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This information is a guide to Hogwarts. If you are thinking of joining Hogwarts, then you will need to know the basic information about the school, which can be read bellow.

The school has numerous charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for any Muggle (i.e. non-magical person) to locate it - they can't see the school, only ruins and several warnings of danger. While Hogwarts is a total institution, its status is not discussed in great detail in the novels, but it is known to be a coeducational, secondary boarding school, taking children from ages 11 to 17.

A magical quill at Hogwarts detects the birth of magical children, and writes their names into a large parchment book. Every year, a teacher checks this book and sends a letter to the children who will have turned eleven years old by 31 August. Acceptance or declination of a place at Hogwarts must be posted by 31 July. The letter also contains a list of supplies like spell books, uniform, and other things that the student will need. The prospective student is expected to buy all the necessary materials, normally from shops in Diagon Alley, a concealed street near Charing Cross Road in London found behind a pub by the name of The Leaky Cauldron. Students who cannot afford their supplies can receive financial aid from the school.

Letters to Muggle-born witches and wizards, who may not be aware of their powers and are unfamiliar with the concealed wizarding world, are delivered in person by a member of Hogwarts staff, who then explain to the parents/guardians about magical society, and reassure them regarding this news. They also assist the family in regards to buying supplies and gaining access to Diagon Alley.

Each First year student will be given the following:

• A wand
• A Standard size 2 pweter cauldron
• Set of Brass Scales
• Set of Glass or Crystal Phials
• A kit of basic potion Ingredients
• A telescope
• The Hogwarts Uniform - plain work robes [black], Black hat, protective gloves and a black winter cloak with Silver fastenings.

Students can travel to Hogwarts and the neighbouring all-magical village of Hogsmeade in many ways. One such method is the Hogwarts Express that students take at the start of each school year in the books. Students travelling by Hogwarts Express must first travel to King's Cross station in London to board the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9¾.

The platform is reached by walking through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, however students advise others to attack at pace. After a journey beginning at 11:00 am and ending after nightfall, the train arrives at Hogsmeade Station, near Hogwarts. From there, first year students are accompanied by the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds – or another suitable teacher if they are absent – to small boats, which magically sail themselves across the lake to arrive at a small landing stage near the castle of Hogwarts; from there, they await their turn to get sorted into their houses.

The older students ride up to the castle in seemingly horseless carriages, which pull themselves up to the main entrance to Hogwarts Castle. In the fifth year class of Care of Magical Creatures, students learn of the creatures that are actually tethered to the carriages.

Hogwarts' school year is structured in a similar way to other 'non-magical' schools and colleges in the UK, with a three-term year punctuated by holidays at Christmas and Easter and bounded by the long summer holiday. Term begins every year on September 1, and finishes at the end of June the following year. Students have the option of staying at Hogwarts for the winter and spring holidays. Those who choose to stay at the castle do not have lessons and attend a feast on Christmas Day. Students also do not have classes the week of Easter, but this is much less enjoyable due to the large amount of work that the teachers assign students at this time in preparation for final exams.

Other than the aforementioned breaks, and weekends, students do not receive any other holidays. There are normally four feasts per year, the start-of-term feast at the beginning of the school year and end-of-term feast at the end of the school year, as well as feasts at Halloween and Christmas. Feasts are also called to mark any special occasions, as in Harry's fourth year, when there was a feast to celebrate the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament.