Tuition Assistance

Sun Valley Community School has a need-based tuition assistance policy. For a school our size, we award a substantial amount of tuition assistance each year to families who qualify. We seek to make a Sun Valley Community School education a reality for as many families as possible within our budgetary constraints. We review each application for tuition assistance with consistent guidelines and evaluate individual family needs while weighing each grade's capacity and needs as well. We recognize that an independent school education is a choice for families, and both the school and families make significant financial commitments to support each family's choice.  

Few families find it easy to pay private school tuition. Most families adjust their spending priorities, maximize both parents' earnings, and carefully manage assets to do so. We would like to provide firm guidelines to help you decide whether to apply for assistance, but we have found that each family's circumstance is unique. The most helpful guideline comes from your own knowledge of your family's finances. If you're in doubt, we're happy to have a preliminary conversation with you to help you determine whether you should apply. Please reach out to Alessia Carega, Director of Admissions.

Clarity processes the information you provide in your Tuition Assistance Application according to a standard methodology tailored to our school and region to assess the resources your family has available to contribute towards your student’s educational expenses. The result of this evaluation is shared with Sun Valley Community School. Some factors that Clarity takes into account are: income (both taxable and nontaxable), assets (home equity, savings, bonds, etc.), expenses, indebtedness, family size, age of parents/guardians (to allow for retirement savings), and the number of students attending tuition-charging schools.

There can be some variation between Clarity's estimation of a family's financial need and what Sun Valley Community School actually awards. While Clarity merely keys in the data provided by families, our Tuition Assistance Committee additionally reviews the family's financial profile based on information gleaned from taxes and other documentation provided by the family. The Tuition Assistance Committee discusses each family's situation and allocates awards accordingly. 

As long as your family’s financial situation does not change drastically, you should continue to qualify for a similar level of assistance. Parents are required to apply for tuition assistance annually because tuition increases and changes in family resources may affect the amount of the awards.

Only the members of the school’s Tuition Assistance Committee see this information. We strictly maintain the confidentiality of all financial materials you provide.

There is a $55 fee to apply online and we begin accepting applications in October. There are fee waivers available if applying for tuition assistance is a strain on your budget. Please contact Julie Siegel in the Business Office or Alessia Carega, Director of Admissions.

Sun Valley Community School provides 30% percent of our students with some form of tuition assistance for a total of $2.7 million awarded in tuition assistance.