Affording Fay

List of 7 items.

• How does financial aid work?

  In order to qualify for tuition assistance, families must demonstrate financial need. Financial aid awards are given in the form of a grant that discounts the tuition to a rate that is within the family’s means. Financial aid funds can assist in the cost of some school expenditures that fall outside the realm of tuition and fees. Families are not required to repay these grants.

• How is need determined?

  School and Student Services (SSS) determines need by using a formula that considers all areas of a family’s financial situation, including but not limited to both parents’ incomes (taxable and non-taxable), number of dependents, number of children attending tuition-charging schools, living expenses, parents’ age, retirement, medical expenses, and debts and unusual expenses. Because a family’s situation may change from year to year, families must re-apply for financial aid each school year. Fay is committed to ensuring that enrolled families (who continue to qualify for financial aid) receive aid throughout their years at the School.

• Where do the financial aid grants come from?

  All financial aid grants come directly from Fay School; they do not come from outside sources or foundations (such as the federal Pell Grant that is awarded to college students). Fay School has made a strong commitment to making a Fay education accessible to as many families as possible, and for the 2023-2024 school year, we will award over $4 million in need-based financial aid. These funds come from a combination of school-year revenue and endowment funds earmarked specially for financial aid.

• Will I receive the same grant next year?

  If your financial situation stays the same from year to year, you can assume that your financial aid grant will be roughly the same. When we award grants each year, our returning students take priority: we review their applications first, and then we review new applicants.

   

• What if I haven’t done my taxes yet?

  You should be able to submit the application by January 15 by using your last pay stub through December 31 and your previous year's tax returns. If you are applying for aid for Fall 2023, you should submit your complete 2021 federal tax return documents (Form 1040 and W2s, or equivalents) and then you should submit your 2022 federal tax return documents by February 15. We understand that this is significantly earlier than the federal tax filing deadline of April 15, but we will provide financial aid information on March 10 and therefore need your documents by that date.

• What if I miss the deadline?

  Because we receive many applications for financial aid by the January 15 deadline, it is significantly harder to receive aid if you apply later, simply because funds have already been disbursed. On rare occasions, we have been able to work with families to arrange for financial aid after the deadline, but we strongly encourage all families to observe the deadline in order to have the strongest possible application.

   

• What are the tuition payment options?

  Your first payment is your enrollment deposit, which is 10% of the tuition due minus any financial aid award you receive. This deposit is paid when you submit your enrollment contact to the school, and the deposit amount is credited to your first tuition bill. Then parents have three options to pay their tuition balance: to pay the tuition in full upon re-enrollment, to pay in two installments before the start of school, or to pay in ten monthly installments.