Need-Based Financial Assistance

History

Financial Assistance (sometimes known as “Financial Aid”) is a need-based award to help defray the cost of tuition. Financial assistance awards are NOT “scholarships,” which some schools provide to reward academic promise and achievement. RPDS does not award scholarships and instead provides only need-based financial tuition assistance.

The concept of financial assistance is not new. Harvard University claims to have provided financial assistance back in 1643. However, in truth the concept of financial assistance as it is now used expanded rapidly in the late 1960’s and 1970’s as the second wave of “baby boomers” entered the college admissions process. Independent schools like RPDS also began to award widespread need-based financial assistance following a similar pattern. Today, data from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) shows that within independent day schools like RPDS, the percentage of students receiving assistance hovers near 10%. Currently 9% of RPDS students receive need-based financial assistance.

Why Do Schools Provide Tuition Assistance?

RPDS was founded upon the belief that all children benefit from a spiritually based, academically challenging and highly personal education. Therefore, RPDS provides its enriched program at reduced cost for all its families, when compared with schools of similar offerings. The reality is that such enriched curriculum, provided in a small class setting is an expensive service to provide. Nationally, as tuitions rose in the 20th century at rates that exceeded increases in average salaries an alarming trend surfaced. Tuition costs became a larger portion of disposable income at the same time competing purposes for that disposable income exploded; fewer families earning a national median annual income could afford independent education. First colleges and then independent schools started to lose their students and applicants from “average families.” This trend now threatens to include “middle class” families earning up to $80,000 who report an increasing difficulty affording tuition-charging schools.

The RPDS Board of Trustees acted years ago to ensure that our pool of mission-appropriate students would be able to consider the school. Need-based financial assistance is the primary method used by RPDS to remain affordable to a broad spectrum of families. RPDS uses both direct donations to its Angel Fund for Financial Assistance, as well as income from the RPDS Endowment and operating revenue to provide need-based awards.

Financial Aid at RPDS Accomplishes the Following Goals:

  • To fulfill the school mission to support each child.
  • To fulfill the board’s commitment to be non-discriminatory and to be a broad educational community (Riverside Presbyterian Day School, Inc. welcomes qualified students in PreK3-Sixth Grade without regard to race, religion, gender or national origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or available to students at the school. (Board Non-discrimination Policy) This ensures students represent diverse social, religious and economic backgrounds, and it encourages mission appropriate children from all sectors of the community to attend RPDS.)
  • To fulfill the board’s stated strategic goal to structure class size to promote child-centered learning and to cultivate sufficient market demand to support the current program structure. (Goal #2 2005-06).
  • To ensure students benefit from an inclusive education with a variety of views, backgrounds, races, cultures and socioeconomic tiers.
  • To support current families that go through life changes (a parent death, divorce, medical emergency, etc.) so they can consider completing a child’s RPDS education.
  • To support educators who wish to have their own children benefit from an RPDS education.
  • To minimize empty seats in classrooms where fixed costs exist.

What Affects the Distribution of Financial Assistance at RPDS?

  • In 2009-2010 RPDS provided $187,309 in need-based financial assistance to 44 students.
  • Assistance is personally and confidentially arranged based upon demonstrated need.
  • Assistance does not remove the entire financial burden of tuition; however, last year awards ranged from $500 to several thousands of dollars.
  • Families receiving some assistance had incomes ranging between $12,500 and $135,000
  • Items affecting financial assistance awards include: single parent household, number of children in tuition charging schools, mission derived campus goals (e.g. ethnic, economic and geographic diversity), military deployment, the number of legal dependents and the loss of employment.

Why Does RPDS Utilize ISM’s FAST (Financial Aid for School Tuition) On-line Data Collection?

The amount of financial assistance available at RPDS is far smaller than the demonstrated need present within RPDS families. Therefore, RPDS uses Independent School Management’s FAST data collection system to standardize the questions asked and the evaluation of the data collected to fairly distribute our available funding. We have selected an internet-based tool to speed data collection, to make comparisons immediately available to our financial assistance committee and to reduce the school liability incurred if RPDS were to store a parent’s confidential information either electronically or in print. We ask all families interested in financial assistance to please follow the suggested dates for the submission of materials to ensure that the school has every opportunity to be supportive.

What Steps are Necessary to Begin the Application Process?

Parents may begin the FAST online application process after December 1st for the 2010-2011 school year. A Checklist For Documents Needed provides tax documentation requirements to complete the application.

What is the Deadline for the Submission of Materials?

The online submission deadline for all returning student applications is February 19, 2010. Supplemental tax documents, including all schedules and W-2’s should be mailed directly to FAST and postmarked by March 5, 2010. A FAST return envelope is available in the Admission Office for your convenience. All new student applications are due by March 5, 2010.

Please do not hesitate to contact Vivian Bradford in the Admission Office at (904)353-3459 if we may be of assistance to your family.