1) Who is eligible to apply for The Academy Group?
The Academy Group is accepting applications from students in the following regions:
- Chicago: Current 3rd grade students
- Boston: Current 9th and 11th grade students
- Los Angeles: Current 9th and 11th grade students
- Detroit: Current 11th grade students
2) I have a student in another grade level. Can I submit an application for them?
Please note that we only formally recruit students at the grade levels listed above. Families in Chicago only may submit an application for students who are currently in grades 4-7. Students will be waitlisted for their appropriate cohort. If a space becomes available in that cohort, we will notify your family directly.
3) What are the requirements for applying to The Academy Group?
Our Elementary Program is a lottery-based program. As such, there are no requirements to submit an application. To submit an application to our high school program, students should have at least a 3.0 cumulative unweighted GPA.
4) Does my student need to attend a specific school to be eligible for The Academy Group?
No. Your child’s school has no bearing on their application, and The Academy Group accepts students from all types of educational institutions, including homeschooled students.
5) My family already has a child in The Academy Group. Will their sibling be automatically accepted to the program?
No. Beginning in September, 2024, we have updated our sibling preference policy to ensure that our process is equitable to all interested families. Moving forward, siblings of current Academy Group members do not receive preference as a part of the application process, and will be included in the lottery with all other applicants.
6) How are students accepted to The Academy Group?
Our Elementary students are selected via a lottery. High School students have a multi-step selection process: Students must have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA at the time that they apply and must submit an essay as a part of their application. Essays are reviewed and scored by our team. A number of students are selected to attend “Ladder Up”, an in-person interview day. The final cohort is selected based on their overall performance at “Ladder Up”.
7) My student was waitlisted. What should I expect?
At times, a space will open up in a cohort based on student attrition. If this is the case, and your student receives a space in the program, we will notify your family by email immediately. Please note that we cannot provide waitlist numbers or updates. Your child will remain on the waitlist until the end of the academic year in which they applied. If you wish to reapply in subsequent years, you may do so.