better education
URBAN ACADEMY TUITION AND FEES 2024–2025
When you come to Urban Academy, you’re investing in the best possible education for your child. We recognize that this is a critical decision for you and your family, and careful thought has gone into creating a fee structure that is responsible and accessible for families, but also provides an excellent education.
how we structure fees
At Urban Academy, we pride ourselves on being able to offer families access to some of the finest education available, for a cost that is as accessible as possible. Tuition fees are set and announced in December for the next school year beginning in September.
Junior Kindergarten – Grade 12 Tuition
$18,375
$16,100
$16,800
$17,500
Additional Fees
$3,000
Upon Enrolment to K–12
(required for students moving from JK to K)
$500
Grades 10-12
$150
February Upon Re-Reg
One-time Expenses for New Students
- Application Fee. A non-refundable $250 fee per application in Junior Kindergarten – Grade 12.
- K–12 New Student Registration Fee. There is a non-refundable $3,000 fee for new students which is payable upon acceptance into the Kindergarten – Grade 12 program. This also applies to JK students moving to K.
- Parent Equity Program. The Parent Equity Program allows Urban Academy to own and operate a facility that meets the needs of our students. This program requires the participation of parents of every child enrolled to purchase Parent Equity (PE) Units: $10,000 per Junior Kindergarten student, and $20,000 per Kindergarten – Grade 12 student to a maximum of $40,000 per family*. The PE Units are redeemable at full face value 120 days after the student graduates from, or is no longer enrolled at Urban Academy. Learn more about the Parent Equity Program
*As we now have completed facility space and are seeking to enlarge our Senior Student body, for the 2024–2025 school year Urban Academy has made a change to Parent Equity to support our growth. Families enrolling more than one student, of whom at least one is entering into Grades 8–12, are only required to purchase one set of Parent Equity Units for a total of $20,000. This offer is only valid for the 2024–2025 school year and will support growth of the Senior School Program. The PE Units will be repaid once all students in a family have graduated or are no longer enrolled at Urban Academy.
Recurring Annual Expenses
- Re-registration Fee. $150 per student is due in February for the following year. Re-registration will not be accepted without this non-refundable fee.
- Deposit For Next School Year (Current Students Entering Grades 1–12). $1500 due on February 15, 2024. In order for current students to retain their space for the coming school year, a non-refundable deposit is required, which will be applied toward tuition fees.
- Graduation Year’s Activity Fee. This annual $500 fee is required for all students enroled in Grades 10–12. This fee is used to offset costs associated with the Graduation Years Program such as travel for university visits, grad events, and other opportunities connected to the UA Grad Program.
- Uniforms, Out-of-School Care and other miscellaneous fees are additional.
Sibling Discount
Urban Academy offers a sibling discount program for primary or blended families with a shared parent: 5% discount for the second child and a 10% discount for any additional siblings. The discount will be applied from oldest to youngest, starting with the oldest child as the full-pay student.
Junior Kindergarten – Grade 12
| 1st Child | 2nd Child 5% Off | 3rd Child 10% Off | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Kindergarten: | $18,375 | $17,456 | $16,538 |
| K–Grade 5: | $16,100 | $15,295 | $14,490 |
| Grades 6–9: | $16,800 | $15,960 | $15,120 |
| Grades 10–12: | $17,500 | $16,625 | $15,750 |
Payment Options: In Full Up-Front or Monthly
Urban Academy offers two options for paying the tuition and fees:
- Payment in Full Up-Front. The tuition, as listed above, is due April 5 for the following school year.
- Ten Monthly Installments. A 5% surcharge is added to the full tuition and is paid in 10 monthly installments. The first payment is due April 5 and the remaining nine payments are due each month through to January 1. The total costs for monthly installments are below.
Ten Monthly Installments: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 12
| 1st Child | 2nd Child 5% Off | 3rd Child 10% Off | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Kindergarten: | $19,294 | $18,329 | $17,364 |
| K–Grade 5: | $16,905 | $16,060 | $15,215 |
| Grades 6–9: | $17,640 | $16,758 | $15,876 |
| Grades 10–12: | $18,375 | $17,456 | $16,538 |
International Students
| 1st Child | 2nd Child 5% Off | 3rd Child 10% Off | |
|---|---|---|---|
| K–Grade 5: | $26,100 | $24,795 | $23,490 |
| Grades 6–9: | $26,800 | $25,460 | $24,120 |
| Grades 10–12: | $27,500 | $26,125 | $24,750 |
OTHER FEES:
- Application Fee: $250 per student. Applications will not be accepted without this non-refundable fee.
