APPLYING TO GALA

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​I SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION BUT MY STUDENT WAS WAIT LISTED. DO I HAVE TO APPLY AGAIN?

Yes, LAUSD does not roll over wait lists from year to year. A new application is needed for each year applying with the new grade level your student will be entering for next year.

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WHEN DO I APPLY? 

STEP #1) Apply on the LAUSD Unified Enrollment website and indicate GALA as your school of choice in the Admissions Criteria School area from October 1, 2024 - November 15, 2024

STEP #2) Submit an application and all required checklist items on the GALA website from October 1-November 15, 2024.

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WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD I GATHER TO APPLY TO GALA?

• LAUSD Unified Enrollment Application indicating GALA as your school choice under "Admission Criteria Schools."

• GALA Website Application (October 1- November 15)

• Submit Teacher Recommendation Email address (use only 1 teacher from this year or last year only and only a teacher that teaches math, science, social studies, or English). This email address will be submitted in your checklist item area AFTER you submit your GALA website application. Your teacher must submit our easy, online form by December 1, 2024. Parents needs to follow up with your teacher to be sure it is complete.

• Upload Report Card (Applicants for 6th grade). For 7th-12th grade applicants, a transcript is required. You can get this from your school's main office or your school counselor.  

• Note: Your student's name on your LAUSD application and your GALA application MUST match. Otherwise, your application could be withdrawn.

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I ALREADY APPLIED, HOW DO I CHECK THE STATUS? 

You can always go back and log into your GALA website application account to check the status of your application and your checklist items. The link to log back into your application can be found in your confirmation email. Search "GALA" in your inbox. You can also log into your LAUSD application account to check that status.

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I SUBMITTED THE LAUSD UNIFIED ENROLLMENT BUT I DID NOT SUBMIT A GALA APPLICATION:

On the LAUSD website, there is the following note. As a "Unique Education Pathway" school (formerly "Admission Criteria School"), GALA has a separate application that also needs to be submitted by the first LAUSD Unified Enrollment deadline, November 15, 2024. Updated application and school tour information is on the GALA Website in the beginning of September each year "Unique Education Pathway Schools (formerly "Admission Criteria Schools") have additional selection requirements. Los Angeles Unified offers two single-gender Leadership Academies with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math, Early-College Programs with concurrent enrollment opportunities for high school students, and Individual Honors Program (IHP). Please visit the school’s website and call the school to attend informational sessions and learn about each school’s unique criteria before submitting a Choices application." The GALA website has details on how to apply to GALA. During the October to mid-November application window, there is also a video on the GALA website with instructions how to apply and school tours where we go over the application process.

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I SUBMITTED THE GALA APPLICATION BUT I DID NOT SUBMIT THE LAUSD APPLICATION:

On the GALA website, it states that applying to GALA includes submitting the GALA application and all checklist items AND submitting the LAUSD Unified Enrollment application and indicating GALA as your school choice under "Admission Criteria Schools." If you do not submit an LAUSD application or if you submit an LAUSD application and indicate GALA and then submit a second application where GALA is not a selection, your application is automatically disqualified.

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I SUBMITTED THE LAUSD UNIFIED ENROLLMENT APPLICATION AND THE GALA APPLICATION BUT MY STUDENT WAS DISQUALIFIED:

1) If you used different last names on your 2 applications, your application could be disqualified. If you have a hyphenated last name, be sure and use the same last name for both applications. 

2) If you used different first names on your 2 applications, your application could be disqualified. Use the legal first name for your student. If you use a nick name on one application and the legal name on the other application, the computer can not match your names. 

3) If your GALA application does not have all 3 checklist items complete by the deadline, including your teacher submitting our online form, your GALA application is marked as incomplete and will not be matched with the LAUSD application. 

4) If you submit the GALA application and all checklist items and the LAUSD Unified Enrollment Application but you later go back and add an additional LAUSD application to indicate a different school, your latest LAUSD application will cancel any prior applications. 

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WHAT IF I NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE TO MY APPLICATION?

Once you click submit on the main GALA website application, you will not be able to make changes. You can log in anytime to change the email address on your application account - click "Account". If your mailing address changes, email admissions@galacademy.org. If have a question about your LAUSD Unified Enrollment Application, visit HERE.

