Admissions
-
The Chicago Academy for the Arts offers a rare opportunity to combine rigorous college-preparatory academics with professional-level arts training. Located in Chicago’s River West neighborhood, The Academy is a nationally recognized independent performing and visual arts high school where young artists pursue their creative passions while preparing for college and future careers.
Unlike traditional high schools, students at The Academy spend each day immersed in both academic study and intensive arts training, developing the skills needed to succeed as thinkers, creators, and collaborators. This unique co-curricular model integrates intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and artistic expression—creating a learning environment designed specifically for students who are serious about the arts.
YOUR
ACADEMY
ADMISSIONS JOURNEY
-
Not sure where to start? Start here. Tell us a little about yourself and we'll send you everything you need to know about The Academy — no application required. This is the easiest way to get on our radar, receive event invitations, and hear directly from our admissions team. Request Information →
-
See The Academy for yourself. Join us for our Fall Open House, a virtual info session, or a department-specific showcase. It's the best way to feel what a day at The Academy is really like — meet faculty, tour our River West campus, and talk with current students. View Events →
-
Spend a day as an Academy artist. A Shadow Day lets you follow current students through a real day of academics and arts training in your arts dept. of interest. It's one of the best ways to know if The Academy is the right fit — for you and for us. Request A Shadow Day →
-
Ready when you are. You don't need to complete an inquiry, event, or Shadow Day before applying — start your application whenever you're ready, and use the steps above alongside it. Our admissions team is here to help at every stage. Start Your Application →
-
Applying to The Academy is more comprehensive than a typical high school application, because our program combines rigorous academics with pre-professional arts training. Here's what to have ready:
Academic Records — transcripts and attendance from the past three years
Test Scores — state standardized test scores, as well as ISEE and SSAT are accepted
Recommendations — from your English, Math, and Arts teacher or mentor
Audition or Portfolio — requirements vary by department: Dance, Media Arts, Music, Musical Theatre, Theatre, and Visual Arts.
Student Essays — two student essays are required to be submitted. The prompts are available in the Academy Admissions portal.
Application Fee — $65 for all first-year, transfer or international applicants. Application fee waivers can be requested by reaching out to the → Admissions Office.
If your educational path has been non-traditional and you don't have all the materials listed above, submit what you have and connect with our Admissions Team. We'll work with you on alternatives.
-
Admissions at The Chicago Academy for the Arts exists in support of The Academy Method. Every decision we make is made in service of it — which means every decision we make is made with a whole student in view.
We ask a lot of our applicants. Transcripts, recommendations, essays, an interview, a portfolio review or audition — not because any one piece tells the whole story, but because together they help us see it. We're looking for potential and promise as much as present skill: the discipline it takes to pursue an idea, the resilience to meet real academic rigor while also developing as an artist, and the openness to keep growing, and see pursuing creativity as a challenge. We consider a student's growth over four years the same way we consider what a midyear or junior-year transfer might become in less time. Talent at the moment of application is only ever a piece of the picture.
We also know an application can't hold everything. If a student's path to the arts has looked different; less access, less formal training, a story that doesn't move in a straight line — we want to hear about it directly. Reach out to Admissions. A conversation with our team will always tell us more than an application field ever could, and we would rather ask than assume.
Admission decisions are never made solely by one person. They're made collectively, by a community of admin, faculty, arts chairs, and academic leadership who take the responsibility seriously, because it is not only for the student, but for us as well.
We review every application without regard to race, religion, national origin, disability, or any other protected status, and we review it holistically, in full. Being a candidate of The Academy is to be reviewed with the highest, and kindest consideration.
Being admitted to The Academy is an honor, and we want it to feel like one. But an admissions decision is not a simple yes/no, so it is not made lightly. Part of getting to know an applicant means getting to know their family, too — as a future part of this community, not just a completed file. We look for reasons to say yes. We also owe every family who invests in an Academy education the confidence that comes with real selectivity, and we hold both of those things at once.
We're ultimately looking for potential, and the capacity to be a smart artist — a student who can hold a critical idea and receive a hard critique in the same breath, because that balance is what an Academy education is designed to produce. What we promise is that every applicant gets real and intentional consideration — because that's what it takes to admit a class ready to thrive at The Academy.— Admissions, The Chicago Academy for the Arts
Director of Enrollment Management, Sophie Lane Oliver & Fellow Academy Community Members. August, 2026.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
EARLY DECISION DEADLINE
November 15, 2026
MID-YEAR TRANSFER DEADLINE
December 1, 2026
PRIORITY DEADLINE
January 15, 2027
LIVE AUDITION DAY —
to be announced!
Anticipate: January 2027
Tuition
For the 2026–2027 school year, tuition at The Chicago Academy for the Arts is $39,388, plus additional school fees. As a private arts high school with a college-preparatory academic program and pre-professional arts training, tuition supports both rigorous academics and intensive instruction in disciplines such as visual arts, music, theatre, musical theatre, dance, creative writing, and film.
We believe that talented young artists should have access to a transformative arts education regardless of financial circumstances. The Academy’s Access & Affordability Committee works closely with families applying for need-based tuition assistance and distributes nearly $2 million in financial aid each year. Historically, nearly 70% of Academy students receive tuition assistance, making a premier Chicago arts school education more accessible to aspiring artists and scholars.
