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Seattle Country Day School

Private school · Seattle, King County · grades K-8 · nonsectarian

Snapshot

K-12 enrollment
420
SBE-reported, 2024-25
Tuition (top division)
$46,089
2025-26, school-published
Student-teacher ratio
7.6:1
NCES PSS, 2021-22
Teachers (FTE)
54
NCES PSS, 2021-22

Identity and approval

Campus
Seattle Country Day School, 2619 4th Ave N, Seattle 98109
Host public district
Seattle School District
Grades
K-8
Religious affiliation
nonsectarian
Coed / single-sex
coed
Accreditation
NWAIS
Website
https://www.seattlecountryday.org
WA SBE approval
2026-27 (state-approved private school)
Profit status
Nonprofit

Enrollment

K12345678
364853555752374537

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25 school year, as reported to the WA State Board of Education.

Tuition and financial aid

Annual tuition
$46,089 (2025-26)
By division / fees
K-3 $39,392; 4-5 $43,218; 6-8 $46,089.
Financial aid
Approximately 12% of students receive financial aid.

Source: the school's own tuition page · aid page, observed 2026-07-03. Tuition changes annually, verify before applying.

Academics

Curriculum
K-8 school for gifted children (inquiry-based).
Washington private schools are not required to publish state assessment results, and this school's internal test data is not public. Unlike the public-school pages on this site, no score comparison is possible here, treat curriculum labels and matriculation lists as the available evidence.

Student demographics

Asian
20%
Black
3%
Hispanic
3%
White
52%

NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2021-22 (the most recent federal collection). Private-school demographics are reported biennially and lag public-school data.

Research dossier

Seattle Country Day School

Independent school on Queen Anne, Seattle · grades K–8 · 425 students (WA SBE, 2025-26) · nonsectarian coed day school for gifted children, NWAIS-accredited.

The verdict

Seattle Country Day is the region's most explicit bet that giftedness is a diagnosis, not a grade. Every applicant sits a Wechsler IQ test with a licensed psychologist and typically needs a top-3% national score even to be considered (admissions FAQs). Two consequences should drive your decision more than the tour will. First, the test cannot be prepped. Psychologists must report prior exposure, which can sink the application, results are valid only two years, and retesting requires a 6-to-12-month gap, so the Wechsler appointment, not the essay, is the real gate. Second, the payoff shows up at the exits. Eighth graders spread across Lakeside, Seattle Prep, Bush, Overlake, Seattle Academy, University Prep, and Holy Names, and the school counts 74 National Merit Semifinalists among its alumni since 2010 from graduating classes of roughly 40 to 45 (placement page). Roughly five Semifinalists a year from a class that size would embarrass most full high schools. The catch is the same as the pitch. This is a K-8 for a narrow cognitive band, with kindergarten as the main door, minimal homework by policy, and no letter-grade scoreboard, so a child who tests brilliantly but sits at the 90th percentile is shopping for a different school. Seattle's free Highly Capable (HC) pathway serves an overlapping population; the Advanced Learning guide covers that route.

Researched 2026-07-04. Citations and claim ledger included in the full dossier.

That is the free excerpt. The full dossier covers what the school's own marketing won't: admissions mechanics and real selectivity, all-in cost and aid behavior, matriculation depth, culture and fit signals, institutional health, every claim cited and dated. Unlock it for $9, or get a $29 Research Pass with 3 dossiers included.

The real comparison is against your public options.

Tuition here runs five figures a year, the question is what it buys over the public schools your address already gives you. A $29 Research Pass unlocks score trends, peer percentiles, competition evidence, gifted-pathway detail, and PTA capacity on every public school in the region, plus 3 full research dossiers for the schools on your shortlist.

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Sources

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