Admissions

Admissions

What We Look For

We expect that some of our students will be profoundly gifted, but most will be “average” bright children who are ahead of their peers in one or two subjects (such as reading, writing, or math). We realize that a student can be gifted in just one subject, and that “advancement” depends upon previous educational training; because of this, we are amenable to many combinations of talent and advancement.

 

Looking for so many kinds of talent and advancement means that we ask a lot of questions on the student application.  Before you read it and get thoroughly intimidated, you should know that we haven't met the child yet who was outstanding in every area we ask about.  We ask a particularly wide range of questions because not only do we hope to identify children gifted in commonly recognized ways, but also the less-obviously gifted children.

 

Process

Important Note: If any part of the admissions process is a problem for you, let us know. We are more than willing to make exceptions for special circumstances.

 

  1. Start out by downloading the student application here.  Take a look at it and contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
  2. Fill out and send the application along with the $25 application fee, and get 2 or 3 people to write and send in letters of recommendation (download the form here). If you child has attended other schools we request that those schools send a copy of the students' records.
  3. If we approve your application we'll ask you to bring your student to the Academy to spend a day with us. This will give our faculty members a chance to meet your child and informally test them to determine if your student will make a good addition to the Academy student population.
  4. We'll make a decision and notify you.
  5. All new students have a two week provisional period, to insure that the student fits in well with the rest of the student population. Because the Academy is a very small school, it is critical that the students function well as a group. We of course know that all people are unique and many bright students are even more so.

 

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Fees

Besides tuition and the application fee, there are no mandatory charges at LCA. Some optional activities (e.g. lunch at nearby restaurants ) may require small additional payments, but you will be warned in advance and all of them are completely optional. For more information on tuition, please click here.