How to apply to Upper School, Grades 9-11, at Colorado Academy
Thank you for your interest in Colorado Academy. Our application portal for the 2025-2026 school year is now open. You may start the process by submitting Step 1: Student Form. We look forward to getting to know you!
There are two separate components to the Student Visit for Applicants to Grades 9-11:
1) Student Tour with classroom observations 2) Student Interview and Writing Reflection
Please be aware that the two components may be scheduled on the same date, or on separate dates depending on availability and your preference. Calendars for each of these of these components are available once you submit Step 1: Student Form.
There are two separate components to the Student Visit for Applicants to Grades 9-11:
1) Student Tour with classroom observations 2) Student Interview and Writing Reflection
Please be aware that the two components may be scheduled on the same date, or on separate dates depending on availability and your preference. Calendars for each of these of these components are available once you submit Step 1: Student Form.
Once the Step 1: Student Form is submitted, you may log back into your account and request Recommendation Forms* and the Transcript Request Form from designated faculty/staff members at the applicant’s school. These forms must be completed on or before January 15:
Current English or Social Studies/History Teacher Recommendation
Current Math Teacher Recommendation
Current Principal/Advisory/Counselor Recommendation
Transcripts from Current and Previous School Year (including student testing and attendance records)
Optional Coach Recommendation
Optional Visual and/or Performing Arts Recommendation
Optional Additional Teacher Recommendation from a current or past teacher
*Colorado Academy is among several Denver-area independent schools using Common Recommendation and Transcript Request Forms to reduce the workload for an applicant’s current teachers and school staff. Once you have created an account in the application portal, you will be able to submit requests for recommendations and transcripts using the common forms.
CA is test-type flexible and will accept results from any standardized testing or educational evaluation that a student has completed in the last two years.Testing results are due on or before January 15.
Examples include the WISC, DAS, CogAT, MAP, ERB, ISEE, SSAT, HSPT, PSAT 8/9, Pre-ACT, and any state-specific standards-based assessments, among others. There is no need for the applicant to take more than one test, and the Admission Committee does not prefer one test over another.
If the applicant has not completed testing within the previous two years, here are some options: -Register for theISEEorSSAT. -Register for testing with an evaluator from the Denver Area Testing Consortium.
Please contactPaige Siemersto request assistance if any test fee is a hardship.
As parents/guardians, your responses on the Parent/Guardian Form will help CA learn more about your child and your family. Once the Step 1: Student Form is submitted, you may log back into your account and complete the Parent/Guardian Form due on or before January 15.
Prospective parents/guardians may register for Admission Preview or schedule a Parent Tour through the Applicant Checklist once the Step 1: Student Form is submitted.
The calendar for the Parent/Guardian Zoom Check-in is available once you submit the "Step 1: Student Form." The goal of this appointment is to share feedback after the Student Tour/Interview and answer any additional questions that you may have. Appointments last approximately 20 minutes.
Contacte a Abel Ramirez al 303-914-2573 o por correo electrónico Abel Ramirez.
With over $5.5 million in tuition assistance each year, CA welcomes students and families from all backgrounds and encourages families to consider CA no matter their income.
The Application for Financial Aid is separate from the Application for Admission, although the timing of both cycles overlaps. Families who wish to apply for tuition assistance should submit an Application for Financial Aid through Clarity Financial.
We recommend starting the application after January 1 as it is helpful to have end-of-year tax documents available as you are completing the form: START APPLICATION
Within the Clarity Financial portal, you will be asked to upload copies of your 2023 and 2024 tax returns. You will also be asked for copies of 2023 and 2024 W-2's and K-1 statements, if those apply.
CA prefers the Clarity Financial application, but, if you've already submitted a financial aid application for another school through FACTS, there is no need to fill out an additional application through Clarity Financial. You will only need to add Colorado Academy as a recipient on your FACTS application.
The deadline for the Financial Aid Application is February 15. We realize that many families have not yet completed their 2024 tax return by this deadline. The Financial Aid Committee will consider an application complete as long as we receive your 2023 tax return and your 2024 W-2 and/or Profit & Loss Statements (if you are self-employed) by February 15. The 2024 tax return should be submitted as soon as it is completed.
Completing the Financial Aid Application by the deadline allows the Financial Aid Award to be communicated at the same time as the Admission Decision.
Questions? Contact Financial Aid ManagerLisa Dean at 303-914-2516.
In conjunction with other Denver-area independent schools, Colorado Academy sends Upper School admission decisions (Grades 9-12) by email at 4:00 p.m. MST on Friday, February 21, 2025.
Heidi Chesley
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Director of Upper School Admission & Financial Aid
At CA since 2013, Heidi Chesley is Director of Upper School Admission & Financial Aid. Before joining the CA community, she served as a Partner in the Boston office of the international law firm, McDermott, Will & Emery LLP, and as a Partner in Gordon & Rees LLP in Denver.
Chesley has also worked as Director of Admission at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Conn., and as a Director and Teacher for Citizen Schools Program, an after-school apprenticeship and mock-trial program for inner-city students in Boston, Mass. She received her BS in Finance and Marketing from the University of Colorado at Boulder, her MA in American Studies from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and her JD from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass. Chesley is also a Boettcher Scholar.