Tuition & Financial Aid

Elementary school families who have thoroughly reviewed their financial situation, including all sources of income, and feel they need help paying tuition are encouraged to apply. (We do not currently offer financial aid for preschool.) Aid is issued as a grant; there is no repayment obligation.

NSFS uses FAST, an online service of the Independent School Management Association, to help determine financial aid. FAST calculates the demonstrated need amount for each family based on gross income, nontaxable income, assets, liabilities, family size, and the number of children in tuition-paying schools below the college level, among other factors. Using FAST ensures confidentiality and equal consideration to all applicants.

The NSFS Financial Aid Committee determines awards based on the FAST demonstrated need information together with the amount of financial aid available and the number of families applying for aid in a given year.

No. Financial aid applications are considered separately from admissions applications.

The application is entirely online, through our school’s FAST link above.

The final deadline is usually in February for the following school year, but it is advisable to begin the FAST application as early as possible, as some documents should be submitted to FAST by January. Please begin your FAST application early to see exactly what documentation is needed. Please contact our Finance Chair at vvolpe@northseattlefrenchschool.com with questions.

All adults in the custodial household will be asked to provide documentation including but not limited to:

• complete tax return for the most recent year (example: 2018 tax return for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year)
  
• mortgage statement or rental agreement
  
• child support documentation (if applicable)
  
• W2 and/or 1099 for all jobs worked, and/or Social Security, unemployment or disability stubs if you are a recipient 
• IRS form 4506T (Request for Transcript of Tax Form) (available on the FAST website)
• current credit report (NEW applicants only; available at no charge at www.annualcreditreport.com)

NSFS considers both parents or partners responsible for the educational expenses of their child(ren), regardless of marital status or the existence of legal documents stating otherwise. Therefore, separated or divorced partners must both complete tuition assistance applications. Please contact the Finance Chair at vvolpe@northseattlefrenchschool.com if you have questions about specific circumstances.

While we are very glad to be able to offer tuition assistance, we cannot guarantee that we will have funds to meet every applicant’s demonstrated need. The maximum amount we can offer this year is 25% of tuition.

If we receive completed applications with all necessary forms by the February 28 deadline, we will send a tuition assistance decision letter at the end of March.

Yes. While we anticipate the bulk of available funds will be allocated to applicants who submit by the February 28 deadline, we may have available and/or additional grant funds later in the year. We encourage you to apply if needed even after the deadline.

We are here to work with all of our families. Please notify our Finance Chair right away if your family’s financial situation changes unexpectedly: vvolpe@northseattlefrenchschool.com. 

Yes, aid is determined every year for one year only. However, if there are no significant changes to your financial situation, it is likely that comparable aid will be offered each year.