International Students

Welcome Home…

The Knox School, founded in 1904, is the most established boarding school on Long Island. Our International students are the heart and soul of what makes our student body great. At Knox, we are proud of our lasting tradition of welcoming people from around the world to our campus, affectionately known as “Our Home Beside the Shore.” Over the past century, we have educated students from Greece, Serbia, Turkey, Vietnam, Egypt, Tunisia, China, Russia, Colombia, South Sudan, Korea, Italy, Spain, and Lithuania, just to name a few.

What makes a Knox experience the best experience, is that our administrators, faculty and staff provide an unmatched level of care and concern for every single student. For our International boarders, we act daily in loco parentis – “in place of a parent” – a role we take very seriously. Our team works tirelessly to provide the safest and secure environment for our International students so their parents can rest easy with the peace of mind that their children will be properly cared for.

  • 24 hour, seven days a week access to our fully staffed Health and Wellness Center
  • Regular Covid testing of all students and staff
  • Facilitation of Covid-19 vaccination appointments for students, including transportation to and from medical sites
  • Safe and secure dormitories with 24-hour dorm parent presence
  • Free laundry room amenities in each dorm
  • Three nutritious, hot meals daily served by our kitchen staff, who know the names and special dietary needs of every student
  • Self-serve snack and sandwich options available all day
  • Extra help and academic support services, including ESL, TOEFL and SAT preparation
  • Planned weekend activities that are supervised by our qualified Residential Life staff and are included in the price of tuition

International students, parents and families become an integral part of the Knox family and remain so for life. Experience it for yourself. Join our family today.

Application Process

Thank you for your interest in The Knox School! To apply, please follow these steps:

  1. Complete our online application here: The Knox School Application. We also accept the Standard Application Online (SAO) through SSAT.
  2. Submit transcripts for the current school year and past two years
  3. Provide (3) letters of recommendation (English teacher, Math teacher, Principal or Guidance Counselor)
  4. Send the student’s TOEFL or Duolingo English Exam results (or another English proficiency exam) as well as SSAT, SAT, ACT, or other standardized test scores the student may have taken.
  5. Schedule the student’s interview with a member of our admissions team. This can be done by Zoom or Skype if it is more convenient.

Please feel free to contact admissions@knoxschool.org if you have any questions about our application or the next steps in the admissions process.

International Financial Aid Profile

International families who are applying for financial aid must first download and complete the following

Please submit the completed financial aid profile to email admissions@knoxschool.org

ENL Program

The Knox ENL Program provides a comprehensive study of both spoken and written English to international students in need of such instruction. The ENL program enables these students to converse with ease in English and prepares students for the TOEFL, SAT and other standardized testing in preparation for admission to selective American colleges and universities.

  • ENL classes are small and are offered for a variety of ability levels.
  • A low student-to-teacher ratio encourages accelerated learning.
  • Extra help is available from subject area specialists.
  • Advisors regularly meet with each ENL student to review individual progress and provide academic guidance and emotional support.
  • ENL students interact extensively with English-speaking students in mainstream classes, at arranged-seating dinner tables, and on sports teams, as well as during school activities, field trips and leisure time.

For more information on the ENL courses please see ESL Program

English Language & Academic Testing Requirements

International applicants are required to submit the SSAT exam scores for academic evaluation and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or iTEP*.

The Knox School Code for the SSAT: 4436
The Knox School Code for the TOEFL: 8491
*iTEP does not require a School Code.

At Knox, students make friends from around the globe. Our students above hail from Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey, Spain and Vietnam.

Our gymnasium at Bancroft-Phinney Hall proudly displays flags that represent each international student. These flags also play a key roll in our annual commencement activities.