Published
January 14, 2012
What is financial aid? Financial aid is money given by individual private schools to help families pay for a private school education. Private schools give families millions of dollars annually to help them afford a private school education. Here's how it works.
Because schools expect their fees to be paid in advance, you need to make sure that the amount due and payable will fit your budget. So, at the same time as you are investigating school curricula, sports programs, extracurricular activities and so on, you also need to be asking about individual schools' financial aid programs. Each school offers its own unique financial aid program, so you cannot assume that what you were offered at one school will be the same as what is offered by another. Here are answers to your questions about financial aid. The resources at the end of this article provide even
more detail.
Who's eligible? Many families assume that they are not eligible for financial aid and do not apply. Everybody's financial situation is different. As a result, you should always ask about financial aid even if you think you are not eligible.
Let
School and Student Services give schools a clear picture of your situation. Then the schools will be in a position to make a decision as to whether you will get financial aid and how much. Always ask about financial aid even if you think you are not eligible or don't need it. School and Student Services is an offering of the...
Published
October 15, 2011
If you require financial aid in order to send your child to private school, you will probably have to complete The Parents’ Financial Statement or PFS for short. The PFS instructions and application can be found on the School and Student Services
web site. School and Student Services is an offering of the
National Association of Independent Schools. It gives you access to over 2,000 schools which use this service to assess the financial needs of parents applying for financial aid from individual schools.
What is really helpful about SSS is that you only have to complete the application once. There is a one time fee of $35. And if you cannot afford the application fee, the fee can be waived by using the special fee waiver code which the school will give you.
Complete the Application
The Parents Financial Statement
Instruction Booklet walks you through each step of the process. Remember that you only complete the PFS if the school asks you to. After completing the application, you pay for it - currently a $35 fee - and submit your application. This will do two things: it sends your application to the schools which you have selected and it gives you an estimate of the kind of aid which you can expect to be offered. Now, you must realize that the SSS estimate is only that. Each individual school will determine the amount of financial aid you will receive based on the available pool of...
Published
June 07, 2009
Financial aid can be very confusing for many parents. You wonder whether you make too much to be eligible. Is there a specific time when you apply? Here are five facts most of us didn't know about private school financial aid.
1. You have to apply for it.
Applying for financial aid at most private schools is a separate process from applying for admission to the school. You also need to make sure that you apply early. This is particularly important if the school has no specific admissions deadline or rolling admissions.
2. You may be eligible for free tuition if your family income is below a certain amount.
Exeter, Andover, Groton, St. Paul's and Deerfield all have financial aid programs which offer a tuition free education to admitted students whose income is below a certain threshold. The threshold varies but is in the $60-75k range.
3. There is a common application form.
Many private schools use a common financial aid form. This vastly simplifies the process of applying to several schools. You will have to fill out the Parents' Financial Statement (PFS) online at
www.nais.org/financialaid/sss. You can also complete a paper version of this application. This will be available from school admissions offices.
4. Most schools have a sliding scale of aid.
You may think that you are ineligible for financial aid because your family income is $150,000. The truth is that you may indeed be eligible for some aid. It will depend on factors such as how many children you have at the...
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Published
April 05, 2009
Money always talks. Pay cash for something, no matter what that something is, and you will get a better deal. A discount. Better terms. In 2009 the same thing applies to getting into private school. Assuming that your child offers everything the school is looking for, if you tell the school that you do not need any financial assistance, you can be virtually assured of acceptance. Why is that? What's changed?
The Perfect Storm
The impact of the financial markets' meltdown means that endowments have shrunk significantly in most cases. 20-30% shrinkage seems to be the norm, though, of course, it is extremely difficult to unearth any data. You and I will have to wait another year or so until schools have filed their Forms 990 for 2009. Form 990 is the tax return not for profit organizations file each year. Most schools file at the end of their fiscal year which typically is June 30. So we won't be able to examine the 2008 returns until late fall of 2009. The 2009 returns won't generally be available until late fall of 2010.
Added to the financial meltdown are the vast numbers of jobs which have been shed as companies have folded or down-sized. That means there are less parents able to afford private school without at least some financial assistance. Another factor is that many parents who were counting on sending their children to private school are scaling back their spending. The result is that there are fewer applicants for many...
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Published
March 08, 2009
Many parents are finding themselves short on funds to pay for private school tuition both after their child has been accepted and when it comes time to commit to another year at the school. What do you do? Withdraw your child? Send her to public school? Here are some options which you should explore.
Scenario A
The deposit and contract for next year at Wildwood Country Day School are lying there in your stack of bills. You are one of the lucky ones. Your $150k job seems secure. At least for now. But your wife's job is looking kind of uncertain as sales are down. Layoffs are in the works. She's been there for 15 years and makes $95k as the HR director. All the economic indicators are just so scary. Maybe you should pull Jodee out of private school and save that $25k. If the school could help you a bit, you might feel a bit more confident about keeping her in school.
Scenario B
You are paying $1000 a month for your son's private high school. The school gave you a financial aid package which pays the equivalent of $1000 a month. But your wife just had major surgrey. Suddenly you are looking at $15,000 in medical bills you have to pay. Your cash savings are worth $5,000. Your 401k went south months ago. What do you do? Withdraw your son?
Scenario C
You just found out that you have to take a pay cut of 20% in order to keep your job....
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PublishedMay 29, 2013
Ever wish you could pick the brain of A+ students? Well, we did it for you — we spoke with dozens of students and educators to find out their secrets for success.
About Boys' Schools: In Their Words
Here are a dozen or so boys' schools' public thoughts about themselves and their missions.
Marketing the Small Private School
Some marketing resources and tips for small private schools with limited marketing budgets.
Financial Aid
How to apply for financial aid.
Note: Data has been gathered from the Dept. of Education, schools, and commercial data sources.
