Montessori Community School is committed to offering financial
assistance based on demonstrated need. Financial aid applications
are available from the Business Manager in the late fall. They
must be sent by Winter Break to the Scholastic Scholarship Service
(SSS) in Princeton, New Jersey for evaluation. There is an application
fee charged by SSS, which can be waived in certain circumstances
- see the Head of School.
The SSS returns to MCS a Report of Financial Need for all applicants.
Reducd to the simplest terms, this report states an amount of
"discretionary money" that each family ought to be asked
to contribute to tuition for one year. The number is divided by
the number of children in a family who are attending (or wish
to attend) tuition-paying institutions during the coming year
to arrive at a "per child" number. This number is compared
to the tuition at MCS to determine "need."
This information, in addition to each family's previous year
tax return and any other applicable information, is used by the
Financial Aid Committee (Head of School and Admissions Director
ex officio) to determine financial aid awards. Parents may write
directly to the Head of School, who also serves as Chair of the
Committee, to explain unusual circumstances. Historically MCS
has not had enough money in its financial aid budget to award
every family 100% of "need". Typically we are able to
award close to 50% of "need". The Financial Award Policy
states that we offer current families who apply on time 50% of
"need" before we are able to offer any new families
any financial aid. To qualify for this aid, it is important to
observe the deadlines, pick up a package of financial aid information
in the late fall (or apply on line by the first week in January),
in order that SSS is able to provide the Financial Aid Committee
with its report on time.
All financial information submitted by applicants and the information
sent to MCS by SSS is kept strictly confidential by the Head of
School. Financial aid recipients are notified in writing regarding
the dollar amount of each award. All awards are for the coming
school year only.
