Q&A on UWCSEA admissions

No, but we do have an application pool of eligible applicants from which we select based on our holistic admissions criteria and make offers to successful applicants based on our annual timeline. So while there is no waitlist, applicants will have to wait some time to hear the outcome of their application, even if they meet our eligibility criteria.

In those grades where we receive more eligible applications than we have available places, the places are offered according to our allocation policy.

On the basis of entry criteria, both campuses are the same.

However, the number of places opening each year at each campus is different for some grades. As an example, East Campus creates an additional 22 spaces each year in K2, and also recruits to replace any students who leave, while Dover Campus does not create any additional K2 spaces, and only replaces the few students who leave. The capacity per grade on each campus is illustrated below.

We typically do not fill vacancies part-way through Term 1 or beyond the start of Term 2.  

K1–Grade 8

The availability of January-entry places in K1–G8 depends entirely on the number of leavers we have during Term 1, because we usually start the school year with all available places filled. 

January placements are strongly influenced by factors in the class, cohort, or campus where the vacancies arise, such as gender balance, second language availability, and space availability for additional support in the English as an Additional Language (EAL) or Learning Support programmes. 

Grades 9, 10 and 11

We do not offer entry after the start of the school year for High School courses in Grades 9, 10 or 11, as students will have missed too much content in these carefully planned two- and one-year courses.

We recommend applying to both campuses by making what we call a ‘dual campus application' only if you are genuinely interested in a place for your child at either campus and would be equally happy being offered a place at either campus.

As a dual campus applicant, your child will be considered for a larger number of available places and, once entry criteria have been met, will be placed in the eligible pool of applicants for each campus.

Since we typically receive 2-3 applications per place for all available places at each campus, a dual campus applicant does not necessarily have a much higher chance of being offered a place; however, it does give us more flexibility when selecting students from our eligible pools for offers.

Learn more about making a 'dual campus' application here

Transfers between campuses are not possible once a place has been accepted at one campus. A stable community supports individual student wellbeing and a sense of connection and belonging, which in turn creates conditions for learning and flourishing. In particular some of the key reasons we do not allow transfers are:

• in line with our mission, our holistic admissions criteria means we admit students who are carefully selected to create a deliberate diversity within the cohort and campus
• the strong sense of community, which is an important part of the UWCSEA experience, is diluted if further transition occurs in an already transient international community
• transferring between campuses interrupts the individualised nature of each student's experience of the learning programme; research shows that a consistent experience founded on our wellbeing and learning principles underpins each student's success

When more students apply than there are spaces available, we have to select. However, our selection is not based solely on academic performance. Each application is reviewed individually and places are allocated according to holistic admissions criteria that take into account the individual student’s background, experience and potential ‘fit’ with the school.   

Above all, we aim to have balanced and diverse cohorts and, particularly in the older grades, we look for students who are committed to our mission and core values and who will embrace the opportunities offered by our holistic learning programme.

While having a sibling is one of the factors we take into consideration when allocating places, we admit between 800 and 1,000 students each year, and a proportion of these are always students who do not have siblings enrolled at the College.

We publish the number of students and number of families on each campus page: Dover | East 

No. Meeting our day student residency requirement is only satisfied if the student will be living with a legal parent who will be resident in Singapore for at least 90% of the school year during term. You can apply for your child to join the College as a Residential Boarder if they are joining Grade 8 or above.

By enrolling in the College, parents agree to our UWCSEA Standard Terms and Conditions, which do not permit a student to live with a relative or friend, except under exceptional circumstances, as outlined in Clause 8.7.

We do not create a new class of 22 Kindergarten 2 students each year at the Dover Campus as we do on East Campus. Although we do replace leavers from Kindergarten 1, traditionally there are very few and these places are generally offered to families who already have a child at the College so that the family can stay together. We do not feel it is fair to open the system and accept a large number of applications for K2 when there is such a small chance of success. 

Families are welcome to apply for a K2 place at the East Campus.

Families who would like to be advised if we have more places available than predicted can contact Admissions to join a Register of Interest for K2. We then contact these families to invite them to submit an application if a place becomes available. The applications are processed based on our entry criteria.

No. Transition from Grade 10 to Grade 11 is not subject to any academic thresholds.

Current students select their preferred High School and IB Diploma Programme subject options in Term 2 of Grade 10. In the vast majority of cases these preferences are accommodated. In the rare cases where we are concerned about a student’s choice, the Head of Grade invites the student and parents to discuss subject options. The goal is to ensure that the combination of subjects will allow each individual student to enjoy a successful outcome.

If an application is received and our initial review of the application clearly identifies that the student does not meet out eligibility criteria, which includes requiring significant support outside of the scope of our English as an Additional Language programme, we will not refund the application fee when closing the application. 

For this reason, before submitting an application, please carefully review our guidelines about the scope of our English as an Additional Language (EAL) programme here.

While places are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, eligible applicants who apply earlier in the application cycle are considered for more of the available places in each grade. We have two ‘offer rounds’ in each application cycle, and publish a date by which applications must be submitted in order for us to be able to process the application in time to be considered for that offer round. 

In short, if you are sure UWCSEA is the right choice for your child, know you will be in Singapore for the start of the school year, and are able to commit early if offered a place, we encourage you to apply earlier in the application cycle.

We allocate places to individual applicants based on our holistic admissions profile, which takes into account the individual profile of the applicant, while also factoring in a number of considerations within the existing cohort, for example gender balance or month of birth.

Families who have made an application for more than one child are asked to nominate whether they will accept an offer of a place for one child or whether their acceptance of an offered place will be contingent on being able to place all applicants at the same time. 

Applications are considered successfully submitted only when both the application fee has been paid in full and all of the required documentation is included in the application.  

Regardless of when you submit an application, for each individual application we will:

1. Acknowledge the application by email within 10–15 days:
   • confirming the application is successfully submitted and that no further information is required at this stage; OR
   • advising the application has not been successfully submitted and requesting any missing documentation or information; once this is received we will then email to confirm the application submission date and progress to the initial eligibility review (outlined below)
2. Advise initial eligibility review outcome via email or call within one month:
   • confirmation that the applicant has met our eligibility criteria and that they are placed in the relevant application pool for consideration OR
   • request for more information or an invitation to attend an interview or assessment (although this may take place later) OR
   • advise that the applicant has not met our entry criteria and so will not be considered for a place (the application is then closed)

Please contact Admissions if it has been more than 15 working days since you believe you have successfully submitted your application and you have not received an acknowledgement email. 

Families who would like to be advised if we have more places available than predicted can contact Admissions to join a Register of Interest for K2. We then contact these families to invite them to submit an application if a place becomes available. The applications are processed based on our entry criteria.

We recommend applying to both campuses only if you are genuinely interested in a place for your child at either campus and would be equally happy being offered a place at either campus.

Because campus transfers are not allowed once a place has been accepted, we recommend considering the available options in the learning programme your child will move into in later years. In the past, families have indicated that the 'Language A' options available in the Middle and High School academic programmes are an important consideration for some when making an application. 

As a dual campus applicant, your child will be considered for a larger number of available places and, once entry criteria have been met, will be placed in the eligible pool of applicants for each campus. A dual campus applicant does not necessarily have a much higher chance of being offered a place; however, it does give us more flexibility when selecting students from our eligible pools for offers.

Learn more about making a 'dual campus' application here

As a dual campus applicant, your child will be considered for a larger number of available places and will be placed in the eligible pool of applicants for each campus, once entry criteria have been met.

Since we typically receive 2-3 applications per place for all available places at each campus, a dual campus applicant does not necessarily have a much higher chance of being offered a place; however, it does give us more flexibility when selecting students from our eligible pools for offers.

If you submit dual applications for more than one child, your children will be considered for offers at both campuses and which campus we may offer will depend on space availability in the relevant grades, as well as our usual allocation criteria. 

We will not offer places to your children at different campuses because we keep a family at the same campus so that they can become a part of the community.  

Families who have made an application for more than one child are asked to nominate whether they will accept an offer of a place for one child or whether their acceptance of an offered place will be contingent on being able to place all applicants at the same time. 

Dual campus applicants who decline an offer at the campus where we are able to offer a place can request to be placed back in the pool to be considered for the other campus, however because of the way we allocate places to individual applicants based on our holistic admissions profile, there is no guarantee that we will be able to offer a place at the other campus.

Deferrals are not available. If you are offered a place and are unable to take it up, a fresh application must be submitted for the new proposed year of entry. 

Please talk to your Admissions Officer regarding your child's eligibility for consideration in a future year. They will be able to provide an indication if additional information may be necessary to support any re-application.

Parents can re-apply when applications for that year open, by submitting a new application – which will involve updating your previous application, including payment of another application fee.

