Frequently Asked Questions

Helios is committed to building a socioeconomically diverse community of gifted learners. Our need-based financial aid program helps ensure that students can fully participate in the Helios experience both in and beyond the classroom. 

The tuition includes all fieldwork and trips. If there are any additional costs, the assistance will be in the same proportion as the original financial assistance award. Helios does not give merit-based awards. 

Helios determines admissions decisions separately from the financial aid process. In case you have any additional questions, please contact financial.aid@heliosschool.org. 

Tuition for the 2026-2027 School Year 

Lower School: $46,360

Middle School: $50,570

We offer Ravenna application fee waivers for qualifying families to ensure our admissions process is accessible to everyone. 

Visit our IQ Testing Requirements page to learn more about the Wechsler Intelligence Scales test and our guidelines. 

We recommend taking the IQ test during the summer before you apply. This gives you plenty of time to get the results back before Admissions deadlines. 

IQ tests should be no older than 2 years at the time of submission. For our admissions process, we require IQ assessments to be completed within the United States and conducted in English. 

Kindergarten applicants should be age 5 by September 1st, 2027.

Helios does not recommend students to repeat Kindergarten. Research and experience show that repeating a grade is not beneficial for gifted learners. We encourage families to apply for the next consecutive grade level. 

Completing the Guarantee Application prerequisites by November 5th guarantees your family a spot for the Parent/Guardian Interview and Student/Parent Workshop. If you apply after this date, workshops and interviews are not guaranteed and will be scheduled as availability allows. 

Guarantee Application Deadline for Kindergarten

To guarantee your spot for the Student/Parent Workshop and Parent/Guardian Interview, you must complete all three of the following prerequisites by November 5th, 2026:

• Submit the Parent Written Application
• Submit the IQ report
• Attend a Get-to-Know Helios Info Night

⚠️ Important: Even if you submitted your initial application early, but did not complete all three of these items by November 5th, you will automatically be moved into the Regular Application pool. 

Regular Application Deadline (After November 5th)

After your prerequisites are submitted, we will schedule a workshop and interview based on remaining availability. All materials need to be submitted by January 7th. 

Completing Guarantee Application prerequisites by November 5th guarantees your family a spot for the Student/Parent Workshop. If you apply after this date, workshop will be scheduled only as availability allows. 

Guarantee Application Deadline for Lower School

To guarantee your spot for the Student/Parent Workshop you must complete all three of the following prerequisites by November 5th, 2026:

• Submit the Parent Written Application
• Submit the IQ report 
• Attend a Get-to-Know Helios Info Night 

⚠️ Important: Even if you submitted your initial application early, but did not complete all three of these items by November 5th, you will automatically be moved into the Regular Application pool.

Regular Application Deadline (After Nov 5th)

After your prerequisites are submitted, we will schedule a workshop based on remaining availability. All materials need to be submitted by January 7th. 

Applications for admission for the 2027-2028 school year will be available in Ravenna in early September, and due January 7th, 2027. The application process for all grades involves several steps, and we strongly recommend that you carefully review our Admissions Process page to better understand the requirements of the grade you are applying for. If you have any questions, please contact the Admissions Office. 

Yes, early submissions are recommended. Our admissions events fill up fast, and applying early gives your family the best chance to secure a spot at our events.

Grades K-4 Workshop Availability: 

• Completing prerequisites by November 5th guarantees your child a workshop spot.
• After November 5th, workshops are subject to availability.
• If spots are full, the workshop requirement will be waived and will not impact the evaluation of your application. 

Grades 5-8 Workshop Availability: 

• Students who submit their complete application by January 7th are guaranteed a Student Workshop. 

Grades K-4: While we would love to welcome everyone into our classrooms, we don't offer shadow days in order to keep the daily learning environment as calm and focused as possible for our students. 

Grades 5-8: Helios offers a revisit day for admitted middle school students in early March during the decision week. 

Yes, but Helios cannot issue student visas, nor boarding or home stay programs. Students are expected to live in the Bay Area with their parents/legal guardians. 

All admissions decisions will be released via Ravenna on March 11th, 2027, at 12 pm noon.  

Enrollment contracts are due March 18th, 2027 at 10 am. 

We do our very best to mitigate bias throughout our entire decision-making process. Because of this commitment to equity, we strictly consider only the required application components. We respectfully ask that no additional documents or community recommendations be sent, as they cannot be accepted or reviewed by the admissions committee. 

Acceptance to the wait pool means that the admissions committee believes that your child is a potential fit for Helios, but we are unable to offer admission at this time. Spots may become available until the end of summer, but we are unable to give a timeline or estimate for families in the wait pool.

Helios provides multiple shuttle routes from various locations, determined annually by family need and enrollment demand. The shuttle is offered morning and after school.

AM/PM 5-day-a-week program costs $4,675.

Aftercare: 3-6 PM Daily (Thursday half day 12-6 PM)

• Yearly fee: $4,760, cost subject to change
• Daily drop-in: $32/day, costs subject to change
• There is a 15 minute grace period in which students can stay at Aftercare after a club before incurring a daily drop-in charge. 

After-School Clubs: 

Helios students have lots of interests, and After-School Clubs offer a fun way to keep learning and exploring, even after the official school day ends. From drama to chess, rock climbing to speech and debate, Helios offers a wide range of After-School Clubs every school day, which run for one to two hours after school. Previous club offerings have included Mandarin, Public Speaking/Speech and Debate, Creative Writing, Lego Robotics, Math Team, Soccer, Basketball, Football, Rock Climbing, Swimming, Running, Martial Arts, Ultimate Frisbee, Yoga and Mindfulness, Dance, Dungeons and Dragons, Music Ensemble, Chess, Coding, Pokemon, Drama, Board Games, Art, and LARP. 

Costs vary by club but typically start around $300+ per semester, depending on the program. 

We have a very active parent community at Helios, many of whom contribute to our community in various ways:

• Getting involved via our parent association 
• Serving as ambassadors for the school 
• Volunteering time in and out of the classroom (chaperones, sharing personal and professional expertise and connections)
• Philanthropic support for Helios via donations, volunteerism, and in-kind donations, including through our annual Helios fund