Tuition Assistance Guidelines (Read More)
- Only families who demonstrate financial need are considered for tuition assistance.
- In the interest of equity, if one parent elects to stay at home and not seek employment, the Committee will assume the income of that parent to be the tuition amount of the applicant (An exception is made if the parent is at home caring for a non-school age child or an elderly parent.)
- If the parents are separated or divorced, all paperwork, including tax documentation, is requested from both parents and stepparents.
- If multiple children attend tuition-charging schools or colleges, it is expected that the family will be applying for tuition assistance at all schools. Shipley should not be expected to implicitly subsidize tuition at other schools or colleges.
- If a parent elects to return to school or to change jobs, or a sibling elects to enroll in a 5th-year advanced degree program resulting in a decrease in family financial resources, Shipley cannot underwrite this family choice with greater tuition assistance.
- If one parent is temporarily unemployed and not disabled, the Committee will review past years of employment history. If a tuition assistance award is made, the unemployed parent must participate in quarterly tuition assistance reviews to report on and demonstrate a continued job search.
- Tuition assistance grants are annual; a family must re-apply each year they seek tuition assistance. When there are dramatic changes in a family’s financial situation due to a significant financial setback, we will do all we can to make it possible for the child to receive the tuition assistance needed to continue at Shipley. At the same time, we expect a family in this situation to make other adjustments to their family expenditures, in addition to seeking tuition assistance, to help cover the costs of private education. Likewise, when a family’s financial situation improves greatly, the annual grant will be adjusted to reflect the positive gain.
- Shipley maintains confidential tuition assistance records for all applicants. These records are reviewed by the tuition assistance committee, and occasionally by the head of school. All tuition assistance awards are confidential agreements between the recipient family and the school. The tuition assistance committee considers tuition assistance awards strictly confidential. Shipley does not share information with any other party. Because of this, families may not discuss tuition assistance information with anyone other than a member of the tuition assistance committee. Awards can be withdrawn for breach of this expectation.
- All appeals regarding tuition assistance awards must be submitted in writing directly to the tuition assistance committee.
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.
