As the title says, I was accepted into Exeter but the financial aid grant given was disappointing. How can I try to increase my financial aid grant? Are there some other methods to try to pay the tuition?
You can try to look for scholarships online, but there aren’t many for prep schools… I’d be happy to take that acceptance off your hands though lol… Although technically, I haven’t gotten anything yet, I think I am denied 
Have you parents call the financial aid office. You may be able to appeal for more money 
I think its unlikely: they are pretty generous and dont mess around.
Also, paying for boarding school is a pretty hefty tax write off for your parents. Admission offices DEFINITELY take this into account when granting financial aid. Not to mention Exeter has over a $1 billion dollar endowment, the biggest of any independent high school, so I think that if you were good enough to get accepted, it is worth a call.
@GhostNirvana it absolutely cannot hurt to appeal your financial aid offer. Be sure to include any extenuating or unique circumstances. They might ask you to provide a more detailed family budget. Worst case scenario, is they hold on their initial offer.
They will ask you to create a monthly budget before giving you additional FA so you might as well start putting it together. If I recall they look at them once per week or so. Sign up for revisit ASAP, reach out to any coaches and faculty, and then to financial aid straight up on Monday.
Hey man, at least you got accepted! I have not heard anything from the school yet, but in all honesty, I do not think I got in sadly
I would not take on any debt at all for a high school. You need to save your borrowing ability for university. Plenty of students go from public high schools to top universities.
That is true. But, in my eyes anyway, it is more worth it to get an Exeter education than to go to Harvard. But this has been my dream school for a while, so I am very bias.
going into debt for private high school would be incredibly foolish --going to Exeter will also reduce your competitive advantage at top universities. When you are applying for a job most people will care more about where you went to college not high school.
@Center I understand that, but I did not want to go to Exeter for reasons related to college and high school, but rather for the opportunities, education, and experiences offered there that public schools do not have.
Thank you for the suggestions, everyone!
@Center Yeah, I get what you are saying. But for me, personally, it means my life to get accepted to Exeter and I really don’t know what I will do now with this rejection. I also got rejected everywhere else I applied… I have a crazy story, and I don’t know why I was rejected. (Probably SSAT score) And the fact that I won’t ever know for sure, but that I was so confident makes me really upset.
I am in a unique situation where I can probably survive just off of my family’s wealth in life. It would not be a good life, but if I was feeling a solo, studio apartment for the rest of my life, I think I could survive and never work a day. So to me, going to Exeter was worth wayyyyyy more than getting into any college. I’d rather go to Exeter, and some nameless college, than go to Harvard but not go to Exeter. Unfortunately, it looks as if both of those decisions will be made for me ;(
I’m telling my kids to remember…" It’s not about the accomplishment, but what you’ve gained from the experience" chin up!
That is one thing I’ll give em… Regardless of anything, this was a tremendous learning experience for me.
@coppii you mention something about a tax break. Could you explain more? I’m a parent and this is the first I’ve heard about a tax benefit for boarding school.
@sgopal2 I dont believe this is correct. I suppose this could be a reference to the new component of the tax code that allows a fixed amount of 529 plans to be used for private school but you cant write it off because it is tax sheltered anyway.
@center. OK that’s what I thought. Until recently 529 money could not be used for boarding school. And it was post tax. So no tax advantage apart from the tax-free growth.
@sgopal2 well, obviously paying for your child’s private education is a cost. You get tax write-offs for your children just being there. I am only a child, but, to the best of my knowledge, you get to write off the money that you spend on the school, no? Keep in mind I may be very wrong, I mean, I’m 14… what do I know?
@coppii the term “write off” implies a tax deduction or a tax credit. Neither applies to boarding school tuition. The money paid is after tax, so no tax benefit.
The new tax law allows money from a 529 plan to be used. This is tax sheltered money and is also paid post tax. Not the same as tax free.
OK thanks for clarifying, thought I was missing something.