International Students
PWS Warmly Welcomes International Students!
Make new friendships with American and international students, have meaningful conversations with your teachers, and immerse yourself in small sized English speaking classes that include science, math, history, literature, art, music, drama and sports.
Ye Xing Li attended PWHS for four years and said, “Portland Waldorf High School gave me a great challenge, but there is also more freedom here.” Carmen Garza spent her 9th grade year at PWHS and said, “Reading and writing are hard, but I receive so much help from my teachers and friends. I really enjoy the variety of subjects, like art and movement. It is a great experience!”
Who May Apply? International students may enroll for one to four years. Students may join the school any time up through the start of 11th Grade – we do not accept new students in senior year. Portland Waldorf School provides the form I20 to any international student accepted to the school.
English Ability Required? We require a TOEFL score of 70 as well as passing our own speaking, listening, reading and writing assessment during the interview. All classes will be taught in English, so it is very important that the student be able to comprehend and communicate well in English.
Curriculum: Portland Waldorf High School International Student Program (ISP) is an English language immersion program in which students are placed in mainstream American high school courses from the first day of entry. They learn a variety of subjects including social studies, literature, writing, science, math, music, art and movement along with their American peers for the majority of the day. Most PWHS academic courses are comparable to honors level courses in public schools; students are expected to do a great deal of reading, demonstrate independent critical thinking in class discussions and writing, and produce creative and informative presentations and projects. This level of expectation is challenging for many American students and even more so for ISP students who naturally take longer to complete reading and writing assignments. ISP students are required to opt out of the Spanish/German classes during their first year at PWHS and to hire a private English tutor during those class periods to help them succeed in their new school environment. When the teachers find the student’s English fluent enough to succeed without a tutor, they are allowed to use that period as a study hall or to join another language if they wish.
Students who come to Oregon without their parents are required to hire a third-party company to find them a host family and to act as the primary contact between the school, the host family and the student’s biological family.
In addition to the tuition and fees, a $150 application fee covers the added administrative steps involved in international student applications.
How to Apply
*Please note all International applicants must either come through an agency that will coordinate a local host family OR be coming to the Portland area to live with their own parents while in school here.
Start here: online application. Your online application account includes a checklist showing which items we need from you and which have been received. You can pay the application fee online. When the following forms are complete, you can either upload them to your application account or email us.
Please download this form and email it to two of the student’s current teachers (we prefer an English teacher and a math teacher), and ask them to mail or email the form back to PWHS directly.
Student Questionnaire For the student who is applying.
Parent Questionnaire To be completed by the parent or guardian of the student applying.
Release of Records Parent of applicant, please complete this form and mail to current school.
Once your application is complete, we will be in touch to schedule an interview.
Thank you for your interest in Portland Waldorf High School! If you have any questions about our International Student program or application process, please email our admissions team.