Upper School Admission

List of 9 items.

• APPLICATION FORM

  For the 2021-2022 school year, the application portal is open for applicants to the wait pool. 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

  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.

• STUDENT INTERVIEW + WRITING PROMPTS

  The Admission Office will contact families to schedule an interview if we anticipate wait pool movement.  The short writing prompts and instructions are listed in the applicant checklist. 

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

  
  
  

• RECOMMENDATIONS & TRANSCRIPTS

  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: 
  

  • 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 or past teacher)

• TESTING

  Submit results from any standardized testing or educational evaluation that a student has completed in the last two years. Examples include the WISC, DAS, CogAT, Stanford Binet, MAP testing, ERB, ISEE, SSAT, HSPT, PSAT 8/9, and Pre-ACT, 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 does not have recent testing, here are some options:
  -Register for the ISEE or the SSAT.
  -Register for testing with an evaluator from the DATC (Denver Area Testing Consortium).
  
  Please contact paige.siemers@coloradoacademy.org to request assistance if any testing fee is a hardship.
  

• STUDENT VIDEO

  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. 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.

• OPTIONAL PARENT INTERVIEW

  The Admission Office will contact families to schedule an interview if we anticipate wait pool movement.
  
  Please contact Lisa Dean at 303-914-2516 with any questions.

  Read More

• 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.