Cranbrook Schools

SILVER PROGRAM

School Location

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Establishment Year

1922

Platform

SAO

Website

Link

Acceptance Rate

38%

Deadline

Jan 31

Overview

Writing Requirements

Student Short Essay Prompts

Please do not customize your responses for a specific school. This form once submitted will be delivered to all schools requiring it as part of their Standard Application Online (SAO).

Please respond to the THREE required prompts below using 200-250 words.
- Aside from books or articles assigned for school, what book(s), article(s), podcast(s), and or documentary(s) have you most enjoyed in the past year and why? (*)
- Describe EITHER an academic/extracurricular achievement OR a challenge that had a meaningful impact on you. What did it take to accomplish the achievement or overcome the challenge and what did you learn from that experience? (*)
- Each person has unique characteristics that define who they are. Choose three words that best describe you as a person, and explain how they represent you. (*)

Choose ONE of these essay prompts and respond in 250-500 words (*)
- Explain an event or activity that has impacted your life and or your way of thinking.
- Explain a time when you made a decision you regretted. Explain why you made that decision. How would you approach the same situation differently if you could now?
- What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? From whom did you receive the advice and how did you apply it?
- Describe a moment when you felt left out or that you did not fit in well with others. What did you learn about yourself and others? How did you overcome that situation?
- What is your favorite quote from a movie, book or a line from a song or poem? Please name the movie, poem or song, and tell us what it means for you.

Parent Reflections

Please do not customize your responses for a specific school. This form once submitted will be delivered to all schools requiring it as part of their Standard Application Online (SAO).

What are your hopes for your child in their secondary school experience? (Use 200-250 words) (*)
Describe an experience that posed a significant challenge for your child. How did your child respond to that challenge? (Use 200-250 words) (*)
Is there anything specific about the sequence of your child’s schooling that you’d like to share? e.g. skipped or repeated a year. If you answered yes, please share the experience here. Were there particular things you or your child learned, gained, or changed as a result of that experience? (Use 100-200 words) (*)

Recommendation

Math Recommendation (*)
English Recommendation (*)
Principal/Guidance Recommendation (*)
Any Teacher Recommendation
Personal Recommendation

School Supplement Forms

This school has no supplemental forms to complete.

Optional Materials

N/A

Standardized Testing & English Testing

Standardized testing

Cranbrook requires applicants to take the SSAT.
Recent scores for other standardized tests may sometimes be used in lieu of taking the SSAT.

English testing

If English is not your first language, please register to take either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) OR the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test. (Only required if English is not your first language)

Interview

How to Request an Admission Interview

Prospective students should interview on campus or virtually. Please contact our office at (248) 645-3610 to make arrangements.

School Instructions:

We welcome your family to set up an appointment to visit and tour our school with one of our admission deans.
International students should schedule an interview after submitting an application and TOEFL results.

About Cranbrook Schools

About Cranbrook Schools

Cranbrook Schools is a private, coeducational college-preparatory day and boarding school (PK–12) located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and is part of the larger Cranbrook Educational Community.
The school is guided by the mission: “Cranbrook challenges minds and transforms lives.”
Cranbrook provides access to an education that encourages creativity, innovation, open inquiry, intellectual growth, and excellence across disciplines.
The school serves students across multiple divisions (lower, middle, and upper schools) with both day and boarding options in the upper school.
Cranbrook is part of a broader educational and cultural campus that also includes an art museum, science institute, and graduate art academy.
The school emphasizes preparing students to thrive in and shape a complex world through comprehensive academic and co-curricular programs.

School Is Known For

A rigorous college-preparatory curriculum designed to foster critical thinking, creativity, and intellectual curiosity.
A unique learning environment supported by a world-class 319-acre campus with museums, gardens, architecture, and science facilities integrated into daily learning.
Strong emphasis on open inquiry, innovation, and creative exploration across all academic areas.
A PK–12 system that includes early childhood through upper school, allowing long-term educational development within one community.
A strong culture of arts, science, and interdisciplinary learning, influenced by the broader Cranbrook Educational Community institutions.
A commitment to developing students who live with purpose and integrity, explore with curiosity, and strive for excellence.
Integration of athletics, arts, academics, and leadership within a balanced educational experience.
Strong tradition of preparing students for selective colleges and meaningful post-secondary success.

Culture

A rigorous college-preparatory curriculum Cranbrook describes itself as a community that cultivates belonging, respect, interdependence, and scholarship.
The school emphasizes that education should develop purpose, integrity, passion, curiosity, and excellence in all students.
The community is intentionally diverse and values inclusion, equity, and access as core principles.
Collaboration is central, with students and faculty sharing responsibility for building a strong academic and social environment.
The campus culture is strongly shaped by its historic environment, combining architecture, art, science, and nature into daily school life. Students are encouraged to engage in both independent thinking and community responsibility.
Well-being, safety, and respectful conduct are considered essential parts of the learning environment.
The school promotes innovation, excellence, collaboration, and stewardship of its historic campus and educational mission.
Learning is described as both rigorous and joyful, with strong interpersonal relationships between students and faculty.

SILVER PROGRAM