend a tour, you must apply by November 1 before the enrollment year. Tours run from December to early February, usually on Wednesdays from 10–11:30 AM. Families who apply by the deadline will receive tour sign-up info. If you applied late, please contact us. Due to high demand, tours are only available for current-year applicants.

Letters of acceptance are emailed in mid-March.

We wish we had room for every family who applies. Most of our openings each year come from our oldest children moving on to kindergarten, and priority goes first to siblings of current students and then to alumni families, so the number of new spots varies from year to year. We encourage families to apply to several schools, and to see the Wait Pool as a real path in rather than a dead end. However your search unfolds, we are glad to answer questions along the way.

Being placed in the Wait Pool is common, and it is not a no. The Wait Pool helps us fill openings that come up in the days and months after our initial decisions, as well as in future enrollment cycles, and movement does happen. If you are placed in the Wait Pool, there’s no need to reapply for upcoming years; instead, you will receive an updated questionnaire each December that must be completed and returned to keep your spot.

Any family who feels the cost of tuition would create a financial hardship is encouraged to apply. Assistance is based on demonstrated financial need.

We review each application individually and confidentially, using financial documents such as tax returns and pay stubs to assess need.

Yes, families reapply each year. If your financial situation remains essentially the same, your level of support will likely remain stable.

Yes. Families receiving tuition assistance may also qualify for help with other costs, such as the application fee or tickets to our spring Here Comes the Sun event.

Yes. Families eligible for ELFA funding will first receive support through the City’s program, and additional school-based aid may be available if needed.

To be considered for Tuition Assistance or ELFA support before the school year starts, tuition assistance applications are due by early January, and ELFA applications are typically due in May. Please review the application instructions and return with all required documentation. Applications submitted without the required documentation will not be processed.

You must have completed your prior-year tax forms; therefore the application is not possible to complete for most families until early winter. The deadline for the tuition assistance application and paystubs is early January. All other required tax forms are due mid-February.