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high school transition

Friends graduates demonstrate characteristics of being intellectually curious, reflective, yet action-oriented in high school. As one admissions director recently noted, “Friends kids are kind and empathetic and can read a room. They know how to listen with care and have comfort around difficulty. They know themselves and are also able to hold their intellectual and personal lives in context within a larger world.”

The qualities of flexibility, engagement, and reflection nurtured at San Francisco Friends School are excellent preparation for a fruitful transition to high school. We’ve developed a unique high school transition program that reflects our school’s mission and shared values.

The process begins in the spring of 7th Grade with a parent information evening and a panel of 8th Grade students and parents who share tips and wisdom. In the spring and summer before 8th Grade, each family will have a meeting at school to begin the discussion about the high school transition process. We encourage our families to consider the full range of high schools in the Bay Area and beyond. Public, charter, faith-based, independent, and boarding schools all have something to offer students. In the fall, 8th-Graders take a semester course that focuses on interviewing skills, test-taking strategies, essay writing, application timelines, and how to make informed decisions.

It’s easy for this process to become stressful; we’re well aware that it may be inevitable. Our belief is that much of the emotional duress is completely unnecessary, and our goal is to give students and families the information, support, and guidelines necessary to manage the process mindfully and without undue stress. The process is coordinated by our Director of High School Transition Kristen Daniel and Middle School Head Lizzie Rogal.

We are humbled by the fact that the process of applying to high school is not always simple or predictable, and confident that SFFS graduates will continue to be in strong demand at a host of high schools. A typical graduating class has students attending more than 20 different schools. 

The following is a list of high schools attended by recent graduates of SFFS:

  • Archbishop Riordan High School
  • Bay School of San Francisco
  • Branson School
  • Cate School
  • Choate Rosemary Hall
  • College Preparatory School
  • Convent of the Sacred Heart
  • Drew School
  • Dunn School
  • Galileo Academy of Science and Technology
  • Gateway High School
  • George Washington High School
  • Groton School
  • International High School
  • Lick-Wilmerding High School
  • Lincoln High School
  • Loomis Chaffee School
  • Marin Academy
  • Maybeck School
  • Mission High School
  • Nueva High School
  • Phillips Academy Andover
  • Ruth Asawa San Francisco School for the Arts
  • Raoul Wallenberg High School
  • Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory
  • San Domenico School
  • San Francisco University High School
  • San Francisco Waldorf High School
  • St. Ignatius College Preparatory
  • Stevenson School
  • Stuart Hall High School
  • Tamalpais High School
  • The Marin School
  • The Urban School of San Francisco
  • Westtown School