Once applications open on 1 September, you should:

• Log in to the application system using the same username and password used to create the previous application
• Update all necessary application details and documentation e.g. current school information, new reports, new passport and/or immigration details, a more recent photograph
• Those re-applying for Grade 6 will also now need to add a completed student statement; those re-applying for Grade 7 or above will need to submit an updated student statement
• Pay the application fee

If you applied for entry to K1 - Grade 8 in one school year, and received an offer for a Term 2 (January) start after you have already re-applied for the following school year, your re-application fee will be refunded. 

K1 applicants

All K1 applicants based in Singapore will be invited to a ‘Meet and Play’ session in our kindergarten classrooms with our K1 team. This short play session (approximately 45 minutes) will give children an opportunity to explore the environment and engage in some play-based activities while meeting some of our teachers. Our experienced teachers will use this interaction to determine if our learning programme would be a good match for the needs of your child.

K1 applicants based overseas will be asked to provide additional information from your child’s current pre-school, and we may ask to arrange a conversation between one of our Infant School teachers and your child’s current teacher.

NOTE: No advance preparation is necessary for you or your child in order to attend a  ‘Meet and Play’ session. It will help to ensure that your child is well hydrated and they have had a snack to keep them going before this session.

K2 and Grade 1 applicants

Some K2 and Grade 1 applicants based in Singapore will be invited to attend a ‘Meet and Play’ session, should our Infant School team decide that they need more information to understand if our learning programme will be a good match for your child. This short play session (approximately 45 minutes) will give children an opportunity to explore the environment and engage in some play-based activities while meeting some of our teachers. 

For K2 and G1 applicants based overseas whom our Infant School would like more information on, we may ask to arrange a conversation between one of our Infant School teachers and your child’s current teacher. 

NOTE: No advance preparation is necessary for you or your child in order to attend a  ‘Meet and Play’ session. It will help to ensure that your child is well hydrated and they have had a snack to keep them going before this session.

Grades 2–8 Day and Grade 8 Boarding applicants

If full reports are not available or are unclear, or if our review of the application indicates that the student may require Learning Support or to join the EAL programme, interviews and assessments may be required even if the candidate meets our general entry criteria and the applicant has not specified either of these learning needs in their application. 

EAL applicants are only invited for an assessment or interview should our review of the application indicate that our general entry criteria are met.

We do not invite all EAL applicants for an assessment or interview; if our application review indicates that our general entry criteria have not been met we will advise you of this before closing the application. 

Please refer to our EAL and Learning Support guidelines for more details.

Grades 9–11 Day and Boarding applicants

All eligible applicants are required to participate in an Immersion Programme, which includes interactive activities and an interview. The Immersion Programme take place either virtually or in person in Singapore. 

We provide details of any assessments needed following our initial review of the application. The assessment results are used as a guide for subject selection: they typically do not play a role in the process of allocating places to eligible candidates.

All High School applicants who are English as an Additional Language learners will be asked to take an English proficiency assessment. 

Additional requirements for Grade 11 IB Diploma Programme applicants: 

• those choosing either a Language A other than English or a Language B as their second language may be asked to take an assessment or provide a writing sample, and to have an interview with the relevant language teacher
• if requesting Design Technology, applicants will be asked to complete an additional questionnaire 
• if requesting Art or Music, applicants must provide evidence of their performance standard, generally shared via an online portfolio

Grades 8–11 Boarding applicants

All eligible applicants are interviewed by a member of our Residential Life staff, typically the Director of Residential Life or one of the Houseparents. We arrange the interview following our initial review of the application. Boarding interviews for High School applicants are held as part of their Immersion Programme.

K1 to Grade 8

Following an initial review of the application, we provide details of any virtual or in-person assessments needed, and those required these are held during UWCSEA term time, beginning in September and running in line with each offer period. 

Grades 9–11

Following our initial review of the application, we provide details of any virtual or in-person assessments required to progress the application. To align with our application deadlines, applicants are scheduled to Immersion Days as follows:
Round 1 offer deadline: October to December 
Round 2 offer deadline: January to March

Every K1 applicant based in Singapore will be invited to a ‘Meet and Play’ session with our K1 team. This short play session in our K1 classrooms will take approximately 45 minutes, supervised by our K1 teachers. The children will be given an opportunity to explore the environment and meet some of our teachers. During these sessions our teachers will determine if our learning programme is a good match for the needs of the child.

