Our Upper School community is alive with learning, creativity, critical thinking, vibrant class discussions, collaboration, innovation, and commitment to social causes.
CA is a dynamic school with a growth mindset that is flexible in response to any challenge that comes our way. Small classes, engaged students, exceptional teachers, limitless opportunities: we welcome your interest in CA's Upper School for 2022-2023!
We encourage you to explore the website and invite you to learn more during a Student Visit and/or Parent Tour. Once you submit the Initial Applicant Form, you'll be able to schedule a time and date to visit campus. More detailed application information can be found at How to Apply.
We look forward to getting to know your family, introducing you to CA, guiding you through the application process, and answering your questions.
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.
To apply to the wait pool, please submit the Initial Applicant Form. You will then receive the Applicant Checklist, which outlines the remaining steps of the process. There is no application fee to apply to CA.
As parents, you can provide us with insights about your student that no one else can. Your responses will help us learn more about your child and your family. The Parent Form is available to you once you submit the Initial Applicant Form.
Recommendation Forms* and the Transcript Request Form are available once the Initial Applicant 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
*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.
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 SSAT. -Register for testing with an evaluator from the DATC (Denver Area Testing Consortium).
A student writing sample and video provide additional insight into an applicant's personality, strengths, talents, skills, and/or challenges. The Writing and Video Prompts are available once the Initial Applicant Form is submitted.
Interested in applying to the wait pool for the 2022-2023 school year, or interested in starting your research for the 2023-2024 school year? We invite you to campus for a tour this spring! The Admission Office will post dates and times for tours on the Admission Calendar in mid-March.
If an opening occurs before school starts next fall, the Admission Office will contact you to schedule an applicant visit and interview, either in person or on Zoom.
With over $4.3 million in tuition assistance each year, CA welcomes students and families from all backgrounds and encourages you to consider CA no matter your 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 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 2020 and 2021 tax returns. You will also be asked for copies of 2020 and 2021 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 2021 tax return by this deadline. The Financial Aid Committee will consider your application to be complete as long as we receive your 2020 tax return and your 2021 W-2 and/or Profit & Loss Statements (if you are self-employed) by February 15. The 2021 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 25, 2022.