Hello everyone, I’m a current sophomore looking to go to boarding school next year. I was wondering if any of you had any information on the schools with the best financial aid and schools I should apply to with an SSAT percentile of 86. Thanks in advance!
Take a look at a previous post (#58) by @GMTplus7 from 2014. This post should help give you some direction.
It’s really not about what schools have the “best financial aid” – all boarding schools have the financial means to give you whatever aid you would need to attend. The question is whether they will give it to YOU or to someone else, as they have a relatively finite pot of money to use. If a school had two candidates absolutely identical to each other in every way except that one needed FA and one didn’t, obviously they’d admit the one who didn’t need the aid. In order to choose to admit the FA candidate instead of the non-FA candidate, there’s going to have to be something that they like more about the FA candidate. There are lots of ways that you can make yourself stand out as compared to other candidates – sports, interests, personality, etc. But given that you have pretty strong SSAT scores, one way you can make yourself stand out is to apply to some schools where your SSAT scores would put you pretty well above the school’s average SSATs. I’d look at some schools with average SSATs in the low 70s and see if any of those look like a good fit for you in other respects.
+1 on soxmom’s post #2. Even a school that doesn’t have a huge endowment/FA budget (relative to the Andovers/Exeters of the world) will come up with money if they truly want a particular kid.
That said, I recommend looking at the average FA award at any schools that make your “to consider” list. At the school with which I am most familiar, St. Andrew’s in Delaware, the average FA award for the 2015-16 school year was $42,688. Which is otherwise known as a whole lot of money. Another stat to look at is the percentage of the student body who receives aid (to gauge if you will be more likely to receive some…assuming your family qualifies for it).
" At the school with which I am most familiar, St. Andrew’s in Delaware, the average FA award for the 2015-16 school year was $42,688. Which is otherwise known as a whole lot of money."
B-)
For another data point, Andover (which many consider a very generous school…“youth from every quarter” and all that) lists an average grant of $38,100 for boarding students (SAS is 100% boarding) on their site.
My point in coming back to post that fact is that I think people sometimes focus on the “big name” schools because (in addition to prestige and perceived quality of education) they think only the big name schools have money. Not always true. And to build on something that soxmom wrote, at the most selective schools, I’m guessing a mid-80s SSAT is on the low end of things and at best, just average in the applicant pool.
But Andover’s tuition fee is $50,300 while St. Andrews’ is $55,500. You can do the math from here. Regardless, SAS is one of the schools with good need-based FA program. While it may not be as competitive or selective as Andover, it’s a much smaller school with fewer open spots. The bottom line - it won’t be easy for either. Apply both if you feel you are competitive for both.
Thanks for adding that datapoint, panpacific. I didn’t know that Andover’s “all in” number was that low…and assumed that all the schools were in the mid $50k range these days. FWIW, I just checked and Exeter’s “all in” is even lower!
Yes, Exeter’s is probably the lowest among the ones often mentioned here. And if you dare, check Lawrenceville’s, which is draw-dropping!
For those too lazy to Google, Lawrenceville’s “all in” price tag is knocking on the door of $60k, with an average FA package is $48,550…but here’s a interesting stat: only 33% of its students receive aid…compared to 47% at both SAS and Andover.
A full 50% of the student body at Mercersburg now receives financial aid. I don’t know what the average amount is.
^^ “approaching $30.000”. Tuition: $54,500
^ I did see that, but it was with last year’s figures, while the percentage is new for this year. Anyway, what counts for any school is whether they will make it affordable for you or not. Mercersburg has been very generous with us, and although the remaining tuition is still a stretch, it is doable…and we’re doing it. 
The best school for financial aid is the school that offers you the most financial aid or requires you to pay the least out of pocket. Among the 300+ boarding schools in the U.S., there are only a few that are notably generous in FA but most of them are very selective with thousands of applications each year or less selective but small with very few open spots when it comes down to your grade, your gender and the “silo” you fall into. That said, almost every school has a financial aid budget, so it’s possible to receive funding from almost any school you apply.
Of course, you can only apply to so many schools. So what should be the strategy? IMO - First, never mind about the school’s FA program and your qualifications. Filter out those you definitely don’t want to attend for whatever reason. Second, “cover the base”. Apply to those few that are on your wish-to-attend list and notably more generous in FA even though some of those schools may feel like reaches or high reaches. Remember some schools are reaches to almost anyone. But if you are in, the chances of your getting fully funded are very high. Third, do your own home work and apply to a sufficient number of “hit-or-miss” schools where you think you will be among the strongest applicants, which will improve your chance of being funded and/or receiving a merit-based scholarship.
OP- Many ( if not all ) boarding schools are wiling to waive an application fee but you’ll have to ask.
FA applicants with a competitive edge usually don’t put a billion dollar endowment above everything else.