- K–12 New Student Registration Fee: $3,000 per student entering Urban Academy’s K–12 program.
- Re-Registration Fee: $150 per student due in February for the following year. Re-registration will not be accepted without this non-refundable fee.
- Graduation Years’ Activity Fee: $500 per student registered in Grades 10-12. This fee will be used to offset costs associated with the Graduation Years Program such as travel for university visits, grad events, and other opportunities connected to the UA Grad Program.
- Uniforms, Out-of-School Care and other miscellaneous fees are additional.
- Tuition includes a variety of fees that support costs associated with facilities, a wide range of learning resources, enterprise software solutions, hardware, technology, field trips and special events. Tuition for JK – Grade 5 also includes school supplies, and for students entering Grades 6–12 it covers a portion of their school supplies. As courses vary for middle and senior school students, a separate school supply list will be distributed in advance of the start of the school year for students in Grades 6–12.
DUE DATES: Full payment of tuition within two weeks of a student’s acceptance. These fees are non-refundable. The only case in which tuition is refundable is if the student visa has been denied. In such cases, the denial letter must be submitted to the school for proof of denial.
PAYMENT OPTIONS: Visa, MasterCard, personal or company cheques or wire transfer. Late payments or NSF cheques will result in a $50 service charge per incident. Please note that a 2% administration fee will be applied for credit card payments.
SIBLINGS: Families currently registered at Urban Academy are given first priority for registration for the upcoming school year. Urban Academy offers a sibling discount program for primary or blended families with a shared parent. A reduction of 5% will be applied for the first sibling and 10% for the second.
APPLICATION PROCESS: 7 Easy Steps
1. Complete and submit the application package
During the application process, you are required to supply supporting documents: application fee, copy of passport, copy of student visa (if available) and official transcripts (translated into English by an Official Translator) for the current year and past two years if possible. If a second transcript is not available, a letter of reference from a teacher (translated into English) is acceptable.
2. Urban Academy screens applicants
Applicant is screened by the Admissions Committee and includes a Zoom family interview. Acceptance is based on overall educational background, academic achievement, English proficiency and the number of spots available. Students will be placed into the appropriate grade upon review of the student’s age and transcripts. (If the student and his or her family are in Canada when the application is submitted, an interview will be scheduled with the Admissions Committee. If the student and their family are not in Canada, a Zoom assessment will take place.
3. Admissions decision
The admissions decision will then be granted and will either be accepted, waitlisted or declined. If acceptance is granted, an acceptance letter and invoice will be sent to you and payment will be due within two weeks of the acceptance date. Space will only be held for two weeks.
4. Pay tuition
Pay your tuition and fees (by cheque, Visa/MC, or wire transfer).
5. Receive formal acceptance
Once we receive tuition, you will receive a formal letter of acceptance and payment confirmation, which the embassy requires to process a visa.
6. Apply to the Canadian Embassy, Consulate, or High Commission for Study Permit
Approval may take 6–12 weeks or to process. The event of a visa denial is the only instance in which the tuition and fees are fully refundable.
7. Celebrate!
Once your visa is accepted, it will be time to celebrate and look forward to giving your child an incredible education experience on Canada’s West Coast.
parent equity builds UA
Parent Equity Unit Program
The Parent Equity Program allows Urban Academy to own and operate a facility that meets the needs of our students. This program requires the participation of parents of every child enrolled in Kindergarten and above to purchase Parent Equity (PE) Units worth $20,000 per child (to a maximum of two children*) for the time that the child is enrolled in the school. PE Units are repaid within 120 days of the student no longer being enrolled at Urban Academy. Parent Equity is collected on May 1 prior to the September that a child enrols at Urban Academy.
*As we now have completed facility space and are seeking to fully fill out our Senior Student body, for the 2024–2025 school year, Urban Academy has made a change to Parent Equity to support our growth. Families enrolling more than one student of whom at least one is entering into Grades 8–12, are only required to purchase one set of Parent Equity Units for a total of $20,000. This offer is only valid for the 2024–2025 school year. The PE Units will be repaid once all students in a family have graduated or are no longer enrolled at Urban Academy.
Families of students enrolling in Junior Kindergarten are responsible for the payment of Parent Equity fees worth $10,000. Once a student moves from Junior Kindergarten to Kindergarten the balance of Parent Equity fees, also worth $10,000, will be due for a combined total of $20,000.
