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The Masters School believes that the
primary responsibility for a child’s education
rests with the family, to the full extent that they
are able. The School is, however, committed to “maintaining
a diverse community” and supports a strong need-based
financial aid program in order to enroll competitive
students who could not otherwise afford to attend.
In addition to our need-based financial aid program,
the School also offers a ten-month payment plan through
our affiliation with Key Bank. For more information,
contact Key Bank at 1-800-KEY-LEND or visit their website,
www.key.com/educate.
Masters families are also eligible
to apply for Key Bank Achiever Loans. To apply, loan
applicants must be U.S. citizens, national or permanent
residents, and must meet minimum credit criteria. Rates
and repayment options vary depending on the applicant.
Families can apply online (www.Key.com/achieverloan)
or by phone (1-800-KEY-LEND, mail or fax (1-607-428-3089)
directly with Key Bank.
Need-based Financial Aid
Financial aid is awarded by The Masters
School to provide financial assistance to parents and
their children who, without such help, would not be
able to attend the School. Financial aid reduces tuition,
but not additional school fees.
Families requesting financial aid
must submit a financial aid application and supporting
documents each year. The Financial Aid Committee reviews
each application, using the assessment provided by School
and Student Services for Financial Aid (SSS) in conjunction
with The Masters School’s financial aid policy.
When determining a family’s financial need and
award, the Committee considers several factors, which
include, but are not limited to, income and essential
expenses, such as taxes, medical expenses and basic
living expenses; parental and student assets, debts,
family size and the number of family dependents attending
tuition-charging schools and colleges.
The Financial Aid Committee takes
very seriously its responsibility as a careful steward
of the School’s resources so that as many families
as possible can receive assistance for their children’s
education. There are far more requests each year than
the School is able to meet through its financial aid
budget.
Eligibility
Depending on availability of funds,
financial aid is awarded to families whose children
are enrolled in grades five through twelve and who have
submitted all required documents by the deadlines determined
by the School. If all required
documents are not received by the Admission and Financial
Aid Office by the stated deadlines, award processing
is delayed, and the aid award could be limited based
on the availability of remaining funds in the financial
aid budget at the time the financial aid application
is completed.
Recipients of financial aid are expected
to meet the same standards of performance and behavior
as all other students; they are not subject to special
standards or other requirements that would treat them
unequally. To be eligible for continued financial aid,
students and their families must reapply each year,
demonstrate financial need, and remain enrolled at The
Masters School.
Financial Aid and Admission Decisions
for New Students
The Masters School is committed to
meeting the demonstrated need of as many of its admitted
applicants as possible. To this end, the School has
committed a substantial portion of its annual operating
budget to financial aid.
Financial Aid Application and Required
Documents
All new families
applying for financial aid must submit the following
required documents by February
1. All returning Masters School students must submit documents by January 5.
To SSS:
• Parent Financial Statement (PFS) (a copy should
be sent to The Masters School Office of Admission and
Financial Aid). The Parent
Financial Statement (PFS) can be completed either on-line*
(https://sss.ets.org) or on the printed SSS
PFS form available from the Admission Office.
It is the applicant’s responsibility
to list The Masters School as a recipient (using school
code 4948) on the PFS form to ensure that the School
receives an assessment from SSS.
To The Masters
School Office of Admission and Financial Aid:
• Copy of Parent Financial Statement (PFS)
• Tax returns for the current and previous year,
including W-2 forms.
Because the financial aid
application deadline is before the IRS tax filing deadline,
the Committee will review an application with the previous
year’s tax return and make an award contingent
on receiving the current year’s tax forms.
• IRS Form 4506 (www.irs.gov)
(IRS form allowing The Masters School to obtain an official
copy of an individual’s tax return if necessary)
These documents are available from
the Office of Admission.
All information received by the
Financial Aid Committee is held in the strictest confidence.
Regarding Income and Disclosure
(from The Masters School Financial Aid Policy)
Financial need is determined by a
family’s ability to meet educational expenses,
not on a willingness to pay. In addition to the factors
mentioned earlier, the Committee also considers the
following information based on the School’s financial
aid policy:
Divorce/separation/remarriage
In cases of divorce or separation, it is expected that
both parents will participate in the financial aid application
and in the financial support of the student’s
education.
If a parent has remarried, it is expected that the new
spouse will participate in the financial aid application
and in the financial support of the student’s
education.
Non-working
parent or under-employment
It is expected that both parents will provide income
in support of the student’s educational expenses
unless a parent is disabled or is caring for a preschool
age child, disabled child, or disabled relation. If
a parent does not meet the criteria of these exemptions
and is not providing income, the School reserves the
right to impute income for that parent.
Charitable
contributions
It is expected that a family will provide for financial
support of the student’s education before making
charitable contributions to other institutions or organizations.
Second homes
It is expected that a family’s financial support
of the student’s education is a greater priority
than owning and maintaining a second home.
Business losses
and non-cash depreciation
Business losses and expenses that do not affect cash
flow (such as depreciation and home office write-offs)
may be disallowed when computing financial need.
College and/or
other private school tuitions
College and/or other private school tuitions for
other children of the applicant family
will be taken into account when computing financial
need. It is assumed that the other institutions will
provide financial aid at least to the extent provided
by The Masters School.
Non-parent
contributions
It is expected that applicants for financial aid will
notify the School of contributions towards the student’s
educational expenses from sources other than the immediate
family and these contributions will be taken into account
when determining financial need.
Financial Aid Decisions and Notification
Financial aid awards will be made
and families will be notified shortly after admission
notification letters are sent. Possible outcomes include:
• Financial Aid Award –
the family qualifies for financial aid and is being
offered a financial aid award to meet demonstrated need.
All families, regardless
of the amount of their financial aid award, are required
to pay the required enrollment deposit of $1,000 to
hold their child’s space.
• Does Not Qualify – the
family’s expected contribution exceeds the total
cost of education.
Returning Students
Renewal Applications for Financial
Aid
Each year, The Masters School does
its best to meet the previous year’s level of
aid to each returning student, as long as the demonstrated
need, as determined by the financial aid committee,
continues and there is no significant change in the
family’s financial circumstances. The family must
submit the financial aid application and supporting
documents by the required deadlines to ensure that they
are considered in the first round of award decisions.
Failure to meet these
deadlines may result in a decreased award due to limited
funds.
New Applications for Financial Aid
The Financial Aid Committee will consider
applications from returning families who have not received
financial aid in the past. However, the Committee cannot
guarantee that it will be able to meet the financial
need of these families. It is the School’s expectation
that families who begin at The Masters School paying
the full tuition will continue to do so unless their
circumstances change significantly.
Appeal Process
Families who feel they are unable
to meet the financial expectations outlined in the financial
aid award agreement may request a secondreview of their
financial aid application. In order to initiate the
appeals process, the parent should call the Admission
and Financial Aid Office and submit the request in writing,
providing any additional information for the Committee
to consider. This information might include:
• A detailed monthly or
annual budget showing all income and expenses
• A statement of changes, if any, in financial
circumstances since the original financial statement
(PFS) was completed
• Detailed explanations, if any, of unusual expenses
and/or debts that were not fully explained on the original
financial statement(s)
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