Investing
in a Boarding School Education
Financial
Aid
There’s no question about
it: boarding school is a major investment.
Even the cost of applying to schools
(with application fees, payment for
standardized tests and travel expenses
for campus visits) adds up. Some
parents compare costs of tuition
and board to that of purchasing a
new car every year, or a similar
material acquisition. But this analogy
does not represent a fair comparison.
The cost of boarding school is an
investment in a child’s future
that will yield dividends over an
entire lifetime. Parents should educate
themselves about the many financing
options and tools available that
can help make boarding school not
just affordable, but a fruitful and
meaningful investment. It’s
also important to partner with schools
and financial aid representatives
early in the application process
to fully explore all options.
Need-Based
Financial Aid
 While each school
has different policies and plans
for financial aid, there are some
uniform features. Need-based financial
aid is awarded as a gift and does
not have to be repaid. This money
comes from a school’s budget
and families are asked to demonstrate
and document their need for aid.
A school determines a family’s
eligibility based on information
submitted on a financial aid form
that can be obtained from the school
admission office. Most TABS member
schools use the Parents’ Financial
Statement from the School and Student
Service (SSS) for Financial Aid,
which is administered by the National
Association of Independent Schools.
Information about the SSS is available
at www.nais.org. In December 2004,
an online version of this form
will be available. Printed forms
can be obtained in November from
individual schools. A family can
use one form for up to three children
and send the same form to up to
six schools at once.
Schools determine
financial need through consideration
of a range of factors including
family size; income and expenses;
the parents’ assets and
current debts; and the child’s
assets, if any. The family
estimates the amount of discretionary
income it has available for
education and submits that
estimate to the school. The
school then determines eligibility
for financial assistance. The
amount of assistance available
varies from school to school,
and each may award a different
amount to the same applicant.
Tuition
Loan and Financing Programs
Tuition loan
programs are becoming more
common, and are offered through
schools, banks, or agencies
specifically to finance independent
school tuition (See sponsor
page for additional information). Loan applications
are subject to credit checks
and require repayment with
interest, though rates may
be more favorable than those
for other consumer loans. There
are also tuition payment plans
that allow a student’s
family to budget and spread
payments over the course of
the school year, rather than
pay in one or two lump sums.
Loans may be offered through
the school directly or through
a contracted provider. These
plans typically carry a service
fee that may include tuition
insurance.
Merit Scholarships
Students at some boarding
schools may also apply for merit-based
scholarships that are not tied to financial
need. While not as common as need-based
assistance and typically highly competitive,
these scholarships may require specific
achievements in academics, sports or
the arts, or may be the result of specific
bequests. Families can research the
availability of awards that may be
offered through civic and religious
groups, philanthropic organizations,
and employers.
Parents should be sure
to understand the conditions or requirements
in accepting a merit-based award, whether
it is ongoing or renewable, or only
for a single year. The School and Student
Service for Financial Aid (SSS)  SSS is a service owned
by NAIS (National Association of
Independent Schools) and used by
over 2,000 K-12 schools (including
boarding schools) and other organizations
to help determine a family's ability
to pay school costs. SSS helps ensure
that all schools use the same methods
and objective procedures in evaluating
your financial aid application.
The basic application
form is called the Parents' Financial
Statement or PFS. If the schools
to which you apply use SSS, you will
be able to get the form from the
admission or financial aid offices.
Schools typically distribute them
to families as part of their financial
aid application process and require
that they be completed and processed
according to specific deadlines. Some schools may use
other applications or forms to determine
your eligibility for certain scholarships,
grants or loans. Be sure to ask the
school or schools you're interested
in to get the appropriate forms and
deadline dates.
Schools use SSS
computations to first determine
how much you can contribute.
To make the determination,
the school needs to know such
information as:
- Family size
- Income
from all sources
- Savings,
investments and other assets
(including home equity)
- Children's
assets
- Indebtedness
- Medical,
dental and unusual expenses
 This information,
and much more, is collected
on the PFS and shared with
all the schools to which you
are applying. This way, you
need only complete one application
for many schools.
Most schools
will require that you submit
a copy of your most recently
completed federal tax return
to verify that the information
you used on the applications
is true and accurate. In certain
cases, additional documentation
may be requested. A financial aid
package consists of one or
more ways that the school meets
all or a portion of your demonstrated
financial need. Consider this
example:
$8,000 Cost
of Attendance
-$2,500 Estimated
Family Contribution
$5,500 Financial Need/Aid Eligibility
The financial
aid package is then put together
to meet the demonstrated need.
For example:
$4,000 Grant from School
$1,000 Scholarship from Alumni Fund
$500 Loan
Sometimes, the
aid package is just one type
of financial aid program. Sometimes the
aid package still does not
meet the full need you've demonstrated.
Using the same example, a school
with limited funding or a parent
who applied after the deadline
may provide a package that
looks different:
$2,000 Grant
from school
+ $ 500 Loan
$2,500 Total Aid
-$5,500 Financial Need
-$3,000 Unmet Need
It may be that
resources were expended by
the time the application arrived
or that the school doesn't
have sufficient funds to meet
the need of all its students.
In either case, the family
must find an extra $3,000 in
addition to the $2,500 the
school determined they can
pay, for a total of $5,500. Where can
I get more information? Contact the admission
or financial aid officer at
the school or schools you're
interested in. Since they provide
the bulk of the aid dollars
available to families, they
are the best first stop for
information. They can provide
specific guidance on the options,
procedures and deadlines appropriate
to the school. Since schools
vary in their policies and
guidelines, don't assume that
what is true for one school
is true for all. Ask questions.
**This information
was provided by the National
Association of Independent Schools
(NAIS) For more information,
visit the NAIS
website. |
