<p>The prep school admitted my kid from waitlist, but the school say no aid available and we need to pay full tuition $30,000 and we send other mail request for reconsideration for giving us financial aid, and they saying will look in to it for us, however there over one month ago, now is almost July, we still have not hear anything from them and he didnt return our call. My kid going into 9th grade and he is an outstanding student top of his class, dose sport and won a lot of state fair awards. Will there any chance they will give in and give us some aid (1/3 of the tuition, ESTIMATED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION from SSS) at the very end. Any ppl able to get aid at the end, close to school start?. should we just give us the spot and move on ?
any input will appreciate!</p>
<p>Schools have a limited pot of money. If they didn’t give him aid it is because it was already allocated. It’s not really a function of how great your kid is or is not. So try not to take it personally (although it may feel that way). Most schools provide aid to around 30% of students. Some a bit more. But that means 60-70% of the students are full-pay.</p>
<p>This year we saw a lot of CC parents left on the sidelines because of financial aid. All good people with brilliant kids.</p>
<p>It is what it is. IF someone declines their spot and frees up financial aid they might be able to budge. I do know of at least one parent who let me know they got off a waitlist this week with FA. But as the summer goes on, those opportunities grow less and less.</p>
<p>If you can afford it - go. If not, you can try to reapply next year. I’m curious, $30,000 seems low for boarding school. Most are trending closer to $50,000.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, good luck.</p>
<p>I also have a friend who was taken off the financial aid waitlist this week and given enough money to attend boarding school in Connecticut (not Choate). Last week of June/first week of July seems to be a key time.</p>
<p>$30,000…day school maybe?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t lose hope. Continue to hang in there if your student wants to attend the school. Hope something breaks. Continue to talk with the school how you could finance the opportunity.</p>
<p>Find out when the tuition is due or when the enrollment contract becomes effectively binding at the said school. If you still don’t get a call after that date, the hope for this year is slim, unless the school finds other FA money at the last minute. Try next year if so.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advise. It is a day school. They say will keep his spot as long as they can. And they won’t know there any money to free up until mid-Aug (when the tuition is due). Any chance no FA the 1st year but able to get FA the next year?</p>
<p>I think in your case it’s possible since the school knows about your financial need all along. That’s a right question you can ask the school after mid-Aug and when you decide to enroll without FA.</p>
<p>FA is a yearly application for current students. Thus for your 2nd year, reapply for FA. The school will take care of current students first.</p>
<p>This is not applicable to OP’s situation, but on a related topic - it’s important to establish your financial need with the school even if they can’t provide aid for the first year. It opens the door for future support. As from SPS website:
I remember reading something similar from many schools’ (day schools in particular) application material years ago. It basically says if you don’t apply for FA prior to admission then don’t expect to get it in the subsequent years unless you can prove “significant change in circumstances”.</p>
<p>Hi, DAndrew,
Thank you for your infromation. I think we just have to wait to see at the very end. But I do think the chance is very slim, since the school FA % is below 20% and sometime I feel the way they talk and the way they do is different. So I feel if we get in without FA, may get stuck for 4 years. My kid in public school all his life, but I really do not want to put him back, becuase I know how bad our local public school is, there no way my kid get the challenges he need. We agree should invest in our kid education but sometime we have a second thought becasue it is a lot of money for a working class family. will update when we get any news. wish u a great summer !</p>
<p>tim, don’t give up hope yet. Keep the conversations with the school going. Be sure to let them know how much you and your kid want to attend the school, and what this opportuntity means to your family. Give specific information as to why financially it is impossible for you. Be flexible and ask for the school for advice. If all has been tried and failed, there’s still next year, when you should apply to more schools so you have options if you haven’t already done so this time. Good luck!</p>
<p>I found a similar policy as St. Paul’s from Hotchkiss:
</p>