Kamehameha Schools Kapālama
Hawaiʻi School Guide ｜ Written by: Academia Tutor School Editorial Team / Supervised by: Yamahi
- Independent college-preparatory day and boarding school, kindergarten through Grade 12, on a 600-acre hillside campus in Honolulu. Founded by the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop; the first school opened in 1887.
- Admissions policy: Kamehameha Schools gives preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law. All applicants must be U.S. citizens.
- 2027–28 applications are closed — they ran from Aug. 15 to Sept. 30, 2026. Applicants are now in the testing and interview stage.
- Tuition: Kamehameha Schools announced that, pending Probate Court approval, its K–12 campuses will no longer require tuition starting in 2026–27.
Basic information
Who can apply
- Hawaiian ancestry: Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law. To be considered under this preference, ancestry must be verified by Kamehameha’s Hoʻoulu Verification Services.
- U.S. citizenship: by policy, every applicant must be a U.S. citizen.
- Where you live: priority goes to applicants living in Hawaiʻi with their parents or legal guardians, and Kamehameha observes regional allocations.
- Applicants cannot apply for the same grade two years in a row, and can apply to only one K–12 campus each year.
- Kamehameha says applications outnumber spaces by 2:1 to 15:1, depending on campus and grade.
Which grades can you enter?
- Oʻahu residents: kindergarten and Grades 4, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
- Kauaʻi/Niʻihau, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Hāna and West Hawaiʻi residents: Grades 7 and 9–12 at Kapālama.
- Out-of-state applicants: Grades 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12 only. Kamehameha does not accept out-of-state applications to elementary grades at any campus.
- Kindergarten age: applicants must be 5 years old by July 31 of the year they enter.
- Boarding (Grades 7–12): first priority goes to students from Kauaʻi, West Hawaiʻi, Hāna, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi; others are considered as space allows.
2027–28 admissions timeline
ApplicationTesting & documents
Kamehameha has not yet announced the 2028–29 application period. For 2027–28, applications opened Aug. 15 and closed Sept. 30, 2026 — about six weeks, and much earlier than most Hawaiʻi private schools. Families planning for 2028–29 should watch the Kamehameha admissions page from summer 2027.
Tuition and scholarships
- In a message dated Dec. 23, 2025, Kamehameha Schools announced that, pending Probate Court approval and beginning with the 2026–27 school year, its preschools and K–12 campuses will no longer require tuition, with the full cost borne by Ke Aliʻi Pauahi’s endowment. We could not find an official update on the court’s decision; please confirm the current status with Kamehameha Schools.
- For scholarships, Kamehameha Schools refers families to the Pauahi Foundation.
How Academia Tutor School can help
Our Private School Entrance Exam Prep program helps children with the parts of admission that are hard to practice at home: interviews, writing samples, and the reading, math and reasoning skills measured in assessments such as the MAP. Lessons run Monday to Friday after school, private or in groups of up to five. In 2026, our students were admitted to 23 schools.
No tutoring program can promise admission, and we do not. Our goal is for your child to walk in calm and ready to show who they are.
Related: Hawaii private school application deadlines for 2027–28 · Hawaiʻi School Guide
Sources
Kamehameha Schools, “Apply to Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha Kapālama,” “Applications” (FAQ), “A Kamehameha Schools Education: A Kahua of Kuleana” (Dec. 23, 2025), Kapālama High School “History and Culture,” Kapālama alumni page, and the 2023–24 Kapālama High School Profile. Information as of October 24, 2026. Details change every year — always confirm with Kamehameha Schools. Academia Tutor School is not affiliated with Kamehameha Schools.