K1 applicants based overseas will be asked to provide additional information from the child’s current pre-school, and we may ask to arrange a conversation between one of our Infant School teachers and their current teacher.

For K2 and Grade 1 applicants, this Meet and Play session is not compulsory; the Infant Team will ask us to invite only those applicants who they would like to meet in person so as to help them to determine if our learning programme is a good match for the needs of the individual child.

There is no preparation required from you or your child. It will help to ensure that your child is well hydrated, and they have had a snack to keep them going before this session.

Following our initial eligibility review of the application, applicants who meet our entry criteria are invited to an Immersion Day as the next stage in our application review process. Conducted virtually in this application cycle, the Immersion Day includes interactive activities and an interview.

To ensure a diverse group of participants and programme timings that suit the applicant's time zones, each applicant is assigned a particular date, and parents are given at least two weeks notice of the date and time of the immersion programme. 

Involving up to 16 applicants, each event includes interactive activities and an interview. Applicants participate in a discussion forum and activities led by Admissions staff and UWCSEA High School students. Applicants are also interviewed by a member of our High School educational or Boarding Programme leadership team, depending on whether they are day or boarding applicants. 

When inviting your child to an Immersion Day, we may also advise of additional virtual or in-person assessments required to progress the application. For example, applicants may also be requested to take an English proficiency test, and/or to submit an academic writing sample based on the language(s) the applicant wishes to study as a first and/or foreign language. 

To align with our application deadlines, applicants are scheduled to Immersion Days as follows:
Round 1 offer deadline: October to December 
Round 2 offer deadline: January to March

Dual applicants will only need to attend one assessment at the indicated campus if our eligibility review of the application indicates we require an assessment. Likewise, High School applicants will be invited to attend one Virtual Immersion programme and interview. The assessment outcome will be the same for your application to both campuses.

Should the assessment outcome be that the student is eligible to be considered for a place, they will be placed in the application pool for both campuses. 

Infant School

K1 to Grade 1 Meet and Play sessions: Vice Principal of the Infant School and specialist Infant School Staff = approximately 1 hour in total including arrival time

High School (Day and Boarding)

Grade 9 to Grade 11 High School Immersion Day Interactive Activities and Discussion Forum: Day and Boarding applicants: Directors of Admissions and High School students = approximately 1.5 hours

Grade 9 to Grade 11 High School Interview: Day applicants - Principals, Vice-Principals, High School Head of Grades = approximately 30-45 mins.

Boarding

Grade 8 to Grade 11 Boarding Interview: Director of Residential Life or Boarding Houseparents = approximately 30-45 mins. High School Applicants will be scheduled to attend their interview as part of their Immersion Day programme.

English as an Additional Language

K2 to Grade 5: Trained EAL assessment staff. The EAL results and applications are then reviewed by our specialist EAL Coordinators = approximately 1 hour

Grade 6 to Grade 8: There are three stages to our EAL assessment process:
Stage 1: proctored online assessment, reading and listening = approximately 40 mins 
Stage 2: EAL written assessment proctored by Admissions staff either in-person or virtually = approximately 1 hour 
Stage 3: interview with our specialist EAL Coordinators = approximately 20-30 mins.

Applicants may not be invited to all three stages of the assessment process if it becomes clear in an earlier stage that they do not have the English proficiency levels to thrive in our learning programme with the EAL support we are able to provide. 

Grade 9 to Grade 11: proctored online assessment = approximately 40mins

Learning Support

When we review applications, even if you are not specifically applying to join our Learning Support Programme, we may determine that we need more information about your child’s learning, based on all of the information provided to us in your initial application.

The assessment will be conducted by our Learning Support Team and may take anywhere between 30 and 90 minutes.

Eligible applicants requiring EAL or Learning Support are more likely to be considered for an offer of a place in Round 2, because it is only at that stage in the current academic year that our staff can assess if we will be able to provide a place in our EAL or Learning Support programmes. This is because after Term 1 we are able to make a more accurate assessment of the likely ongoing needs of the existing cohort of students, and therefore our capacity to admit and support new students.

We do not invite all EAL applicants for an assessment or interview; if our application review indicates that our general entry criteria have not been met we will advise you of this before closing the application.

EAL applicants are only invited for an assessment or interview should our review of the application indicate that our general entry criteria are met.

Once we have reviewed an application, whether for the EAL programme or not, we contact the family to advise of the outcome of our initial review and the next steps, if any. At this point, there are a number of applications which we close, because our general entry criteria are not met. In the instance of an EAL applicant at this stage, it is not because of the applicant's EAL request; rather it is to do with the indications contained in the application which point to the student's overall readiness and/or ability to thrive in the UWCSEA learning programme. 

