Admissions Policy 

The International Community School of Addis Ababa serves the educational needs of the international community in Addis Ababa. ICS accepts students who can be successful in the regular academic program. ICS does not discriminate on the basis of religion, ethnic or national origin or gender in its admissions and educational policies. Admission is based upon completed application forms, previous school records and results from previous or current academic testing as required by ICS staff to determine:

•    the potential of the applicant to benefit from the educational services available
•    the capacity of the school to meet the educational needs of the applicant and
•    the ability of the school to meet the behavioral or emotional needs of the applicant

Students are admitted to ICS according to the following priority system, conditional on having met the admissions criteria:

EC3 and EC4 Admissions
Applicants to EC3 and EC4 are considered in order of receipt of all required admissions materials. Wait-listed students will be prioritized according to the Admissions Priority Guidelines. Wait-listed students who temporarily attend another school in Addis until a space is available at ICS Addis are still considered international applicants.

Kindergarten – Grade 12 Admissions
International Applicants
Students moving to Ethiopia from outside the country are considered international applicants. A rolling admissions policy applies to international applicants, and applications are considered in order of receipt of all required admissions materials. International applicants who meet our admissions criteria will be admitted on a space-available basis. In circumstances where space is not available, international applicants will be placed on a wait list. Wait-listed students will be prioritized according to the Admissions Priority Guidelines. Wait-listed students who temporarily attend another school in Addis until a space is available at ICS Addis are still considered international applicants.

Transfer Applicants
Students already living in Ethiopia and attending a school in-country are considered transfer applicants. Transfer applicants are eligible to apply to ICS Addis for August enrollment. Transfer applicants to kindergarten through grade 12 are placed in a wait pool. Transfer applications received for the 2012-13 school year are considered after the following deadlines: 4 May 2012, 16 June 2012 and 10 August 2012. Transfer applications will be accepted based on the Admissions Priority Guidelines, if space is available.

Special Circumstances
Students applying to kindergarten who have either not yet attended school or who have been enrolled in another program in Ethiopia may be considered as International Applicants.

Final determination of a student’s status is determined by ICS Addis, based on the student’s previous school records.

Admissions Priority Guidelines
1)    Dependents of US Government direct-hire and contract employees and dependents of eligible ICS faculty.
2)    Siblings of current students and returning former ICS students.
3)    Dependents of ICS alumni/former students.
4)    All other applicants, who have submitted complete applications and application fees, with the following priority:
       a.    Applicants on the wait list for ICS from the previous school year.
       b.    Applicants coming from schools outside of Ethiopia.
       c.    Applicants with foreign passports and at least one parent with a foreign passport.
       d.    All other applicants, in order of receipt of admissions materials.