Students must be able to fulfill the audition requirements, but that does not necessarily mean that they have formal training in or outside of school. Formal training is more common in some arts disciplines, like dance or music, but is not a prerequisite. Students must also be strong academically in order to be considered for admission.

The Academy is a co-curricular program, where arts and academics are seen as equally important to one another. The Academy’s acceptance rate for the 2023-2024 school year was 70%.

53% of Academy students commute from outside the city of Chicago. The Academy provides school buses to and from the four major Metra stations (Union, La Salle, Van Buren, and Ogilvie).

Though the Learning Resources Department at The Academy is limited in the support it can provide for students with identified and documented learning differences, The Academy provides a daily 45-minute advisory period in the middle of each day, allowing ample opportunities for students to receive instructional support from their teachers and meet with the school counselor. The Assistant Principal/Director of Learning Resources is responsible for the case management of students whose families have submitted documentation of school-related learning issues.

One of the Academy’s primary goals is to prepare students to successfully audition at the most selective colleges, universities, and conservatory arts programs in the world. Therefore, it is important that students pick one area of concentration to specialize in.

The Academy offers arts electives in 11th and 12th grade for students to take courses in other arts departments. To see a list of arts elective courses and other academic elective courses offered at The Academy, see here.