Tuition & Affordability

We encourage all interested families to apply.

We recognize that an independent school education is a significant financial commitment, an investment that lasts a lifetime. To ensure that Castilleja is affordable for all admitted students, we offer a robust Tuition Assistance program that meets the needs of a wide range of financial circumstances.

Tuition Assistance

Each year we distribute over $3.7 million to 20% of the student body. Applying for tuition assistance has absolutely no impact on admission decisions. Our goal is to support families who demonstrate financial need, which is calculated using the School & Student Services for Financial Aid (SSS).

By determining what each family can contribute to tuition, the Committee allocates awards ranging from $5,000 to $56,000 depending on each applicant's financial situation. Recipients of Tuition Assistance represent a broad range of income levels, from less than $20,000 to $300,000.

Información de Asistencia de Matrícula

More about Tuition Assistance

Application Process

Starting mid-February, our Tuition Assistance Committee reviews all completed tuition assistance files and makes decisions based upon each family’s demonstrated need using calculations from the tuition assistance application hosted by School and Student Services (SSS) and tax documents. The Committee may require additional documentation, such as bank statements and monthly budgets, if more information is needed in order to understand a family’s financial situation.

The application and required documentation must be received by the deadlines to be eligible for full consideration. A complete tuition assistance application consists of the following information:

January 2, 2023 - Current Families - Submit your Parent’s Financial Statement (PFS) online.

January 5, 2023 - Prospective Families -Submit your Parent’s Financial Statement (PFS) online.

February 17, 2023 - The following required documents should be sent directly to SSS, not to Castilleja:

A copy of your completed and signed 1040 Federal Income Tax forms from the past two years, including all W-2(s) and schedules.
Business owners should also submit a copy of a Business/Farm Statement as well as all Federal Income Tax Forms for the past year and schedules for each business owned.
In cases of separated or divorced parents, each parent needs to complete a PFS and send their own set of required documents.

Applying Online

Applications open beginning in late October.

Visit https://www.solutionsbysss.com/parents and click on the prompt to begin your Parent's Financial Statement (PFS).

Online Application Tips:

You only have to complete one PFS even if you have several children applying to our school.
You will be given a password that will allow you to return to your PFS at a later date before submitting it.
You will be given instructions about submitting required backup documents. Your documents will be handled with the utmost level of security. Documents can be sent electronically or by mail. In either case please include the PFS cover sheet , which can be found when you login into your School and Student Services account.

For questions regarding completing a PFS:

Contact SSS by NAIS at (800) 344-8328, Monday - Friday: 9am - 8pm EST or Saturday: 9am - 4pm EST

Case Studies

Castilleja’s tuition assistance recipients represent a broad range of income levels, from less than $20,000 to over $300,000, and we realize that each family has a unique financial situation.

The following case studies are presented for illustrative purposes and are meant to encourage families from a wide range of financial circumstances to apply.

	Case 1	Case 2	Case 3	Case 4
Parents	Single Parent Household	Two Parent Household, Both Working	Two Parent Household, Both Working	Two Parent Household, Both Working
# of Children	1	3	2	1
Total Income	$141,953	$67,097	$645,000	$516,000
Net Worth: -Home Equity -Savings/ Investments	$969,000 $49,000	$678,000 $6,000	$3,245,494 $250,000	0 $400,000
Award	$52,000	$56,000	$17,500	$29,000
Parent Contribution	$4,500	$500	$39,000	$27,500

Policies and Principles

Castilleja considers tuition assistance to be the single most important vehicle to maintain an economically diverse student population. We recognize the increasing burden tuition places on middle-income families and the tuition assistance committee works to ensure that Castilleja is an affordable option.
Tuition Assistance is distributed to qualifying families of students in grades 6-12. The School strives to meet 100% of a family's need as determined by School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS) and all other supporting documents.
Tuition Assistance awards do not need to be repaid, but it is required that recipients re-apply for tuition assistance annually. In most cases, a student's tuition payment will remain at the same level, adjusting for tuition increases. In rare cases, usually due to a dramatic change in financial circumstances, do award amounts change substantially.
A supplemental student activity and support budget exists to enable students to participate in all aspects of school life on an equitable basis.
Castilleja will give priority to families who have previously received aid prior to making any new commitments.
When a parent does not work and there are no preschool children or aging parents at home, the school will impute an annual income of at least $30,000 to the non-working parent/guardian.
Parents with legal parental rights must submit all of the required financial aid application documents in order for their child to be considered for a tuition grant.

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