This program allows Urban Academy to continue to grow and expand the development of our school. The program ensures that our offering is enhanced by our physical space and helps us to keep tuition fees as accessible as possible.
We acknowledge that families may not have this capital on hand to invest outright. As such, we encourage families to meet with their own financial institutions to secure financing for the program. Urban Academy has also established a relationship with First West Credit Union Willoughby Branch to offer our families an interest-only line of credit for the $20,000 investment. Parents enter into a relationship with Envision, with interest rates starting at prime plus 1%. This amounts to approximately $67 per month on top of tuition. Further information on this program is outlined in the: First West Credit Union Offer Letter.
Please note that interest rates will vary depending on each unique financial situation, and is established between your family and the financial institution of your choice.
As Urban Academy is a non-profit society, banks will only lend limited funds required for a real-estate purchase. As a result, to purchase and build the current UA facility, Urban Academy selected the PE Program rather than a significant increase to tuition.
A Parent Equity Program is a financial instrument by which the Securities Act provides a means for non-profit societies to raise funds. The Board of Directors at Urban Academy instituted a Parent Equity Program years ago, which enabled us to purchase real estate, build our facility and program and plan for the future. In short, each family is required to pay $20,000 per child in Kindergarten to Grade 12 (to a maximum of 2 children) for the time that the child is enrolled in Urban Academy. For Junior Kindergarten, each family is asked to pay $10,000 per child. The sum (without interest) is returned to the family after the child is no longer enrolled as a student. We have set up an interest-only loan program at prime + 1% through our partners, First West Credit Union for this program.
As each student is enrolled in Kindergarten and above, four (4) Urban Academy Society Parent Equity Units (PE Unit), each with a value of $5,000, are purchased on the student’s behalf. The PE Units may be purchased by an individual (parent, grandparent, sponsor etc.), a trust, or a limited company on behalf of the student for a total of a $20,000 investment per child, up to two children.
Parents of children enrolling in Junior Kindergarten are responsible for purchasing two (2) PE Units for a total of $10,000, and then purchasing the balance of the other two units, an additional $10,000, the May prior to beginning Kindergarten, for a total of $20,000.
PE Units are due in May prior to the September school start. If your child enrolls after May, PE Units will be due within four weeks of your child’s acceptance. The PE Units remain on deposit with Urban Academy while the student is enrolled in the school, and will be paid out 120 days after the student leaves the school. The PE Units are redeemable at full face value 120 days after the student withdraws from the school for any reason.
The PE program is universal for all children in the school. There are no discounts for siblings, staff, or those receiving tuition assistance.
The funds are invested in our current property, except for a small portion left in the bank as a cash reserve. As long as the value of the property is the same or greater and the school continues to run surpluses as it has over the last number of years, the risk of loss is minimal.
assisting your goals
Helping offset tuition costs
We take pride in making amazing education accessible. Tuition assistance is available to current and new families of students applying for Kindergarten – Grade 12. Families seeking tuition assistance must file an application through Apple Financial Services Financial Aid for Canadian Students (FACS) analysis program. Tuition assistance (up to a max of 50% of tuition) is determined based on financial need. Applicants will be notified of their assistance level granted.
FACS Processing
FACS provides Urban Academy a need-based financial aid analysis service which ensures that our process for establishing financial need adheres to nationally established standards of best practice. All information from FACS is kept confidential, as is all information pertaining to a family’s financial aid request.
The FACS program is designed to be very responsive to our families and allowing families to represent their own particular circumstances more accurately. Although the majority of funds are distributed in the first round of applications (in January), families are still able to apply for tuition assistance when available after that date.
Financial aid grants are made for one year at a time so, you must re-apply for each year you require assistance. The application process is self-guided, and you may navigate in and out of the program, allowing you to partially complete an application, save your progress, and go return to it at another time. There is also a helpline or email support for any questions you may have. The charge for the application is $125, to be paid by credit card at the end of the session.
While completing the online application, you will be required to include your tax returns with all schedules and T4’s and any available tax slips.
Financial aid notifications for returning students will be sent out in February. Our goal is to have an award determination made by the time re-enrolment letters of intent are required on the last day of February. Because financial aid funds are limited and demand is high, late filing of materials may result in non-renewal of tuition assistance. If you require more information or assistance, please contact UA Administration at (604) 524-2211 or admin@urbanacademy.ca.