At this time, all financial support is awarded through our need-based tuition assistance program, which helps ensure that students from a wide range of financial backgrounds can attend one of the nation’s leading private arts high schools.
Tuition and Affordability
-
$1,550
New Student Fee (New Students Only)$7,000
International Student Fee$2,700
Music Department Private Lesson Fee$1,350
Musical Theatre Department Private Lesson FeeBooks & Supplies
Families are responsible for purchasing books and supplies.
Field Trips
While many field trips are fully subsidized by the school, from time to time there may be additional costs.
-
Nearly 70% of Academy students receive tuition assistance. That number is something we're proud of, and it's also a responsibility we take seriously — because we know that what we're able to award directly determines whether a student gets to walk through our doors at all.
We think about this as access, not affordability. The question we ask isn't whether a family can afford The Academy — it's what it would take to make this possible for a student who belongs here.
Tuition assistance starts with need, which we assess through CLARITY. Merit recognition is also available in smaller amounts, when funding allows, alongside need-based aid. Every family who needs support is encouraged to apply through CLARITY — and to talk with us directly about what's feasible. Numbers on a form rarely capture the full picture, and a conversation often gets us there faster.
Affordability isn't only about tuition. Academy days run long — 8:30 to 4:30, often with rehearsals and events beyond that — and we know families sacrifice time as well as money to make that possible: time that might otherwise go toward a vacation, a savings goal, or simply rest. Whatever a family pays to attend The Academy, we know they're giving up something to do it. If a student is passionate enough to want to spend their time this way, we want to make sure they can.
Supporting access also means building a community that reflects real diversity — not just in artistic discipline, but in the range of backgrounds and experiences our students bring with them. A cohort that's economically diverse is a stronger, more honest one, and it's the kind of community we're building toward every year.
If cost is a question for your family, we want to hear from you. Apply for tuition assistance through CLARITY, and reach out to Admissions to talk through what's possible — we'd rather have that conversation early than have it be the reason a student doesn't apply at all.
— Admissions, The Chicago Academy for the Arts
Director of Enrollment Management, Sophie Lane Oliver & Fellow Academy Community Members. August, 2026.
Tuition ASSISTANCE
The Chicago Academy for the Arts Tuition Assistance program is designed to make an Academy education possible for all families based on demonstrated financial need and the availability of funds. The Academy is proud to use Clarity Financial Aid to determine a family’s level of financial need based on the information that families share in the application which includes assets, income, expenses, and debts. The application is mobile-friendly and fully translated into Spanish.
Families interested in Tuition Assistance (including Daniel Murphy, LINK Unlimited, and HFS Chicago Scholars) should complete and submit their application by clicking the button below. Tuition assistance funding is limited and will be allocated first to students who apply by the Early Decision and Priority deadlines during our admissions season.
Please plan to complete your application by January 15, 2027.
-
Step 1
Go to https://app.clarityapp.com/sign-up
Step 2
Begin your application and add The Chicago Academy for the Arts to your student applicant entry. You can save your application and log out at any time and return later to complete it.
Step 3
US taxpayers: Complete the Clarity Enhanced Tax Verification (ETV) process to release your W2 and personal tax return transcripts from the IRS. You'll be asked to authorize the sharing of your tax transcripts and verify your identity. This is a one-time security measure required by the IRS to protect against identity theft and the compromise of personal information. Only those filing US taxes will be prompted to complete this step. Clarity offers two options for enhanced tax verification process: “Clarity” and “IRS”. Please reference the Tax Verification Guide to preview the steps of this process.
{The IRS pathway is significantly faster, allowing for the tax documents to transfer to Clarity within 24 hours. For this reason, any applicant who applies after January 15, 2027, will need to select the IRS pathway in order to meet our priority deadline. Clarity has found that families who have an IRS.gov account before starting the Clarity Application have a much easier time completing the process.}
Step 4
Enter your financial information, review your application, and pay the $65 Clarity application fee.
Step 5
Submit your Clarity application and follow the link to return to your dashboard. Here you will see any additional supporting documents requested by schools. Upload your supporting documents by January 15, 2027. Keep in mind that at a later date, you may be prompted by the school via Clarity to upload additional documentation as needed.
-
If you need support during the process of completing your application, there is in-app, phone and email support available through the “Help” button in the bottom left of the screen. Additional resources:
-
New to Clarity? Join one of their Family Application Information Webinars:
-
International students and students applying for mid-year transfer are not eligible for tuition assistance at this time. If you have any questions regarding tuition assistance, please reach out directly to our Director of Enrollment Management.
-
The Academy is proud to partner with local scholarship organizations including, but not limited to, the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, HFS Chicago Scholars, High Jump Scholars, and LINK Unlimited Scholars.
MEET THE ADMISSIONS TEAM
Our Academy Admissions team is excited to meet you and help you throughout the admissions process.
Please feel free to reach out to admissions@chicagoartsacademy.org if you have any questions!
-
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 typical acceptance rate is about 70% of the applicant pool.
-
Over half of Academy students commute from outside the city of Chicago, some from even outside of Illinois! Many of our commuting families utilize the Metra, CTA and the South-Shore line to attend The Academy.
-
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.
-
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 typically 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.