Financial Aid FAQs

New students applying to the school, or those with a younger sibling applying, may apply for financial aid.

Families who enroll without financial aid will be considered for aid only if there is an unexpected change in their financial circumstances. Potential changes include divorce/separation, additional children at a tuition-charging school, or job loss. Foote's financial aid budget does not allow us to financially support families in the case of a parent/guardian who chooses to return to school or change jobs as a personal choice, thereby reducing their household income. We are aware there could be extenuating circumstances within some families and in these cases we ask that you contact Kelly Small, Director of Financial Aid, to discuss your eligibility.

Need for financial aid is calculated as the difference between the parents'/guardians' contribution to education (as determined by an analysis) and a school’s tuition. If the parent/guardian contribution is less than tuition, the difference is the financial need for the family. If the parent/guardian contribution is greater than tuition, than the family does not qualify for need-based financial aid and therefore is not eligible to receive financial aid at Foote.

No, Foote does not offer scholarships. All financial aid dollars are awarded on the basis of a family's demonstrated financial need. All awards from Foote are in the form of a grant and do not include any loans.

Foote School determines eligibility for financial aid based on an analysis from School and Student Services (SSS). This analysis considers all areas of a family’s financial profile to determine a family's need for aid. Some factors include parents’/guardians' income (taxable and non-taxable), number of dependents, number of children in tuition-charging schools, age of parents/guardians, certain indebtedness and unusual expenses, and assets, including home equity and investments. This information is used as the basis to calculate a family’s ability to contribute to educational expenses and for the Foote Financial Aid Committee to determine a family’s financial aid award.

Award information is sent out with admissions decisions in March for new applicants and in mid-April for returning families.

At Foote, applying for financial aid does put you in a more competitive applicant group. After the Admissions Committee determines which children are admissible, the Financial Aid Committee convenes to allocate funds to those admissible families who have applied for financial aid. Foote School has a limited budget and although we will provide aid to a family at the full level of their demonstrated need, we cannot provide aid to all families who apply. These families will be placed in the admission wait pool.

Following best practices, Foote believes all parents/guardians are responsible for the education of their child.

To that end, Foote's policy is to consider financial information from each parent/guardian regardless of custodial arrangements. Each parent/guardian must submit their own separate PFS form for their own household and all required tax documents for their household. If either parent/guardian has another adult living in their household, the financial aid information from all adults in each household will need to be submitted. We are aware there could be extenuating circumstances, and in these cases, we ask that you contact Kelly Small, Director of Financial Aid.

If parents/guardians were never married and are not living together, please follow the school's policy outlined above for divorced/separated parents/guardians. If parents/guardians were never married and do live together, it is the school's policy to consider financial information from all parents/guardians as one household. Therefore, those parents/guardians should complete one Parent/Guardian Financial Statement form and submit individual tax documents.

Following best practices, Foote expects all parents/guardians will work to contribute to their child’s education. To ensure equity in the analysis of each family’s financial circumstances, the Committee will impute $25,000 to the total family income for a parent/guardian who chooses not to work. The Committee will not impute if there is a preschool age child at home, or when a parent/guardian is unable to work due to a medical condition or is caring for an ill or disabled child or parent.

Foote is committed to supporting each family at their level of demonstrated need during all years their child is enrolled. Families who receive financial aid are required to complete the financial aid application process each year and submit current year financial information. Completing this re-application each year allows the Financial Aid Committee to verify a family's level of financial need.

A family’s parent/guardian contribution is determined by the SSS analysis. If siblings enroll at Foote, or another tuition-charging school, the overall parent/guardian contribution stays the same and is divided among the number of children. For example, if your parent/guardian contribution is $10,000 and the school's tuition is $25,000, your financial need/award is $15,000 (based on one child). If you have two children enrolled at tuition-charging schools*, the parent/guardian contribution would remain the same at $10,000, and the financial aid would increase to $20,000 per child.

*tuition must be similar to Foote's

If your family has circumstances that require further explanation, there is an open question at the end of the Parent/Guardian Financial Statement form where you can note them. You can also contact our Director of Financial Aid, Kelly Small, directly at ksmall@footeschool.org or 203-777-3464.