High School Counseling 2024-2025

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  • Our Approach

    Our approach to high school counseling recognizes and celebrates that there is no typical Brandeis graduate. Every student has different strengths and every family has different priorities and so we focus on tailoring our process to acknowledge and respect that. Our job is to see the child in front of us and seek out high school choices that will challenge and support them appropriately.

    The Brandeis School of San Francisco has always viewed the high school search and application process as a team effort. Primary responsibility for the process rests with the eighth-grade students and their parents. However, The Brandeis School of San Francisco has a comprehensive program designed to help your family navigate the high school search and application process. Administrators and faculty experienced in the process are here to support and assist your child and your family. However, they do not “place” your child in a high school. Admission to high school in San Francisco is, unfortunately, extremely competitive, and at the end of the day, the high schools themselves make the determination about to whom they will offer admission. The Brandeis School team has relationships with the high schools and will strongly advocate for your child, but that does not translate into the power to place your child in a particular school.
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Parochial school application deadlines:
  • Saint Ignatius: Friday, November 15, 2024 at midnight.
  • Sacred Heart: Thursday, November 21, 2024 by noon (will accept applications after this date for an additional $50 fee).
  • Riordan: Monday, December 2, 2024 at midnight.

HSPT Exam: December 7th, 2024 located at each school site (you can take it at any school site and they share scores).
SFUSD deadlines (link to key dates page)

  • First-day SFUSD applications will be available: October 18, 2024 
  • SOTA and LOWELL, application deadline: December 13, 2024
  • SOTA: Uploaded Audition Assignments are due December 13, 2024, for the following art departments
  • Live auditions for SOTA: February 8, 2025 
  • Lowell Test Dates: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 or Saturday, January 11, 2025.
  • Main round deadline for SFUSD: January 31, 2025.
Independent school deadlines
  • Independent school application deadline: January 9, 2025.
  • Independent high school notifications and financial aid decisions: March 21, 2025 (after 4:00 p.m.)
  • All enrollment agreements due: Friday, March 28, 2025 (noon).

List of 2 frequently asked questions.

  • The two most frequently asked questions by parents are:
    • What do high schools want?

    High schools want students and families who support the school’s mission and for whom the student will be a good fit, academically and socially.  While the student is at the forefront of the application process, what parents do and say matters. High schools want families that are easy to work with.
    As to what matters most, there is no exact answer to this question. Most schools look at a combination of several factors, including grades, recommendations, student interviews, application and essays, and test scores; however, each school weighs these factors in its own particular way.

    • What matters most? Grades? Test scores? Essays?

    High schools want students and families who support the school’s mission and for whom the student will be a good fit, academically and socially.  While the student is at the forefront of the application process, what parents do and say matters. High schools want families that are easy to work with.
    As to what matters most, there is no exact answer to this question. Most schools look at a combination of several factors, including grades, recommendations, student interviews, application and essays, and test scores; however, each school weighs these factors in its own particular way.

Contact Us

highschoolcounseling@sfbrandeis.org

List of 3 items.

  • Dr. Alison Frank

    Math Teacher, 7th & 8th Grade;
    High School Placement Counselor
    Dr. Alison Frank is a Math teacher for 7th and 8th Grade, an 8th grade advisor, and a high school placement counselor. Ali has been teaching at Brandeis since 2007 and holds a B.A. from Indiana University, an M.A. from the University of South Florida, and an Ed.D from Florida State University. Before coming to Brandeis, Ali worked as a teacher and circus performer. Originally from Sarasota, FL, she also speaks French.

  • Genevieve Lawrence

    Learning Specialist, Middle School
    Genevieve Lawrence is our middle school learning specialist, and a a member of our high school counseling team. Genevieve previously taught humanities and served as the Head of Middle School at Stanbridge Academy in San Mateo. She is a Bay Area native, and holds a BA in Government from Colby College and an MA in English Literature from California State University, East Bay. 

  • Dr. Sivan Tarle

    Director of Middle School
    Dr. Sivan Tarle, Director of Middle School, has been at Brandeis since 2016. Dr. Tarle holds a B.Sc. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from UC Santa Barbara, an M.A. in Teaching from American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and an Ed.D. from CSU Northridge. Before joining the Brandeis faculty, she was a biology teacher and administrator at de Toledo High School in Los Angeles.

Five Steps to High School

List of 5 news stories.

List of 1 items.

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