APPLICATION PROCESS

The application process varies according to the grade level at which your child enrolls.  Please take a few minutes to read the Guidelines below for a better understanding of the admissions process at RMA.

This process as well as other valuable admissions information isalso explained in our admissions information packet.  Click here to request an admissions packet, which includes an application.  If you need more than one application, please let us know.  It would be most helpful for us to have the name of the child, the year that the child would be entering RMA, and the grade of entrance.  

ADMISSIONS GUIDELINES
Subject to change  

Application Availability  

Applications for any school year are available online or by contacting the Director of Enrollment Management by phone, letter, or email.  We ask that you make application no more than twelve months before the student wants to enter RMA, with the exception of PK.  Applications to PK can be made more than twelve months in advance, if the parent so desires.  

Statement of Non-Discrimination  

Rocky Mount Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, program, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school.  It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.  

Grades Served  

Rocky Mount Academy serves students in grades PK-12.  

Supplementary Application Documentation and Testing  

In addition to the application for admission, supplementary information is necessary for students applying to grades PK-12.   

Pre-Kindergarten  

• Applicant must be four years old on or before October 16 of the year in which he or she is applying for entrance into RMA.  Beginning in the 2009-10 school year, the cut off date will be August 31.

Kindergarten  

• Applicant must be five years old on or before October 16 of the year in which he or she is applying for entrance into RMA.  Beginning in the 2009-10 school year, the cut off date will be August 31.
• Kindergarten readiness test, given by appointment

First through fourth grades  

• Student records, including transcripts (Health records requested after acceptance)
• Two recommendations from two elementary school teachers – forms provided by RMA
• One personal recommendation – form provided by RMA
• All forms provided after application is filed and available online
• RMA Lower School admissions test, given by appointment

Fifth through twelfth grade  

• Student records, including transcripts (Health records requested after acceptance)
• Recommendations from current English and Math teachers – forms provided by RMA
• One personal recommendation – form provided by RMA
• All forms provided after application is filed and available online
• RMA Lower, Middle or Upper School admissions test, covering language arts, writing, and math, given by appointment

Interviews  

Parents and students applying for grades 1-12 are required to meet with the Director of Enrollment Management and the Head of the division in which the student will enter to discuss the school, your goals for your child’s education, and how RMA can meet those goals.  This step can be coordinated around a school visit, if convenient for all parties involved.  

School Visits  

Applicants currently in grades 3-11 are encouraged to spend a day on campus after making application.  They will be hosted by a current RMA student and attend classes in their current grade to get a sense of what it is like to go to school at RMA.  The applicant can request to be hosted by a friend, or the school will match up the applicant to a student with similar interests, course schedule, etc.  Admissions testing can usually be given on this same day.  

Application to Admissions Committee for Decision  

An application cannot go before the Admissions Committee until all documents are turned into the school and admissions testing and school visit (if desired) are completed.  In the event that an applicant is unable to finish all steps due to the fact that he or she lives outside of the Rocky Mount area, the application can go to the Admissions Committee after all documents have arrived, and a conditional acceptance can be made with final approval pending the successful completion of the steps.  

Deadline for Receipt of Application and Decisions  

Early Action Admissions for PK
 

• Application can be made whenever the parent wishes to do so for PK, even more than 12 months in advance of entrance; however, no action will be taken on the application until the Early Action deadline for that particular school year.

• All applications must be filed no later than January 10 of the year that the student wants to enter RMA in order to be considered in the first round of acceptances.

• On January 10, the Admissions Committee will review all PK applications and accept as many as they choose, up to the maximum number allowed in the program (as set by the administration).

• On or before January 17, the parents of all applicants will be notified in writing that the student has been accepted with a space, accepted into a wait pool, or denied.  See “Wait Pool Policy” for further information.
  
• A contract will be included in the letter sent to all students admitted with a space.  It must be returned by the date indicated, with the enrollment fee, to be guaranteed a space in PK.

 Regular  Admissions for PK  

• Applications will be considered on a rolling admissions basis after January 17.

