FAQ

Students in grades 7-9 attend school on the Middle School campus located at 700 North Faring Road, tucked in to the neighborhood just north of Sunset and east Beverly Glen in Holmby Hills.   (Students in grades 10-12 attend school on the Upper School campus in Studio City, just south of Ventura Boulevard on Coldwater Canyon Avenue.)

At the Middle School, school begins each day, Monday through Friday at 8:00 a.m. On Monday, the school day ends at 3:15 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, the last class finishes at 3:05 p.m. There are nine periods scheduled each day, and each class is 40 minutes in length. In addition, there is a 30-minute assembly period each Monday when the entire Middle School community meets together. Often, this time is used to showcase student talent or bring an outside speaker/performer to campus. On Tuesdays through Fridays, students have a 25-minute activity period, during which many clubs meet. Clubs range from more academic ones such as MathCounts, Mock Trial, or the Robotics club to special interest clubs such as the Chess, Sudoku, or Knitting Club.

At the Upper School, school begins each day Monday through Friday at 8:00 a.m. On Monday, the school day ends at 3:10 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, the last class finishes at 2:35 p.m.

Yes. Harvard–Westlake students arrive on campus from all over the Greater Los Angeles area through a daily bus service. All service is provided on a shared-cost, non-profit basis, and we serve all areas that generate ridership sufficient to cover costs. Current Middle School routes serve: Pacific Palisades, San Vicente/Sunset, Los Feliz/Hancock Park, Westchester/Ladera Heights/Cheviot Hills, West San Fernando Valley (Agoura/Calabasas), North San Fernando Valley (Chatsworth/Northridge), and East San Fernando Valley (Arcadia/Pasadena). Additional areas may be served if ridership interest warrants (40 needed to operate a route). Pick-up and drop-off points are located on major arteries to minimize total ride time. Riders have a choice of two afternoon buses each day; the early bus departs after classes and the late bus departs at the conclusion of most after-school sports and activities. Some interscholastic games and events may end later, and parents will have to make alternate transportation arrangements.

Harvard–Westlake has an agreement set forth by students, faculty and administrators that states Middle School students are allowed no more than 30–40 minutes of homework per academic subject per night depending on their grade. While a stated policy, not every teacher gives the maximum amount of homework every night. Students average 1 1 / 2 to 2 1/ 2 hours of homework per night, but most utilize their free periods during the day to complete their homework and meet with teachers, which minimizes their evening workload.

Harvard–Westlake School is larger than most independent schools in the area, with a total enrollment of 730 on the Middle School campus and 850 students on the Upper School campus. 7th and 8th grades have approximately 220 students per grade, and 9th through 12th grades have approximately 290 students each. While the size of each grade is large for an independent school, the number of students in each classroom is small, usually no more than 15–17. The student-teacher ratio is 8:1, and two deans are assigned to each grade in the Middle School. Deans help students both socially and behaviorally while serving as their advocate, encouraging communication between students, teachers and parents and ensuring that they never feel lost. In the Upper School, each student is individually assigned a dean, who will eventually serve as his/her college counselor.

Along with the diversity of the student body, the size of the school allows Harvard–Westlake to provide a range of academic, athletic, artistic, and extra-curricular opportunities. Students can select from an impressive array of subjects and activities which include 32 Advanced Placement courses, 95 teams in 28 different sports, over 60 clubs, and extensive artistic and community service opportunities perhaps only available at a school of our size.

Yes. Munger Library’s extensive collection of approximately 17,000 volumes and 80 periodicals supports the curriculum and the academic work of all departments. The library’s automated catalog allows students to search for books in the collections of Harvard–Westlake’s Middle and Upper School libraries, as well as those of 15 other independent school libraries in Southern California (a total of over 250,000 volumes). Students are able to borrow materials from any of these schools throughinterlibrary loan. The library’s website provides access to the automated catalog as well as to online databases and periodicals, and students can search any one of the resources from the library, student computer labs, and from home. 

More about the Middle School library
More about the Upper School library

Lunch periods are not scheduled for students. Instead, students eat during one of their free periods . 7th and 8th graders are encouraged to use their free period after their Physical Education class to eat lunch. Students may bring their lunches or purchase hot food, sandwiches, salads, drinks and snacks at the cafeteria. The cafeteria is open from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Students purchase food with their ID cards, and charges are billed monthly to their parents.

Harvard–Westlake hosts an optional summer program called Fast Start for all 7th graders and all new 9th graders during the last week of August, a week before school starts. About 95% of the students participate. During the program, students can set up their class schedules if they have not already done so, and they take mini-classes to get a feel of what a typical day would be like at Harvard–Westlake. Fast Start also serves as a great opportunity for new students to make friends, meet their classmates, teachers and deans, and become comfortable with the campus surroundings before the entire Middle School returns to campus.

Furthermore, during a week in October, each grade takes a week off from school to attend a class retreat. 7th graders visit local sites in and around Los Angeles and spend one night camping at a local campsite, 8th graders camp overnight at Pali Mountain, and 9th graders camp and canoe down the Colorado River. Retreats provide another opportunity for students to make friends and get to know teachers as well as encourage team building and class unity.

