Admissions FAQ

Once you complete an inquiry, we will mail you information about Bement. We encourage you to view our online viewbook. The very best way to learn about Bement is to visit with us in person! Please call to schedule a visit for a campus tour and interview.

We are excited to welcome visitors back to campus. All visitors are required to wear masks indoors and follow COVID-19 protocols while in school buildings. Visitors will be allowed on campus by appointment and with the completion of a Google form to demonstrate proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 72 hours prior to visiting campus. We will continue to offer virtual events to get to know us as well.  We encourage you to attend one of our admission events via Zoom (information below about our open houses) or one of our coffee hours with the Admission Office. You can use this link to join Kim Loughlin and Roselle Garro from 8-8:30 a.m. ET every Thursday morning beginning September 16 and running through November 18.

While we prefer to welcome candidates and their families in person on campus, we understand that not everyone will be able to visit in person.  We will offer both in-person and virtual open house and information sessions. All visitors to campus are required to wear masks indoors and follow COVID-19 protocols while in school buildings. Visitors will be allowed on campus by appointment only and with the completion of a Google form to demonstrate proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 72 hours prior to visiting campus. 

We invite families to attend one of our virtual events.

• Tuesday, October 26, 2021 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET for prospective families interested in learning about the upper school
• Thursday, October 28, 2021 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET for prospective families interested in learning about the lower school
• Wednesday, November 11, 2021 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET for prospective families interested in learning about the financial aid process
• Wednesday, December 8, 2021 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET for prospective families interested in learning about boarding at Bement
• Thursday, January 6, 2022 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET for prospective families interested in learning about the financial aid process
• Tuesday, January 11, 2022 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET for prospective families interested in learning about kindergarten
• Wednesday, January 12, 2022 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET for prospective families interested in learning about the lower school
• Thursday, January 13, 2022 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET. for prospective families interested in learning about the upper school

Classroom Visit Days are Bement's version of a day time Open House. Our Classroom Visit Days in-person give prospective students and families the opportunity to see Bement at its best. Prospective families tour campus, talk with teachers and administrators, and observe students and faculty in action on a typical school day. Most Classroom Visit Days begin in the admission office at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 10:30 or 11 a.m.

Classroom Visit Days for 2021-2022 are:

• Tuesday, November 9, 2021 for prospective families with students applying grades 1 through 9 
• Wednesday, November 10, 2021 for prospective kindergarten families
• Wednesday, January 11, 2022 for prospective kindergarten families

We are offering an evening Open House in-person on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. for prospective families and students interested in applying to any grade kindergarten through grade 9.

Please RSVP with the admission office at 413-774-4209 or admit@bement.org. 

We invite day students to spend part of or the entire day at Bement as part of their interview or screening date. Typically boarding students do not visit classes, but may request to do so if the schedule allows.

In order to maintain an effective and consistent classroom atmosphere, we invite prospective parents to visit classes on one of our Classroom Visit Days.

Classroom Visit Days for 2021-2022 are:

• Tuesday, November 9, 2021 for prospective families with students applying grades 1 through 9 
• Wednesday, November 10, 2021 for prospective kindergarten families
• Tuesday, January 11, 2022  for prospective kindergarten families

Daily van transportation services are offered from the towns of Amherst, Hadley, and Northampton and pickup points and routes are determined based upon demand.

Morning routes are available and assigned on a first-come, first-served basis to all interested Bement families. Students ride in contracted seven-passenger school vans or school buses, and are scheduled to arrive at the school by 8:05 a.m.

The return service leaves Bement by 4:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday and by 3:45 p.m. on Fridays. Lower school students who sign up for the service will attend the after-school program at no charge. On early-dismissal days, vans depart at upper school early-dismissal time.

For more information, please contact the Bement business office at 413-774-7061.

Before care programs are currently not available.  Day students should plan to arrive to Bement between 8 and 8:10 a.m. Monday through Friday. After-school care is offered from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For lower schoolers, after-school care until 4:30 p.m. is designed to provide a safe, productive, and fun experience during the hour between lower school dismissal and that of upper school. Lower school students have the opportunity to play and interact with students of a variety of lower school ages, supervised on the playground, or to complete homework in the library under the guidance of a proctor.

A proctored study hour is available from upper school dismissal to 5:30 p.m. This service provides lower and upper school students a wonderful opportunity to work on homework in a quiet, proctored study hall environment.

200 to 220 students are enrolled at Bement. Typically, half are enrolled in the lower school and half in the upper school. Average class sizes are 10 to 12. In the lower school the average grade size is 12 to 20 and in the upper school the average grade size is 25 to 35.

Applicants interested in scheduling an interview (for applicants to grades 4-9) or an applicant screening (for kindergarten through grade 3), we ask that applicants submit the application prior to the visit. Please note that while we ask for the application to be submitted before a visit, applicants do not have to submit those forms in order to schedule an appointment.