• Based on admissions policies, as well as the number of openings in PK, the applicant will be accepted and given a contract, accepted and put in a wait pool, or denied.  See “Wait Pool Policy” for further information.
• The contract must be returned by the date indicated, with the enrollment fee, to be guaranteed a space in PK.

 Rolling Admissions for Kindergarten  

• All applications to Kindergarten will be considered on a rolling admissions basis.  Applications will be taken in no more than 12 months in advance of the beginning of the desired academic year.
• The Head of Lower School will contact the parents no sooner than February of the year of entrance to set an appointment for Kindergarten Readiness testing.

• When testing is completed, the application will be taken to the Admissions Committee.
• Based on the results of that test and information on the application for admission, as well as the number of openings in Kindergarten, the applicant will be accepted and given a contract, accepted and put in a wait pool, or denied.
• Contract must be returned, with the enrollment fee, by the date indicated to be guaranteed a space in this grade.

 Early Action for Grades 1-12  

• All applications, transcripts, and recommendations must be filed no later than February 15 of the year that the student wants to enter RMA in order to be considered in the first round of acceptances.
• All applications on file at Rocky Mount Academy by February 15, with proper documentation, school visit, and testing completed, will go to the Admissions Committee and will receive a response on March 15. 
• Based on the applicant’s qualifications and the number of openings in that grade, a student will be accepted and given a contract, accepted and put in a wait pool, or denied.

• The Early Action wait pool will receive priority over the Regular Admissions wait pool.  See “Wait Pool Policy” for further information.

• Contract must be returned, with the enrollment fee, by the date indicated to be guaranteed a space in that grade.

 Regular Admissions for Grades 1-12  

• All applications filed after February 15 will be considered on a rolling admissions basis after March 15.
• When the interview (if applicable) and testing are completed and all forms have been turned in, the application will be taken to the Admissions Committee.

• Based on the applicant’s qualifications and the number of openings in that grade, a student will be accepted and given a contract, accepted and put in a wait pool, or denied.

• Contract must be returned, with the enrollment fee, by the date indicated to be guaranteed a space in that grade.

• The Early Action wait pool will receive priority over the Regular Admissions wait pool.  See “Wait Pool Policy” for further information.

 Special Consideration  

Special consideration, but not a guarantee for acceptance or admission into RMA, will be given in all grades (PK-12) to siblings of current students and children of RMA graduates and faculty while space is still available in that grade.  Once there is a wait pool, these relationships no longer receive special consideration.  See “Wait Pool Policy” for further information.

 Wait Pool Policy
 

• Wait pools will remain in effect after the school year starts.
• If a space becomes available before the end of the first trimester of the academic year for which an application was entered, the Admissions Committee will consider granting a space to an applicant in the wait pool.
• The Admissions Committee will review all applications in the wait pool.  The best qualified candidate, based on the merit of the application and the composition of that grade, will be awarded a contract for enrollment. 
• Contract must be returned by the date indicated to be guaranteed a space in that grade.
• The wait pool will be terminated at the end of the first trimester (late November).
• If the applicant wishes to be considered for early action for the next grade, the parents should notify the school in time to complete that process by the February 15 deadline.  It will not be necessary to submit another application fee or application.  The school will decide on a case-by-case basis how much of the remainder of the admissions process needs to be updated or repeated.
• If the application is not reactivated in the very next academic year, but the applicant wants to reapply in a subsequent year, the admissions process must be completed in its entirety, starting with a new application and application fee.

Fees  

• The application must be accompanied by a $75 non-refundable application fee.
• The contract must be returned with a $300 non-refundable deposit which is applied to tuition. 
• Tuition payments begin in July.  See tuition information for payment options.
• You can cancel the contract in writing before July 1 and not be liable for additional tuition.

Financial Aid Application
 
Financial aid (FA) applications are available upon request after filing an admissions application. 

• FA will not be considered before an application for admission is received.
• Applicants must be compliant with all FA deadlines and guidelines.
• If a decision has not been reached on FA before the student is accepted, the parent will be required to sign a letter of intent to enroll plus submit the $300 fee, instead of signing a contract, in order to guarantee a space.  If an agreement cannot be reached on FA, the parent will receive the full amount of the deposit back. 

10/1/07