Financing Overview

Don’t let the cost of boarding school deter you. From private loans, to scholarships, there is help available. When is payment due? Does your boarding school offer a tuition payment plan? How much financial aid is available? In this section you’ll find the answers to these questions and more.
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Fees And Other Matters for Overseas Parents
Families who live outside the United States and who are not American citizens or Permanent Residents have to deal with a couple of additional steps when thinking of sending their children to an American boarding school.
Families who live outside the United States and who are not American citizens or Permanent Residents have to deal with a couple of additional steps when thinking of sending their children to an American boarding school. In 2021 the pandemic has made boarding school admissions very difficult, largely because travel is so problematic. Once travel restrictions have been lifted or made less onerous, then we can review the steps involved in getting your child admitted to an American boarding school.
 
The cost
 
Tuition at boarding school ranges from $20,000 to over $75,000. And this does not include sundries such as music lessons, trips, sports equipment, use of the equestrian facilities, and so on. There are a host of ‘extras’ that also must be factored into the cost of a boarding school education. Textbook and academic material fees, sports fees, clothing, uniforms, transportation to and from school, application fees – the list seems endless. Most schools will provide a breakdown of the ‘extras’ for you upon request. Costs vary greatly from school to school for several reasons. Sound management and healthy endowments are two major reasons why some schools seem to be able to offer more for less.
 
The other point to remember is that American boarding schools receive no state funding, although they must comply with all the state laws and local regulations which affect their daily operation. Retrofitting older buildings with new technologies, maintaining extensive physical plants, coping with soaring health and liability insurance, legal, and energy costs are just a
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Financing a Boarding School Education
Financing a boarding school education can be very confusing for many parents. Here are some strategies to help you understand your options.
Financing a boarding school education 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 some 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. Each school has allocated a specific pool of funds for financial aid. Once it is spoken for there generally are no more funds in that academic year.

This video explains how to apply for financial aid.

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, to name just a few schools, all have financial aid programs that offer tuition-free education to admitted students whose income is below a certain threshold. The threshold varies but is in the $60-75k range. Why are these highly competitive schools offering free education to children from families with incomes below $75,000? Simply because they want to make their excellent educations available to a wider constituency. When tuition and expenses creep into the $50,000 range, it means that only a tiny percentage of American families
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An Overview of Paying for Boarding School
This hub is designed as a guide to the financial side of things as you explore boarding schools.

One of the first questions parents ask about sending their children to boarding school is how to pay for it.  Boarding schools charge from $25,000 to $65,000 a year. That is a lot of money for most of us. Since I am not Boston Kennedy but rather a poor Scots-Canadian, I remember well confronting that reality when we were investigating schools for our daughters. With that experience very much in mind, I have created this  hub as a guide to the financial side of things as you explore boarding schools.

How Do They Pay for It? examines the answers to a question one of my young employees asked me when he discovered that many boarding schools cost significantly more than what he made in a year. He didn't realize that most private schools offer financial aid.

Financial Aid 101 explains how financial aid in private schools works. Private schools give families millions of dollars annually to help them afford a private school education. Even families who have incomes in the $150,000-$250,000 range can be eligible for financial assistance depending on their financial situation.  

Paying for Private School introduces you to the several payment options available to you. The important concept to understand here is that if you need financial assistance to send your child to boarding school, ask about it at every school on your short list. Always ask.

Making the Financial Aid Process Work for You walks you through the financial aid process one

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Boarding School Financing Options At A Glance
You can pay for boarding school in several different ways. One option will be right for you.
As you begin to think about sending your child to private school, how you are going to pay for her education is probably going to be at the top of your list of questions. As you can see from the table below, most private schools offer a variety of payment options. Hopefully one or more of these options will suit your needs. Copy and paste this table into your worksheet that you have set up to keep the private school search process organized. That will remind you to ask specific questions about financing your child's education.
 
Payment TypeN-PKPK-89-12/PG
One Payment   
Two Payments   
Tuition Payment Plans   
Loans   
Financial Aid   
Work Study   
Scholarships   
Vouchers   
Sibling Discounts   
Free Schools   
Miscellaneous Fees   
 
One Payment
 
What this means is that you write one check for the entire year’s tuition. Some schools will give you a cash discount when you pay the entire bill up front. Paying tuition in one payment usually takes care of everything except the sundries. Sundries are charges for riding lessons, some elective courses, some athletic activities, music lessons and so on. Most schools will bill you monthly for those charges.
 
Two Payments
 
When you pay using two payments, be aware that most schools expect one payment in June or July or at some time well before school begins and the second payment in December. The split varies from school to school. Some schools split the years fees 50/50. Others 60/40. For example, if your child’s tuition and fees total $50,000 and the school wants 50%
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How To Pay For Boarding School
Because paying for boarding school involves so much money, it makes sense to look at all the options available to you.
I remember wondering years ago how we were going to pay for our daughters' private school educations. It was a major expense then. It is still a major expense today. Back then in the 90s boarding school cost $11,000 a year. Because paying for boarding school involves a major part of the income for most of us, let's look at the options which are available to you.
 
You can pay for boarding school in several ways.
 
By check
 
Fees at most schools are payable in advance. You will receive an invoice with your acceptance letter. Half a year's tuition and other fees are due in the summer, usually in July or early August. The second half of the year's tuition together with other fees is due in December. Payment dates vary from school to school but most expect payment around these times of the year. If you have your child's boarding school expenses allocated already or have sufficient income to cover two substantial payments a year, then paying by check might make sense for you. Effectively you are paying cash for your child's education. Should you expect a cash discount? It never hurts to ask.
 
In this video, Peter Baron explains how asking for financial aid works.
 

Don't forget to budget for the other fees besides tuition. Your tuition invoices will not include items such as tuition insurance, fees for supplies used in special courses, textbooks, and supplies as well as your child's athletic equipment. Boarding your daughter's horse is
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Financing

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