We schedule visitors to campus Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. when school is in session. Contact the admission office to schedule a tour!

The admission office is located in Barton House at 94 Old Main Street, Deerfield. Parking for the admission office can be accessed in the parking lot adjacent to Bement House, just beyond the admission office.

We are excited to welcome visitors back to campus. All visitors are required to wear masks indoors and follow COVID-19 protocols while in school buildings. Visitors will be allowed on campus by appointment only and with the completion of a Google form to demonstrate proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 72 hours prior to visiting campus.

Yes. An interview is required with one of the admission officers for students applying to grades 4 through 9. For students applying to kindergarten through grade 3, a screening with the lower school head and classroom teacher will take place during their class visit day or screening.

While an on campus interview/screening is preferred, we are able to schedule an interview/screening via Zoom if travel prevents you from visiting campus.

The interview is more like a conversation. We want an opportunity to get to know each student better, and allow the student to ask any questions. We ask students about school, what they enjoy doing in and out of school, their interest in arts and sports, as well as other extra curricular activities. We ask students to talk about their friends and family as well. There is nothing to do to prepare for the interview other than to be oneself and for students to be ready to talk about themselves. There are no right or wrong answers!

The interview is also a good opportunity for the prospective student and their family to learn more about Bement. Often, seeing the school firsthand is the best way to determine if Bement is a “good match." In addition, a visit to campus frequently raises questions that an on-campus interviewer is best able to answer. For these reasons, we strongly encourage families to visit campus for their interviews.

We do offer Skype and Zoom interviews for applicants to grades 6 through 9 only; applicants may arrange one through the admission office at admit@bement.org. Alternatively, applicants may opt for an in-person interview near their home if we have an admission officer traveling to the area. However, we strongly recommend an in-person interview here on campus as it will allow students and families to get to know us Bement, and we will have a better sense of you as well.

In light of the pandemic, we are offering all applicants the opportunity to interview or screen virtually. We invite families to join our virtual admission events and schedule virtual interviews/screenings via Zoom or Skype with our office. We are hopeful that pandemic conditions will improve to the point that it is easier to schedule travel to visit in person.

Students applying for the 2022-2023 school year, Bement will be test optional. If you still wish to submit testing results as a supplement to your application, please use the following information below.

• The SSAT (Secondary School Admissions Test) can be submitted for application for admission to grades 6 through 9. Bement's school code: 1570
• The WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) can be submitted for application for admission to grades 3 through 5, and can be submitted in place of the SSAT for admission to grades 6 through 9.

To register or find more information about the SSAT:

To schedule a WISC evaluation in our area, please feel free to choose an administrator from here:

WISC ADMINISTRATORS LOCAL TO BEMENT

We recommend that you take the SSAT in November or December of the year prior to your enrollment. You may visit the SSAT site here:

International students wishing to apply to Bement for consideration in the first round of decisions should complete their application by December 15. A complete application includes the application, the application fee, a writing sample, current English and math teacher recommendations, transcripts for three years, and interview. Bement will be test optional for students applying for the 2022-2023 year.

If a student is scheduled to take the December SSAT, families MUST enter Bement's school code 1570  as a score recipient in order to receive the test scores right away and in time for consideration in the first round of decisions. If a family waits to see the scores first and then adds our code, the results will come to us much later and we will not have time for the committee to read the file to be considered in the first round.

The Character Skills Snapshot is a new tool designed by the Enrollment Management Association to assist admission professionals in the admission process. The Snapshot is designed to measure eight essential character skills: resilience, open-mindedness, responsibility, teamwork, social awareness, self-control, intellectual curiosity, and initiative. We do not require students to take the assessment. If you have participated and wish to share the results with us, we will add this to your application.

We do not require the TOEFL at Bement, but students may submit TOEFL results as a supplemental or optional part of their application.

Enrolled students, for whom English is a second language, will be required to take the iTEP over the summer prior to starting at Bement. This will help determine if additional English language support is needed during the coming year. If that is determined, students will be enrolled in an ELL class (in upper school) or receive additional ELL tutoring support (in lower school).

You can learn more about the iTEP and how to register to take the test here.

International applicants who would like to be considered in the first round of decisions should complete their applications by December 15.

Domestic day and boarding applicants who would like to be considered in the first round of decisions should complete their applications by February 1.

Bement will consider late applications for all grades on a rolling basis dependent on available space.

Families interested in kindergarten should schedule time for either a campus tour or to attend one of our classroom visit days. If you wish to apply, families should call to schedule their child for one of the two-day screenings as part of the application. We request that prior to the screening, candidates submit the application, teacher evaluation, and school report.

