Horace Mann School
Riverdale, the Bronx, New York City · coed
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Short answer
Horace Mann expects about 55–60 new students in grade 6 each year; grades 1–5 take applications on a wait pool basis only. Applicants take the ISEE, and only students also considering boarding schools may send the SSAT instead. The application form is due November 18, 2026, the whole file by January 8, 2027, and families usually hear in February.
At a glance · 2026–27 season
- Admits grade 5
- Wait pool only
- Admits grade 6
- Yes about 55–60 places
- ISEE, grade 6
- Required
- Application deadline
- November 18, 2026 application form
- Decisions
- February 2027
- ISEE, grade 5
- Required
- Score ranges
- Not published
SSAT only for applicants also considering boarding schools
Glentavo has no connection with Horace Mann School. This page summarizes what the school publishes; the school's own pages are the authority, and dates can change during the season.
What kind of school is Horace Mann?
Horace Mann is a coed school in the Riverdale area of the Bronx, New York City. Its Lower Division runs from kindergarten to grade 5, the Middle Division from grade 6 to grade 8, and the Upper Division from grade 9 to grade 12. Grade 6 applicants join the first year of the Middle Division.
Does Horace Mann admit grades 5 and 6?
Grade 6: yes. The school lists about 55–60 places for new students in grade 6 each year.
Grade 5: wait pool only. For grades 1–5 the school says openings vary with attrition and it accepts applications on a wait pool basis only. Decisions for grades 1–5 may come later in the year than February.
Does Horace Mann ask for the ISEE? Can the SSAT stand in?
Grade 6: required. Applicants schedule the ISEE through the test's own website. Students who are also considering boarding schools may submit the SSAT instead. Results must reach the school by January 8, 2027. The school adds that the test is only one measure of an applicant.
Grade 5: required. The grades 1–5 page also asks applicants to schedule the ISEE, with results due by January 8, 2027.
Does Horace Mann publish score ranges?
No. The school's pages give no score ranges or minimum scores.
This season's timeline (2026–27)
- Application opensApplication opens in the Ravenna portal.
- Interview bookedApplications submitted and interviews booked by this date were assured an interview; report cards from the last two years uploaded (passed).
- Financial aidFinancial aid materials due, for families applying for aid.
- Application form dueApplication form due.
- File completeFile complete: ISEE or SSAT results, student essays and activities summary, two teacher recommendations (at least one from a current-year teacher), transcripts and the parent statement. The interview must be done.
- DecisionsDecisions; the school says it typically notifies families in February.
As listed on Horace Mann's Applying to Grades 6–11 and Applying to Grades 1–5 pages on October 25, 2026. The school's pages are the authority.
How do the interview and tour work?
The interview is required; a file is not complete without it. The applicant and at least one parent or guardian come to school, and families should allow an hour and a half for the interview and a tour while school is in session. Interviews are booked in Ravenna.
Interviewers are assigned by availability, and the school says the person you meet has no bearing on the outcome. Families who applied and booked by October 15, 2026 were assured an interview; for later applications the school makes no such promise, so book as soon as the form is in.
How to prepare
Unless the family is also applying to boarding schools, the grade 6 route is the ISEE Lower Level, with results at the school by January 8. How often a child may sit the ISEE is covered in our ISEE guide.
Glentavo's practice tests follow the ISEE Lower Level format.
Common questions
Does Horace Mann accept the SSAT for grade 6?
Only from students who are also considering boarding schools. Everyone else takes the ISEE.
Can my child apply to Horace Mann for grade 5?
Yes, on a wait pool basis only; places depend on attrition, and decisions may come later than February.
Is the November 18 date the final deadline?
It is the deadline for the application form. The whole file, including test results, is due January 8, 2027.
When does Horace Mann release decisions?
The school says it typically notifies families in February.