<p>I am wondering what the avg financial aid package is for a more prestigious (read: expensive) day school is... i am not asking about merit scholarship, but need based monies for a family that could not otherwise afford one of these schools... any and all input is welcome, please advise.</p>
<p>Maxthecat, it varies widely from school to school even in the same area. It can even vary year to year at the same school. Some of the schools do have limited scholarship funds usually for the upper school kids. There are sometimes specialty scholarships, sometimes need based aid. For the most part what is offered for middle income families are loans and payment plans unless the student has something that the school really wants. In addition to talking to the admissions office and getting the official word, it is helpful to talk to a parent who knows the realties of the aid situation. I just found out how aid works at my sons' prep school from a mom of two financial aid students, and it is limited indeed, though on all of the application materials and view books, everyone is invited to apply for aid.</p>
<p>It depends on the level of endowment. The higher endowed schools give better financial aid.</p>
<p>It's going to depend on your need. There's no point in looking for an average because if you don't have the need, you won't get it. Conversely, you might have more need than the average bear. </p>
<p>I do think it's harder for average people to get aid $$ from private preps than from colleges.</p>
<p>There are some prep schools that do seek high test scores and will offer aid on a merit/need basis. Our school does not put merit into the picture. The awards are on a need basis only. But for some reason, nearly all of the kids who are getting awards are either athletes or URMs or both. However, the school is need blind in admissions, so you can make the decision whether you want to try to scrape up the money if your child is admitted but you get no financial aid. I have seen this scenario a number of times. In fact this year it happened to a mom I know well who has a child in the school on aid, but the sibling was accepted but waitlisted for aid (did get it at the 11th hour). Some school though are need aware so applying for aid can affect admissions decisions. My friend's D was waitlisted for Choate, and when she found out that the financial aid was the hangup, she withdrew the request, and she was accepted. But they really struggled for her to get through the school financially. I don't think it was a wise decision as it adversely impacted future situations traumatically.</p>