A free period is a period during which no class has been scheduled. The Middle School schedule follows a six-day cycle where academic classes—English, history, math, language, and science—meet on five days each cycle. The period when an academic class does not meet is called an X (free) Period. The X Period is first and foremost a learning period. During this time, students may be asked to meet with their teachers to work on projects or work in the library. Once academic responsibilities have been met, students may use their X Period as a time during which they may choose the activity in which they will engage.

Harvard–Westlake does not require its students to wear a uniform. There is an informal dress code to the extent that students are expected to be appropriately and neatly attired. Clothing must be clean, tidy, in good repair, and in good taste.

Harvard-Westlake is a nondenominational independent institution. There are both a Rabbi and Episcopal Chaplain on the faculty who are available to students. Both lead religious activities for interested students and faculty.

Although Harvard–Westlake has two separate campuses, we are one school. If a current Harvard–Westlake student’s academic and behavioral record is acceptable, he/she will automatically be enrolled in the Upper School.

First, consider the true cost of an independent school education. Tuition in 2012-13 is $31,350. This means roughly $38,000 including books, lunches, transportation, and other costs.

Calculate your ability to cover these costs. If you cannot cover expenses out of income and judicious use of assets, consider your other options: If you are counting on gifts from relatives, it is important to discuss with them whether or not they can maintain that help over the course of your child’s career at Harvard-Westlake.  Loans can be difficult to obtain in the current economic climate and drawing heavily on equity is risky.

If you need financial aid, now is the time to apply.  This is critical.  Please see following question/answer.

The school strongly discourages this approach. When a family submits a “full-pay” application to the school, this communicates that the family will be capable of covering all educational costs for the upcoming year and the foreseeable future.  The School budgets in reliance upon this and commits its limited financial aid funds to other families.  

Although the School maintains modest emergency funds for families that request aid subsequent to admission, those funds are strictly reserved for families that encounter dramatic, unforeseeable financial reversals after Harvard-Westlake matriculation. (Modest aid may also be available for families whose income growth has not kept pace with that of tuition and other school expenses.)

No funds are available for families with pre-existing needs not disclosed at the time of admission.  Such undisclosed need can thus lead to student withdrawal and should be avoided at all costs.

The Admission Committee reviews candidates for admission without knowing whether or not they are applying for aid. This is therefore called a “need-blind” meeting. The Financial Aid Committee then meets to consider those who have been rated highly by the full committee, accepting as many compelling candidates into the class as possible. We again consider those candidates on the basis of qualities, but also try to spread our grants across a wide spectrum of families with different levels of need. While there is a sizeable aid budget, in the end there is a finite amount of aid available. Because financial aid students must also be selected in this second round, the reality is that it is more difficult to be admitted with financial aid.

In addition to the tuition grant, a Harvard-Westlake financial aid package automatically includes coverage of most of the necessary expenses that your child will incur at the school. The school covers 100% of required expenses for any course. This would include items such as books and materials for a class, required sports equipment or team travel expense, or perhaps a costume for a dance performance. The school helps with other expenses such as transportation cost or attendance at our summer programs. Many students participate in our travel study programs in both the US and foreign countries with school assistance. Each student receives a moderate draw account that they can use to help pay for bookstore or cafeteria expenses. Our goal is to help parents with expenses, but also to enable financial aid recipients to participate fully in school life and feel comfortable in their environment.

Email Marian McCorry in the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@hw.com. We will need to determine if your family's income level qualifies for a fee waiver. If so, we will send you a code that you can enter on the PFS site in lieu of a check. Because our supply of waivers is limited, we may not be able to honor all requests. 

Yes. We will ask you to file a new PFS and submit your tax declarations each year. The school will continue to award a level of aid appropriate for your level of demonstrated need until your child graduates.

We consider that both parents have an obligation to contribute to the extent they can to their children’s educational expenses. We take into account the assets and income of both natural parents. We cannot be bound by the assertion that one parent has disclaimed legally or otherwise any responsibility for educational expenses. If either parent has remarried we will consider the income of the step-parent, keeping in mind the obligation of that step-parent to his or her natural children. If either parent lives in a household with another adult, we may consider the assets and income of that person, depending on circumstances. In view of this, both natural parents and their current spouses need to fill out a separate PFS form.

Requests to consider extenuating circumstances (such as a missing parent or one who has not provided support and has not been in contact with the family for a lengthy period should be explained in writing in a letter to the Financial Aid Office.

You must apply for aid at the time the younger sibling applies for admission. The financial aid application must be for both children, and if the younger child is admitted and you qualify for aid, both children will receive the same tuition grant.

Other K-12 tuitions you pay are figured into our calculations of need, but in order to receive aid from us you must apply for aid at all schools your children attend. You should note that college tuition money is regarded as investment rather than educational expense, in that it rapidly pays for itself in higher income levels. With this in mind, both parents and students frequently take out federally subsidized loans, in addition to the direct aid that is available at the college level.

Admission decisions will be sent out in March. Tuition grants will be announced at that time.

The school has a plan that allows financial aid families to spread the cost over ten payments at no additional charge.