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Admissions

Attn: USJ Parents

If you have another child who you would like to enroll in USJ next year, please submit an application and $50 application fee to the Admissions Office at your earliest convenience. 

Admissions Director Kay Shearin is processing applications for new students for the 2012-13 school year. Please remember that spaces in some grade levels are limited so do not delay in beginning the enrollment process. 

Re-enrollment agreements for current USJ students will be mailed the first week of February.

You can submit an application and the application fee online by going to the link under Apply Online, at left, or by downloading the application form or by requesting a packet from the Admissions Office. Contact Kay at kshearin@usjbruins.org or at 731-660-1692 if you have questions or need further information.

We welcome your interest in University School of Jackson. We've outlined the following steps if you are interested in coming to our school.

You have several options available to complete the applications process:
1) Apply online,
2) Download applications form in pdf format and mail them to us,
3) Or, request an entire applications packet in the mail.

1) Apply Online

You can apply online with this link to our application form. Then you can pay your $50 application fee online or send in your $50 application fee to:

Admissions Office
University School of Jackson
240 McClellan Road
Jackson, TN 38305

Pay application fee online...

2) Download application form

You can download the application form in pdf format here. After printing it off and filling it out, mail it to the address above, along with your $50 application fee. We will send you the rest of the applications materials, or you can download the forms below.

3) Request an application packet

Email Kay Shearin if you need an admissions packet mailed to you. You also can call her at 731-660-1692.

More Applications Materials

We have two other forms that you need to have completed.

1) A Request for Admissions Information should be sent to your previous/current school. Download this form in pdf format.

2) If your child is entering Grades 6-12, we will need two Confidential Recommendation Forms completed by your current school or previous administrator, current math or English teachers, or guidance counselor. Download the Confidential Recommendation Form for Grades 6-12.

3) If your child is entering Cubs through Grade 5, we will need one Confidential Recommendation Form completed by the previous/current school administrator, current math or English teachers, or guidance counselor. Download the Confidential Recommendation Form for Grades Cubs-5.

Notification

The University School Admissions Committee will review the student's file information and determine the appropriate admissions status after it receives the following requested information:
1. Application.
2. Student's transcript, current report cards, standardized test scores, and reports of any psychological or educational testing.
3. Birth certificate and immunization records.
4. Confidential school recommendation forms.
5. Testing and interview results.

• We will notify you of the status of your application as soon as possible.

Other Application Information

• A campus visit is very helpful in determining if University School is the right place for you. We suggest that if you have not already visited our campus, email Kay Shearin at kshearin@usjbruins.org or call her at 731-660-1692 to make an appointment for a school tour.

• Formal admissions testing will begin at the First Grade. An appointment will be made for the student with the Admissions Office for testing in scholastic aptitude, scholastic achievement, and a writing sample. All families and students will have a personal interview with the Admissions Coordinator and/or Division Head.

• Students entering Cubs, Jr. Kindergarten, and Kindergarten are required to attend an informal classroom visit and evaluation with the teacher. (Jr. Cubs applicants must be two years old on or before September 30, Cubs must be three years old by that date, and Kindergarten applicants must be five years old by then.)

Financial aid: If you are interested in applying for financial aid and have not requested information, please contact the Business Office at 731-664-0812 or Admissions Office at 731-660-1692.

• If you need our assistance in completing our admissions procedure, please email Kay Shearin at kshearin@usjbruins.org or call her at 731-660-1692.

• The $50 Application Fee, required with the return of each application, is not refundable and is not applied to tuition.

Statement of Nondiscrimination

University School of Jackson admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and financial aid programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

Director of Admissions

Kay Shearin
Director of Admissions
University School of Jackson
240 McClellan Road
Jackson, Tennessee 38305
Direct line: 731-660-1692
Fax: 731-668-6910
kshearin@usjbruins.org

Welcome

A message from Head of School Clay Lilienstern

School video

View our school video online with this link. This video requires Windows Media Player. If you do not have it, you can download the software for PC or Mac at windowsmedia.com/download

Curriculum

University School of Jackson offers a challenging, college-preparatory curriculum. Learn more...
• Lower School
Lower School Curriculum
• Middle School
Middle School Curriculum
Upper School
• Upper School Curriculum

Tuition costs at USJ

After School Care Program 2010-2011

An alumni parent explains "why USJ"

For many parents, the value of a USJ?education really hits home after their children have graduated and are in college. That is certainly true for Richard and Teresa Ayers, who put their children, Will and Sarah, at USJ after they graduated eighth grade from St. Mary’s. They were drawn to USJ’s Judeo-Christian environment and strong academics, athletics, and fine arts.

“We knew it was an investment when we made the decision to send Will there,” Ayers said, “but we now see that the education our kids received at USJ was the best investment we have made.”

Will, who graduated from USJ in 2005, went to Belmont College on academic and music scholarships. He graduated last spring with bachelor degrees in vocal musical performance classical and music theory. He is pursuing his masters in music theory at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music on a music scholarship. Sarah, who graduated USJ in 2008, is a junior at Belmont, studying biology with a pre-pharmacy emphasis, on an academic scholarship.

“Neither of our kids had taken a music class before coming to USJ,” said Ayers. “It opened doors for them that they may not have otherwise had. For Will, it was through his Advanced Placement music theory class that he found his destiny.”

Academically, Ayers said, Will and Sarah could not have been better prepared for college. Sarah has a grade point average of 4.0 and, thanks to the 23 hours of college credit she earned at USJ through AP classes, will graduate college a semester early. “The science department under the direction of Jane Ramer at USJ did an exceptional job of preparing Sarah,” Ayers said.

“Will, who had never had a foreign language before USJ, took four years of Spanish. Senior Glosson was a huge inspiration to him, and he basically came out of high school bi-lingual. “That foundation paid off tremendously. His major requires that he study Italian and French and be proficient in German.”

The benefits of Will’s AP math class under Don Newman paid off beyond college. “As a music major, Will only took one math course in college,” Ayers said. When Will took the GRE for graduate school, he made a perfect score on the exam’s math portion.

Ayers also attributes the lessons both Sarah and Will learned on the soccer field under Coach Chris Leonardi as part of their successes post high school. “He instilled in them self-discipline, the value of being prepared, and the importance about being responsible as an individual and as a member of a team.”

Ayers’ commitment to USJ is still strong. He currently serves on USJ’s Board of Trustees. Said Ayers, “My participation on the Board is just a small way of giving back to the school that gave my children so much.”