Upper School Admission

List of 9 items.

• APPLICATION FORM | DUE ASAP

  For the 2021-2022 school year, the application portal is now open. Once you submit the initial Application form, you will then receive access to the Applicant Checklist which outlines the remaining steps of the process.
  
  START APPLICATION

• PARENT STATEMENT | DUE ASAP

  As parents, you can provide us with insights about the applicant that no one else can. Your statement will help us learn more about your child and your family. The Parent Statement Form is available to you once you submit the initial application form.

• PARENT INTERVIEW | BETWEEN OCT 1 - JAN 31

  Parents may schedule a Parent Interview through the calendar link received after submitting the initial Application and Parent Statement.
  
  IMPORTANT: Prior to the Parent Interview, please spend 20 minutes exploring the CA website. Some of your initial questions about our curriculum, community and programs will be answered on the Upper School Admission page. This will allow the focus of the Parent Interview to be on your student!
  

  • Parent Interviews take place between now and January 31 and last approximately 40 minutes.
  • Only one parent needs to attend the Parent Interview. In the case of applicants with two households, we prefer one consolidated parent meeting.
  • Due to health protocols related to the pandemic, all Parent Interviews are scheduled through Zoom.
  • For families applying to more than one division (i.e., Lower, Middle and Upper School), one Parent Interview may be scheduled for all applicants; please allow for additional time.

  Please contact Lisa Dean at 303-914-2516 with any questions.
  
  Throughout the admission season, prospective parents will also have the opportunity to participate in virtual events with current CA students, parents, and faculty.

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• STUDENT INTERVIEW | BETWEEN OCT 1 - JAN 31

  Families may schedule the Student Interview through the calendar link received after submitting the Application form:
  

  • Student Interviews take place between October 1 and January 31 and last 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Due to health protocols related to the pandemic, all Student Interviews are scheduled through Zoom with a member of the Admission Committee.
  • Prior to the Student Interview, spend 20 minutes exploring the CA website. Some of your initial questions about our curriculum, community and programs will be answered on the Upper School Admission page. 
  • The interview is a great way for the applicant to learn more about CA, so please bring questions!

  Please contact Lisa Dean at 303-914-2516 with any questions.

  
  Throughout the admission season, applicants will also have the opportunity to participate in virtual events with current CA students, alumni, and faculty.

• RECOMMENDATIONS & TRANSCRIPTS | BETWEEN NOV 1 - JAN 31

  Recommendation Forms and the Transcript Request Form are available once the student's Application form is submitted. Please send requests to the appropriate faculty/staff member at the applicant’s school after November 1: 
  

  • Current Humanities Teacher Recommendation
  • Current Math Teacher Recommendation
  • Current Principal/Counselor Recommendation
  • Transcripts from Current and Previous School Year including recent student testing
  • Optional Coach Recommendation
  • Optional Arts Recommendation
  • Optional Teacher Recommendation (from a current teacher in a subject area other than Math or Humanities)

• TESTING | BETWEEN OCT 1 - JAN 31

  Colorado Academy is “Test Flexible,” meaning that we will accept results from any standardized testing or educational evaluation that a student has completed in the last two years. Examples of testing include the WISC, DAS, CogAT, Stanford Binet, MAP testing, ISEE, ERB, SSAT, HSPT, and Pre-ACT, among others.
  
  The Transcript Request Form that applicants send to their current school includes a request to submit report cards, attendance records, and any test scores from the last two years. Parents may also request that an evaluator or test company send test results directly to admission@coloradoacademy.org.

• STUDENT VIDEO | DUE BY JAN 15

  Videos provide the Admission Committee with additional insight into an applicant's personality, strengths, talents, skills, and/or challenges.

  
  For the Applicant:

  Please upload a short video about yourself and address one of the prompts below. We prefer a video that is 90 seconds or less. No special equipment is needed other than a smart phone; videos should be authentic, simple, and student-made.

  
  Videos may be serious or funny and should be submitted no later than January 15. Thank you and have fun!

  • Tell us (or show us) how you would contribute to the CA community.
  • Tell us about something new you would like to try and why.
  • Tell us how someone else—a friend, classmate, sibling, grandparent, cousin, neighbor or pet—would describe your personality and character. You may include another individual in your video, and be sure to include yourself as well.
  • Tell us (or show us) what you have learned about yourself during the COVID pandemic.

• FINANCIAL AID APPLICATION | DUE BY FEB 15

  With over $4 million in tuition assistance each year, we welcome students and families from all backgrounds and encourage you to consider CA no matter your income.
  
  The Application for Financial Aid is separate from the Application for Admission, although the two cycles overlap. Families who wish to apply for tuition assistance should submit an Application for Financial Aid through SSS (School and Student Service for Financial Aid).
  

  • 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 SSS portal, you will be asked to upload copies of your 2019 and 2020 tax returns. You will also be asked for copies of 2019 and 2020 W-2 and K-1 statements, if those apply.
  • CA prefers the SSS application, but, if you've already submitted a financial aid application for another school through FACTS, there is no need for you to fill out an additional application through SSS. You will just need to add Colorado Academy as a recipient of your FACTS application.
  • The deadline for the Financial Aid application is February 15. We realize that many families have not yet completed their 2020 tax return by this deadline. The Financial Aid Committee will consider your application to be complete as long as we receive your 2019 tax return and your 2020 W-2 and/or Profit & Loss Statements (if you are self-employed) by the February 15 deadline. The 2020 tax return should then 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 Lisa Dean at 303-914-2516 and she will help you or direct you to the appropriate Financial Aid Director.

• NOTIFICATION | FEB 19

  In conjunction with other Denver-area independent schools, Colorado Academy sends Upper School admission decisions (Grades 9-12) by email at 4:00 PM on Friday, February 19, 2021.