Private School Financial Aid...is There Such a Thing??

I don't know about TX, but pretty much all private schools have need based financial aid programs. You need to contact the school or look at its website.

It is the SCHOOL itself, that would either offer or not, or have or not have, financial aid.
So ask, the specific school.
These things, are not State funded.

Financial aid, if a private school offers it, is for tuition.
BUT there WILL BE other costs, in addition to, the tuition. And that is out of pocket.

Amy:

Have you contacted the school that you are considering them and ask them? If your child has what they are looking for - they might consider a scholarship.

You are contemplating a 3rd child yet you can't afford private school? Sorry. You need to sit down and do a budget to find out what you can and cannot afford. Private school is a CHOICE.

So if you, BY CHOICE, want to send your son to private school - get your ducks in a row and find out what you can and cannot afford. If you do a budget - find out what you can cut out of it to afford this private care. You might have to make some sacrifices for this WANT.

Good luck!

I've heard that there is some need based in our area. However, private school is a choice the parents make for children.

We are in a great school district so we never considered it, however, we saved our money to fund our daughter's education so that she would not be limited to college based on financials.... her grades gave her the opportunity to choose a high end college.

My advice is stay out of debt.

Wow! "Weed out the undesirables"! Harsh.
Wild Woman makes some excellent points, as does TFPlano - stay out of debt. Rely on sunday school and your church to supplement the religious aspects of your child's education, and save the educational costs for when it really matters -- college and, possibly, a private high school. Personally, I can't see spending money you don't have on anything earlier.

Talk to your pastor. Many churches will offer need-based aid for religious education.

Ask the school. They may be able to help you.

Ask the school. Some schools have scholarships, and if not they will know whether or not public aid is available in Texas.

I have had friends who had their kids in private school. They had some financial difficulties and their school said they had some funding for this purpose but it's only a temporary aid. If a person cannot afford private school they really don't want them there. If everyone could go to private school with assistance it wouldn't be private anymore. It would be public.

Not to say your kids should not go to private school or anything else. BUT the premise behind having high tuition is to basically weed out the undesirables.

SO they don't offer financial aid to families that don't already have kids attending. They reserve the money they do have extra for kids they know and want attending their school. Who are established students for years before the parents ask about funding assistance.

Is this coming out the right way???? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm trying to show a different side to the answer.

I'm trying to say that as someone new to the school you come in and ask right off the bat for reduced rates or free private school and they're more likely to turn you down or say no they don't offer that. The reason's they do that are the ones above. They want a more elite group of kids with parents who can make donations to the causes the school takes on.

If you truly can't afford private school then I suggest that you still call them. IF there is one or two that does have financial assistance then enroll the kids. Perhaps you can apply for a job there. Sometimes parents can work in the cafeteria if someone is sick or help out in the office. It really does make a difference.

In my town only 1 private school offers any kind of financial assistance. They are a larger school too. They stopped wearing uniforms years ago and basically they're just like all the other schools in our district except they have morning chapel and teach religion classes.

My friend sends her children to private school right now. Their tuition is based on their income, so it's a bit of a sliding scale. Part of the discount includes that they required to volunteer a set number of hours to the school in .

It's still not cheap. They have to budget, save and sacrifice to make it work. But they do make it work for their children.

Financial aid, based on household income levels, from the school - but not the state - is common where I live.

School vouchers.

Proud to say Texas is one of the few states that offers vouchers where our tax money inadvertently gets to fund both public and private schools no matter where our own children go.

Many private schools offer tuition breaks, tuition assistance, tuition reductions, and yes, scholarships. But those are typically doled out on an individual basis.

For instance, there is a long term family connection to the school, or there is a particular group of immigrants they always assist, or there is a musical protege they want in their music program, etc. But ordinary, run of the mill folk, probably not much help.

Call the school you are interested in, and just ask what the options are.

But remember, private schools ask for way more than just tuition. That is just the beginning of the asking.

Many schools provide financial aid themselves - my son's Montessori did. I would start by contacting the schools you are interested in. Our school did NOT use the aid to for temporary aid or for families that were already attending. They strongly believed that the class benefited by including children with a diversity of economic backgrounds and used their $$ to support this belief.

Talk to the school directly. Many private schools offer scholarships for families that need them. You might be eligible for one.

You should talk to the principal of the school you desire to enroll in and see if you qualify for a tuition or multichild discount. We have been at two different private schools with financial aid and they both use a system to verify income via the IRS and our tax return. A different school uses it plus gives discounts based on volunteer hours.

I don't know what Ally is thinking of, but Texas does not have a school voucher program. It's been considered by the legislature, most recently this past spring, but has not passed.