Frequently Asked Questions

Click Request Info, and CA will send you information via email. You may also attend our annual Fall Admission Previews or our Spring Tours the year before you are interested in applying.

Prospective families apply to CA using a secure online application.

Create a username and password, complete the information, and submit Step 1: Student Form to get started. 

Learn more about the application steps in each division: 

• Lower School Admission: Pre-K-Grade 5
• Middle School Admission: Grades 6-8
• Upper School Admission: Grades 9-12

Families interested in Colorado Academy for the 2025-2026 school year may submit Step 1: Student Form to schedule a campus tour through the Applicant Checklist.

During the regular admission season (September-January), families can schedule the Student Visit after submitting Step 1: Student Form.

Prospective families may also attend any of our SPEAK events. CA’s arts and athletic events are open to the public, and prospective families are welcome to attend a game, concert, or theater production listed on the school Calendar.

The application deadline is January 15. This includes completion of all steps including transcripts, parent/guardian form, recommendations, student visit, video submissions, and testing.

CA continues to welcome applications to the wait pool after the January 15 deadline. The only difference is that we hold off on scheduling student visits for wait pool applicants unless we anticipate an opening in the grade level.

Pre-K, K, Grade 1

For Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 applicants, developmental readiness is assessed by our teachers during the Student Visit, and no other formal testing is required.

Grades 2-5

For Grades 2-5, CA is test-type flexible. This means that we will accept the results from any testing that an applicant has completed within the last two years. Examples include the CogAT, WISC, DAS, MAP, ISEE, ERB, and state-specific standardized testing, 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 submitting CogAT, MAP testing, and/or other standardized testing (such as the ERB) from the applicant’s current school, request that the school send those results along with report cards and attendance records through the Transcript Request Form.
• You may upload test scores directly to the Applicant Checklist, or else submit to admission@coloradoacademy.org. 
• As an option, you may register your child for testing with an evaluator from the DATC (Denver Area Testing Consortium). Please contact Paige Siemers to request assistance if the fee is a hardship. 

Grades 6-11

For Grades 6-11, CA is test-type flexible. This means that you may 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, ERB, ISEE, SSAT, HSPT, PSAT 8/9, and Pre-ACT, and state-specific standardized testing, 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 testing to submit from the last two years, some options include:

• Register for the ISEE or SSAT.
• Register for testing with an evaluator from the DATC (Denver Area Testing Consortium).

Please contact Paige Siemers to request assistance if the test fee is a hardship.

In agreement with other members of the Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS), CA’s admission decisions are sent by email in late February.

CA does not always have enough space in each grade to take all the applicants we would like to accept. Wait pool status means that the Admission Committee would like to admit the student once an opening occurs.

Tuition Rates for 2025-2026:

• $33,360 for Pre-Kindergarten
• $37,990 for Kindergarten-Grade 5
• $41,550 for Grades 6-12.

Financial aid is based on a family’s ability to pay tuition as determined by CA’s Financial Aid Committee and an outside service: Clarity.

By February 15, all parents/guardians must submit two years’ worth of tax returns and W-2s and complete an online Financial Aid Application outlining income, assets, and debts. The financial aid process is separate from the admission process.

The Financial Aid Application opens in November. We recommend starting the application after January 1 as it is helpful to have end-of-year tax documents available to complete the form.