Applying for private boarding schools now. Looking at $50k-$60k annual spending on tuition&board etc.
It seems a lot of work to prepare the PFS with SSS. Would like to do a ball park check to see if there is any chance. Major financial figures are:
family size 4, with 1 child applying for private boarding school. parents in early 40’s
income: ~$300k/year
non-retirement investment: ~$150K
savings: ~$20k
home (owned): value >$1M, with equity about $400k
no other major assets or debts
Is there any chance to get financial aid? Would appreciate insight!
I certainly emphasize with the fact that the PFS is a LOT of work and a major pain to complete. When my son applied to schools last year I decided to fill it out, even though I suspected that we would not qualify for need based aid. I did all the work and the EFC showed very clearly that getting need based aid was highly unlikely. Once I had that EFC, I contacted the schools and pulled the FA apps and told them each that we were applying as full pay. I contacted them before the January 15th deadline.
Even though it cost me hours and hours of time, I’m glad I actually filled it out and saw the EFC. If we had just decided to go full pay without doing the PFS, I would have wondered if we had made the right choice, and if we would have qualified for aid.
As many have said on these boards, requests for FA can make admission more difficult. I think that if someone applies for aid when the EFC makes it pretty clear that parents can be full pay, there can also be negative consequences. Meaning that schools will question a parent’s commitment to a boarding school education if they show they can pay, but ask for aid anyway. That is my personal opinion, but it is based on real life experiences of friends I know personally (who are not on this board.)
In the end, it’s up to you if you want to apply. I don’t think anyone here can give you a real answer of whether you would qualify or not. But I was glad I filled it out, and when I eventually pulled the apps I explained to each school that I felt I needed to do my due diligence and fill it out, but that the numbers it gave back showed that we would be a full pay family.
I work in financial aid at an independent school. It shouldn’t take hours to fill out the PFS. Go to the SSS website and download the 2019-2020 PFS workbook. Also download the 2018-2019 Tax Primer for Parents. These should make it a little easier. At our school, we realize this is a little daunting. I encourage the families to give it their best try. Once we receive the tax returns, we make adjustments to the PFS.
I have done the PFS every year for the past 13 years. It takes me several hours every time. However, if you feel you need financial aid, fill it out. Look at the expected contribution, the decided whether or not to apply.
Can you afford boarding school without financial aid?
Do you have other good alternatives for HS?
How outstanding is your kid compared to other applicants?
It is definitely harder to be admitted if you need financial aid. It is an even more competitive applicant pool.
If you have good alternatives and don’t NEED to be admitted, you might as well.
If you are “boarding-school-or-bust” you might want to apply to a few schools without asking for FA to make sure you have options on March 10.