International School Admissions: Documents, Assessments and Waitlists

This guide is for parents preparing a child's international school application who want to understand how documents, assessments and timelines fit together. Admissions processes differ by country, by school and by year. Below we summarise only what official bodies and test publishers have said. Always treat the school and the relevant authority as the final word.

Documents differ by country and school

The same words, "admission documents", can mean quite different things.

According to the US Department of Education's family toolkit (NCELA), US public schools enrol through the local school district. Schools may ask for proof of address such as a utility bill, proof of age and immunisation records, and districts list required documents online. The same material says all children have equal access to free public education regardless of citizenship or residency status, and schools cannot require documents that block or discourage enrolment.

Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) sets out the AEIS (Admissions Exercise for International Students) process step by step:

1. Create a child account on the Candidates Portal.
2. Read the instructions to candidates.
3. Submit the online application.
4. Upload the required documents.
5. Pay the fee.

Documents include a birth certificate and a passport bio-data page valid for at least 6 months. Primary applicants also need a statement of results for a Cambridge English Qualifications test taken from July 2025. Fees are S$340 for primary and S$630 for secondary, are non-refundable and attract GST. As of the page's last update on 17 July 2026, applications for the 2026 AEIS had closed. When a window has passed, you may have to wait for the next one, so check the routes you are interested in early.

Using Korean documents at a school abroad

When you submit Korean documents abroad, the format the receiving side accepts can be the hurdle.

Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that an apostille is a certificate the ministry attaches after checking a document's seal or signature. With it, a Korean public document is accepted in member countries of the Apostille Convention without consular legalisation. For non-member countries, the document needs legalisation by that country's embassy or consulate. Documents issued by national or public schools qualify directly, while those from private schools, companies or individuals qualify after notarisation. Translations qualify once notarised, but requirements differ by country, so ask the receiving school first. A November 2025 news report says the Overseas Koreans Agency is expanding online apostilles for public documents such as family relation certificates via apostille.go.kr.

Government24's education certificate service lists English-language graduation and enrolment certificates for primary, middle and high schools. School records (학교생활기록부) come in general and university-admission versions, but no English version is listed. A 2023 Ministry of the Interior policy brief says graduates from January 2003 onwards can get their school record online through Government24 without visiting the school. If a school abroad asks for an English transcript, ask about translation and notarisation or a school-issued version.

Assessments: what are they looking at?

International schools sometimes use standardised tests for admission or class placement. Here are two common ones, as described by their publishers.

MAP Growth

NWEA, which makes the test, explains in a January 2026 parent guide that MAP Growth is a computer-adaptive test of achievement and growth in reading, language usage, maths and science. Questions get harder after correct answers and easier after wrong ones, so most students answer about half correctly by the end. Each subject gives a RIT score on a stable scale, compared over time like a height chart. Versions cover Grades 2-12, with a K-2 version for reading and maths. It is untimed and most students finish within an hour. NWEA does not suggest studying: make sure the child is rested and fed and encourage them to do their best.

CAT4

According to the publisher GL Assessment, CAT4 looks at four kinds of reasoning: verbal, quantitative, non-verbal (shapes and designs) and spatial. The four scores form an ability profile, plus an overall reasoning score. Schools use results to understand ability and likely academic potential and to plan teaching for individuals and groups. It comes in paper and digital formats.

For both tests, how a school uses them in admission differs, so ask the school. Do not guess an outcome from one score; listen to the school's explanation first.

Ask about timelines and waitlists early

The sources used here contain no official guidance on how international school waitlists work. Whether a waitlist exists, how order is decided and how families are contacted when a place opens are questions for the school itself. The same goes for dates. As the AEIS example shows, some windows have already closed, so confirming application timing early is the safer approach.

Looking ahead to university

Some families look at graduation-stage routes during admission. The following are examples from official sources; we do not judge whether any family qualifies.

• Korea's Ministry of Education overseas education portal says the 'foreign national with two foreign parents' route applies when both parents and the student acquired foreign nationality before the student began the equivalent of Korean high school. Basic documents are graduation (or expected), enrolment and grade certificates, a family-relation document issued by the foreign government, and proof of nationality. Eligibility, Korean-language requirements and dates differ by university.
• The Korean Council for University Education's 2028 plan summary (April 2026) classes overseas-Korean and foreign-national admissions as tracks whose dates each university sets.
• Korea University's 2027 special admissions guide (Seoul campus) had online applications on 6-8 July 2026. The overseas-Korean track used documents 100% in stage 1, then stage-1 score 70% plus interview 30%. Applicants could submit up to five scores, including language tests and AP, IB or SAT results, and predicted scores were excluded. This is one university in one year.
• The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) in Australia says IB Diploma results are converted to a Combined Rank comparable with the ATAR. The conversion changes year to year, and the IB Diploma does not guarantee entry to any course.

Checklist

• Get the school's admission document list from its official website and write it down.
• Check conditions on each document, such as passport validity.
• For Korean documents, ask the school whether an apostille, consular legalisation or notarised translation is needed.
• Decide whether you need English graduation or enrolment certificates from Government24, bearing in mind that no English version of the school record is listed.
• Find out which assessments the school uses (MAP Growth, CAT4 and so on) and let your child sit them well rested and fed.
• Note application deadlines, fees and refund rules in your calendar.
• If there is a waitlist, record how you will be contacted and the deadline to confirm a place.
• If you look ahead to university, read each university's latest admissions guide.

Ask the school

• How are assessment results used: for admission decisions, or only for class placement afterwards?
• Which documents from abroad or from Korea need notarisation, an apostille or translation?
• What are the application deadline, the date results are released, the fees and the refund rules?
• Is there a waitlist, how is order decided, and how long do families have to respond when a place opens?
• How can I get transcripts or school records in English, and in what format should I submit them?

Admission rules and dates change often and differ by school. The information here is current as of around 29-30 October 2026, so confirm with the official body and the school again just before you apply.