Making The Winchendon School Education Affordable
At The Winchendon School, we know to achieve a diverse school community our tuition needs to be in line with a wide range of incomes. For instance, we do this by working with our families to understand your personal circumstances.
Meanwhile, the goal of the Financial Aid Program is to allow access to those who may not be able to afford The Winchendon School. Moreover, we understand and appreciate the financial commitment families undertake in deciding to send their children to Winchendon. As a school, we are aware that private school tuition is a considerable investment. For the 2022-2023 school year, between the two campuses, the School awarded approximately $5 million in need-based financial aid to those families who have completed the Financial Aid application process and qualify for need-based aid.
Our Financial Aid Philosophy
Winchendon’s policy is to make admissions decisions separate from Financial Aid decisions. However, each year the demand for financial aid increases. We find we are not able to meet the needs of every family applying, and, unfortunately, some applicants may be placed on a waitlist for Admissions. While we do have a generous financial aid budget, we cannot guarantee funding to everyone who qualifies.
The Financial Aid Application Process
In addition, The Winchendon School works with a company called School and Student Services (SSS) for Financial Aid (Winchendon’s School Code for SSS is 8242. SSS uses a formula to compute a family’s estimated contribution to an independent school education. The Financial Aid Committee at Winchendon considers the SSS recommendation and then conducts a more in-depth evaluation that includes a review of both 2021 and 2022 tax returns. While we ask families to estimate the 2022 tax information in the financial aid application process, awards are not final until the 2022 federal tax return is submitted to SSS.
Above all, to be eligible for consideration in the first round of financial aid awards, families must complete their application by February 15, 2023. However, if new families meet this deadline, they are likely to be notified whether they will receive financial aid for 2023-2024 at the time of acceptance. After February 1st, the Admission Committee will meet and awards will be made until all financial aid resources have been expended. Returning families must also re-apply for financial aid on an annual basis. In addition, returning students currently receiving financial aid have priority in this process, provided they meet the financial aid application deadline.
Financial Aid Timeline
October
- Start of the 2023-2024 financial aid application process
- Go to https://sssbynais.org/ to create an account with School and Student Services (SSS) and complete your Parent Financial Statement (PFS).
- Winchendon’s School code is 8242
February 15 – Deadline for submitting completed Parent Financial Statement, 2021 tax returns and other pertinent information.
February 28 – Deadline for submitting 2022 tax documents.
March 10 – Admission and Financial Aid decisions sent out. After March 10th, financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants who have completed their financial aid applications until financial aid has all been allocated.
April 10 – Finally, contracts and deposits are due.
Frequently Asked Financial Aid Questions
Yes, if you are looking for a loan to help cover the costs associated with attendance, Winchendon does work with SallieMae and Your Tuition Solution.
Due to the nature of financial aid and dependence upon tax documentation to complete a family’s application, the financial aid committee must make most of their decisions after March 1. All applications for financial aid will be considered if funds are available, and notification will be sent on March 10.
Yes. International applicants should complete, when possible, the same PFS that a domestic applicant completes. All income reported must be converted to US Dollars. In addition, international applicants should complete the International Student Financial Profile and provide the required income verification. The completed International Student Financial Profile form and required income verification documentation should be emailed as an attachment to jtoffey@winchendon.org. Please know that financial aid for international students is very limited.
For parents who are divorced, separated, or have never been married, we require each parent to complete a separate financial aid application. We expect all parents, guardians, domestic partners, and/or step-parents to play an appropriate role in financing and supporting their student’s education.
The Winchendon School subscribes to the guiding principles that the primary responsibility for the cost of a child’s education resides with the family and that financial aid must be based on demonstrated need, not on willingness or unwillingness to pay. The Financial Aid committee utilizes all data provided through the PFS and tax documents submitted and verified by SSS to determine a family’s “demonstrated need” – demonstrated need is the difference between the cost of education at the Winchendon School and a family’s expected contribution to that education.
We are committed to funding students for the duration of their enrollment. However, families must reapply for financial aid each year.
The Winchendon School considers a family’s income, assets and number of siblings enrolled in tuition-charging schools in order to qualify a family for financial aid.
The Winchendon School requires all families to complete and submit the Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) form through School and Student Services (SSS). Click here to begin the application.
In addition to the PFS, all families must submit to SSS a filed IRS Form 1040 tax return for the current year as well as all W-2s for the two most recent tax years. We also require families to submit their previous year tax return.
Where to Next?
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