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DO YOU TAKE LATE APPLICATIONS?

Because we have hundreds of applications, we do not take any late applications. 

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ACCEPTED TO GALA

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IF ACCEPTED, HOW DO I CLAIM MY SPOT?:

This is a 3-step process and you must do all steps by the deadlines or your spot at GALA could be forfeited and filled from the waiting list. Please ask all questions to admissions@galacademy.org BEFORE you fill out these steps. 

1) On your LAUSD acceptance email or in your LAUSD Unified Enrollment portal, you should find instructions how to "accept" your offer from LAUSD. You must do this by April 11, 2025. With LAUSD Unified Enrollment, our understanding is that if you are accepted to multiple LAUSD schools, once you "accept" at your school choice, you will be dropped from the other schools in which you have been accepted. 

2) ON your GALA acceptance letter/email, you will find a link to fill out our intent-to-register form. This form lets us know if you plan to attend Registration Day and will allow you to make an appointment to register. Please fill this form out by April 1, 2025.  

3) Submit all of your registration forms and copies of required personal documents by the deadline on your GALA acceptance letter. 

 

WHAT IF WE MAKE OTHER SCHOOL PLANS AND WANT TO WITHDRAW OUR APPLICATION, ACCEPTANCE, OR WAIT LIST STATUS FROM GALA?:

We know finding the right school for your daughter can be a lengthy process. If you submit an application to GALA and then make other school plans, move, etc., please let us know ASAP so that we may remove your application. Likewise, if you are accepted or wait listed... and you have committed to a different school, please let us know ASAP at admissions@galacademy.org so that we can open your spot to another girl.

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IF ADMITTED, WHAT DO I NEED TO PROVIDE?

If you are admitted and you decide to enroll, the following documents will need to be submitted on Registration Day in April: LAUSD Registration Forms including the media waiver form and the Device/Chromebook form, GALA policy forms, a copy of your driver's license or state ID, utility bill (not telephone), immunization records (Tdap required for 7th grade and above), report card, transcript (high school), student birth certificate, and, if applicable, your IEP plan, 504 plan, inter-district permit (if coming from outside of LAUSD), and any court custody agreements. A full list and details will be on the Registration webpage in the acceptance email. Please see the deadlines at the top of this page to submit registration paperwork. 

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IF ADMITTED, DO YOU HAVE A REGISTRATION DAY OR ORIENTATION DAY TO SEE THE CAMPUS?

We do have a Registration Day in the Spring and a student orientation in August. 

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WAIT LISTED TO GALA

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WHAT IF MY DAUGHTER IS ON THE WAITING LIST?

We typically fill from the waiting list from May through August as spots become available. 

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​I SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR BUT MY STUDENT WAS WAIT LISTED. DO I HAVE TO APPLY AGAIN?

Yes, LAUSD does not roll over wait lists from year to year. A new application is needed for each year applying with the new grade level your student will be entering for next year.

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OTHER QUESTIONS

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I HEARD YOU WERE MOVING?

Yes, GALA moved to 2328 St. James Place, Los Angeles, CA 90007 in August 2024. This campus only has GALA students, we are not co-located with any other school. After being co-located with a co-ed campus for eight years, we are elated to finally be able to fullfil our true mission of an all-girls school by having our own campus.  We will be surrounded on three sides by the only all-girls university in Los Angeles, the Mount Saint Mary's Doheny campus. Our campus is 4.5 miles south east of our current location. You can see a picture HERE.  

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HOW DO I FIND OUT ABOUT TRANSPORTATION TO GALA?

LAUSD does provide transportation (school buses) to students depending on your location. This is administered by LAUSD and NOT by GALA. Contact LAUSD transportation to find out if your family qualifies for transportation. Because our students come from 100 different zip codes, LAUSD usually sends out bus route information a week or two before school starts. Pick-up and drop-off is at select LAUSD schools throughout Los Angeles. There are no "late" buses. 

Website: https://lausd.org/transportation or call (213) 241-1000.

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I HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WHO CAN I SPEAK WITH?:

Please email admissions@galacademy.org

 

DATA:

All data collected is for internal GALA use only for the application process. The admissions committee consists of all LAUSD employees, including administrators and teachers.