The screening dates for students applying for the 2022-2023 school year are:

• Tuesday, January 25 from 3:45-4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, January 26 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. 
• Wednesday, February 2 from 3:45-4:30 p.m. and Thursday, February 3 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. 
• Tuesday, February 8 from 3:45-4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, February 9 from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, February 16 from 3:45-4:30 p.m. and Thursday, February 17 from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, February 22 from 3:45-4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, February 23 from 8:30-10:30 a.m.

The deadline is February 1. Bement offers financial aid to U.S. citizens based on the demonstrated financial need of the family. Learn more about financial aid here:

Financial Aid

Families apply for financial aid online through the School for Student Service (SSS) through Community Brands working in collaboration with the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Directions for completing the form are available on the SSS website. Please be sure to indicate that The Bement School should receive your information by entering Bement’s School Code: 1570. You will be required to complete a financial aid application, referred to as the Parents' Financial Statement (PFS), and submit supporting documentation which includes your prior year tax return and schedules as well as your most recent W-2. 

No. Bement offers financial aid to U.S. citizens based on the demonstrated financial need of the family. Our school does not offer merit awards based on academic, athletic, or other talents demonstrated by the student.

For the 2021-2022 school year Bement awarded $976,250 to 38% of the student body. For day students these awards ranged from $500 to $20,200. Boarding students received somewhat higher awards. Historically, our financial aid budget has allowed us to award between 60% to 75% of demonstrated need.

International students applying for a boarding place at Bement are notified January 15 if they completed the application process by the first round application deadline of December 15. Domestic boarding students are notified generally within one week of the completion of their application. Day students are notified on or by March 10.

Once the Admission Committee selects the new students for the coming year, families are notified of the decisions. Accepted students are welcome to return to Bement for a revisit day on March 22 which includes class time, lunch, and attending after school activities.

Upon a candidate’s acceptance to Bement, parents are required to sign an enrollment agreement and make a non-refundable deposit to hold the applicant’s place in their class. The enrollment deposit will be applied to the coming year’s tuition. Note that after signing the enrollment agreement and making the necessary deposit, subsequent cancellation of enrollment will result in forfeiture of the enrollment deposit. If enrollment is canceled after May 1, parent(s) or guardian(s) financially responsible for the student are obligated to pay the full tuition charges.

Yes. After the deadline, students can still apply to Bement. The Admission Committee will consider late applications on a rolling basis dependent on the available space. Some grades or dorms may be full, in which case late applicants will be considered for the wait pool.

Yes, in a handful of cases, this can happen. During the spring and summer, places sometimes become available and we are able to admit qualified students from the wait pool.

Because many considerations go into each admission decision, including the number of spaces available and the strength of the applicant pool for a particular grade level, we welcome students to re-apply to Bement. Applicants do not need to fill out the application again. However, we do ask for updated school reports, including transcripts and current teacher recommendations. Applicants to grades four and higher may submit a one-page written statement from the student updating us on the past year since they applied, both academically and personally. We may also require another campus visit for an updated screening or interview (depending on grade level.) If there are questions about what else may be submitted to support the re-application, please contact the admission office.

Our well-prepared and confident graduates are coveted by distinguished secondary schools. The list of where our students are accepted and eventually choose to enroll reflects the diversity and strength of our student body. Our director of secondary school placement works hard with each ninth grader and their family to discover the best fit for the next step in the student's journey.

Secondary School Acceptance List

The Bement School admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, ancestry, religious affiliation, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities made available to accepted students. The school does not discriminate in the administration of any institutional programs.

Students are not required to bring laptops or other devices to school. Some students work more efficiently by taking notes in class and if that is the case, students are more than welcome to bring them for academic purposes after discussing this with their teacher or advisor.

For the academic years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, Bement issued iPads to each student in kindergarten through grade two and Chrome Books to students in grades three through nine. Students are required to turn in these school issued devices at the end of the school year.

Our curriculum maps are all available online and give an overview of the academic program at Bement. It also lists all subject areas by grade and includes descriptions of what is covered.

Yes, Bement does have a dress code. All students are expected to be neat, clean, and presentable, and clothing should not be distracting. 

Monday through Thursday, students must wear shirts with a collar and can wear any color bottoms with the exception of denim.

Friday Dress is a special tradition at Bement, when the entire community dresses uniformly. All students, faculty, and staff wear a navy blazer with Bement patch, khaki pants, skirt, or skort, white collared blouse, white polo shirt, or white turtleneck.

More details can be found in the Family Handbook.

Out of respect to students and faculty with life-threatening allergies, nuts are not served at Bement. Our allergy list will be updated and shared with our kitchen and faculty each year with information provided from families to our Health Office. Special diets must be approved by the school nurse.

The Department of Homeland Security has the most up-to-date information for international students who wish to study in the United States. Visit their site for more information: