IMPORTANT:
Students who are interested in applying to SLA must apply through the School District of Philadelphia portal AND reach out to us to schedule their presentation.
If you want to apply to BOTH SLA Campuses, you MUST add both campuses to your choice list on the High School Selection online form. If you only put one of the schools, you will NOT be considered for acceptance into the other. Your ranking matters! For the 2025-26 process, students will only receive one offer — and your highest ranked school that accepts you will the offer you get, so students need to be very thoughtful about their ranking process.
More information about the School District of Philadelphia high school selection process is posted here
Admission Criteria:
Admission to SLA is based on a combination of a project-based presentation with the school with a presentation of completed work, As and Bs with exception of one C in 6th or 7th grade, 50th percentile on the 6th or 7th grade PSSA Math and Reading scores, and 90% attendance. Once the School District has determined initial eligibility, SLA will send all eligible students a link to sign-up for a presentation.
With regard to SLA – Center City and SLA@Beeber, students will only be considered for the campuses they select through the district’s process. Therefore, students must select both SLA Center City and SLA @ Beeber on their School District of Philadelphia High School Application to be considered for both sites. To access the online application, visit this site: Student Placement
2025-2026 Admissions Process:
For more information on the School District of Philadelphia School Selection process – including dates and more information about the eligibility requirements for all schools, please visit the School Selection Page at philasd.org.
Interview Dates: TBD
Open House Dates
SLA – Center City: Sept. 25th – 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
SLA @ Beeber: Sept. 27th – 10am – 1pm
Open House and Tours:
Tours are closed for prospective students. We will re-open tours for accepted students and 7th graders interested in applying in the fall in Spring 2026.
Any Questions can be directed to admissions@scienceleadership.org.
Project-Based Presentation:
Students must go through a project-based presentation in order to be considered for admission to SLA. Students who are applying to both campuses need only to attend one presentation.
This is a project-based presentation, and as such students should share a project done in 7th or 8th grade that they feel is a strong representation of who they are as a student. The presentation will include the opportunity to present their project as well as talk to their interviewer about how they see themselves as a student both now and moving forward.
The School District of Philadelphia has released the eligible student list. All families have been emailed with an invitation to register for a presentation. If you are an eligible family and you have not received your invitation to present, please email us at admissions@scienceleadership.org. All interviews will be conducted by January 2nd.