Please refer to our EAL guidelines for more details.

If full reports are not available or are unclear, or if our review of the application indicates that the student may require Learning Support or to join the EAL programme, interviews and assessments may be required even if the candidate meets our general entry criteria and the applicant has not specified either of these learning needs in their application. 

Please refer to our EAL and Learning Support guidelines for more details

If we require the student to attend an assessment in-person, we will provide the details about the permissions needed to come onto campus. If you have applied to Dover or to East only, the campus you will need to attend will be the campus that you have applied to.  

Students can join our boarding community only if their family will not be resident in Singapore for 90% or more of term-time during the school year.  

It is important to know that even if your family spends periods of time in Singapore, or visits Singapore regularly during the school year, a boarding student must fulfil all the expectations and obligations of living in our boarding community. This means they will not automatically be granted permission to leave during the week, or even at weekends. Leave to visit family members who are visiting Singapore is granted by the Director of Residential Life or a Houseparent at their discretion; there are several periods during the school year that borders are expected to be present to participate in our residential boarding programme.  

We do not offer weekly or week-day boarding.

No. Our limited boarding places are intended for students whose families are not resident in Singapore. When circumstances permit, day students who have friends in boarding may be allowed overnight stays to experience boarding life for a short duration.  

We do not offer weekly or week-day boarding, and our boarding programme is such that we are also not able to offer boarding for a single term in a school year.

Yes; our Boarding Admissions Officer can provide details of our process to apply for your child to transfer to day student status and withdraw from the boarding house. 

To transfer enrolment to day student status, the College requires that at least one parent meet our residency requirement for day students by being physically present in Singapore for 90% of term-time during the school year. Additionally, we require your child to be in good standing at the College before the transfer is approved.

Important residency requirements:

• day students live with at least one legal parent; this does not extend to other family members e.g. an aunt, uncle, sibling or grandparent or to a guardian arrangement
• once you accept a boarding place, the financial commitment to boarding is for a minimum of one full school year. This means that if your child transfers to become a day student partway through the school year, the boarding fees must still be paid for the full school year (see Section 8 of our UWCSEA Standard Terms and Conditions)

No. Once parents know that they will be relocating to Singapore, they must apply for the child to transfer to day student status. Please contact our Boarding Admissions Officer for guidance on the process of transferring your child to day student status, and withdrawing from the boarding house only, in line with the parents arrival in Singapore.

Important financial considerations:

• currently enrolled students: if this transfer occurs during the school year, any boarding fees already paid will be forfeited.
• applicants: by accepting a boarding place, the financial commitment to boarding is for a minimum of one full school year. This means that if your child transfers to become a day student partway through the school year, the boarding fees must still be paid for the full school year

Please refer to Section 8 of our UWCSEA Standard Terms and Conditions for more detail.

Yes, if your child is in Grade 8 or above, this is possible subject to space availability in boarding at your child’s campus. Please contact our Boarding Admissions Officer who will advise you further on the considerations and confirm the process for you to apply for your child to transfer to boarding.  

As not all students are suited to our boarding environment, a request to transfer from day to a boarding is not guaranteed. The Director of Residential Life or a Houseparent will interview your child to determine suitability for boarding, and may also wish to have a family meeting before a transfer to boarding is approved.

Once approved, the transfer to boarding is not confirmed until you have received a formal offer for a place in boarding and paid the boarding fees due for the term in which your child will commence as a boarder. 

No. Meeting our day student residency requirement is only satisfied if the student will be living with a legal parent who will be resident in Singapore for at least 90% of the school year during term. 

By enrolling in the College, parents agree to our UWCSEA Standard Terms and Conditions, which do not permit a student to live with a relative or friend, except under exceptional circumstances, as outlined in Clause 8.7.

We strongly encourage families to make the decision about whether to apply for a day place or a boarding place at the time they are considering submitting their application. Changes are rarely possible after an application has been submitted, and are not possible after an offer is made.

For this reason, we recommend families to make the decision about whether to apply for a day place or a boarding place at the time of submitting their application.

Once an offer has been made we are very rarely able to reconsider a day applicant for a boarding place, or a boarding applicant for a day place. This is because we have limited space availability for each category of offers and different criteria for assessing the student’s suitability for a place as a day-student or as a boarder.